03-12-2009, 05:22 PM | #1 |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 10,665
|
Madoff a parable of greed
Waters, I'm surprised you've missed the full import of this story.
$65 billion in 4,800 accounts. The math isn't so hard to do, even in your head. These weren't working stiffs or poor people who got swindled. $13+ million per account, on the average. Fat cats. Yes, there were some non-profits or foundations that have done a lot of good. That is too bad. But these are no doubt directed by individuals of high net worth and/or with directors and officers liability insureance who can and should and will probably be sued. The NY Time reports that Madoff acquired clients for his consulting and money management busienss at super exclusive country clubs and similar places. Lofty circles. Why did super rich people give Madoff their money? Because he promised reliably high returns at minimal risk. For years now people have questioned his returns using his purported methods. But he said that it was all too complicated to explain, and his company's policy was that the means and methods must be kept secret for competitive reasons. The point is super rich people, people who probably travelled in the same circles with Madoff and one another, got hurt badly by their own greed. It's an old story, isn't it. Throw in their blind willingness to believe what they want to and the story is even older and more familiar. I'll tell you what, on the list of the world's victims for me to get outraged over I doubt Madoff's victims make the top ten. Why is it that invariably it's the super rich who are the greediest, even though they are least in need of more money?
__________________
Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster |
03-13-2009, 08:50 PM | #2 | |
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 10,665
|
This article perfectly expresses my view:
Quote:
They're infantile, like the people who complain about economic consequences of supporting Proposition 8. Only much worse. They were simply greedy rich, and as the article says, if there's any arena where the government ought to make personal accountability a cardinal rule, it's personal finance. People lose money on investments all the time. It's a critical element of our success as a nation. I don't think any of these victims should get one thin dime from taxpayers. Let them sue their trustees, advisors, directors, etc., if they had any. Moreover, this is like a parable of everything. Something else Ellie Weisel said: “I remember that it was a myth that he created around him,” Mr. Wiesel said, “that everything was so special, so unique, that it had to be secret. It was like a mystical mythology that nobody could understand.” All in all, it's the oldest of stories. Waters, what do you think of these people's demands that the government cover their losses?
__________________
Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster |
|
Bookmarks |
|
|