Posted on 12/16/2008 7:17:43 AM PST by Red Badger
Bernard Madoff should be tapped as Fed Chairmen.
Hey why not, he seems like a likeable guy and he came clean quickly (well, after the first 18 years or so). It’s not like there’s anything backing all the new money...anyway! The US dollar is becoming more of a Ponzi scheme every day.
QUESTION: You get paid on Wednesday, but there’s a two week lag. How much less will the dollar be worth from the day you earned it to the day you spend it?
ANSWER: Welcome to Mexico, senor!
........ because air is free
“If it seems to good to be true...”
Why are so many people so dumb? Are they just blinded by greed? Are they in denial? I don’t get it. The stock market collapses 40% in value and Madoff’s clients all believe he is still getting double-digit returns in the middle of a liquidity crisis and the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression?
Who are these people. Truly, NOBODY has ever gone broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people. Truly.
I feel very very sorry for all victims of scam or people who were blinded by greed and lost everything. Most of them are just trying to do right by themselves and their families. But, sheesh! Greed, greed, greed. At least be smart about it.
Wanting to increase your wealth, status and position, and to insure that your children have it good is natural and is not greed. Being blinded by such good news that you turn your brain off and don’t even stop to think “if it seems to good to be true it probably is”, is a solid indicator of sheer greed. Starry eyed greed seen through rose colored glasses.
You don't want to look for the best return. You want to look for the best risk-adjusted return. If the investment manager does not provide sufficient information to judge that, as was the case with Made-Off, then run in the opposite direction (with your money)!
I haven't read the whole thread but those are ill-gotten gains and a court will order that they be returned to a trustee (few will be able to do that).
bump
And it did continue to grow. The trust continued to earn up to 16 percent each year, so we didn't question it much. And then this year, we thought, how can he still be making 10 percent in this tumultuous market? We were amazed and thanked Dad's memory every time we saw income and not a loss.Every five years the money "doubled". If they took 16 percent a year income, every five years they got their money back...from other victims.
Not if the returns are reasonable.
Greed when it "is too good to be true," and common sense is ignored.
These people never heard of pyramid schemes?
I read in the WSJ that the Madoff funds involved a lot of puts and calls. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that the kind of speculation that cost the public so much in the way of gasoline prices? Anyway, speculation is gambling. People shouldn’t gamble if they can’t afford to lose.
Madoff’s scheme was the classic Ponzi scheme. As long as “new” investors were being added to the bottom of the pyramid, to keep feeding the “top” of the pyramid with high rate returns of 10-16%, things were “fine”.
But, then the economy went south, investment houses, banks and corporations started failing. People got nervous, and rightfully so, and wanted to pull there money out of the market and put it somewhere else, like T-Bills. Madoff’s customers were no different. They tried to pull $7 billion out of his pyramid. That’s when it collapsed! There was no $7 Billion to be pulled out! In fact, there was a whole lot more than $7 Billion that couldn’t be found, maybe as much as $50 Billion! That would be the biggest swindle in history! Where did it all go? To the early “investors” as dividends on their deposits. That’s the point of the negativity on a lot of these FR comments. This lady’s dad was an early “investor”. He got his money back in the 10 years he drew from his account, plus the 5 years she and her siblings have been on it. So for 15 years, they have been living off the other people’s money, though they did not intend to do so, nor did they even realize it. Their “original principle” of $400k is gone. But they fail to realize that what they actually have spent that money and then some all these years................
interesting
Not her fault. Dad was CPA and no reason not to trust him. Greed? Is that what trying to accumulate wealth is? I think not. Have told daughters if they ever go to a broker I’ll disinherit them. When advising them they must understand why instead of just taking my word for it. There were too many big names, even some with a brain who were mislead here so who are we or me to beat them up further. If too good to be true, well we all know the rest don’t we. How did this guys investing continue to go up when the sky was falling? I still believe in “baby steps” in investing.
I believe in anything you tell me, because i know you want what is best for me.
I know that you only do for me what you would do for yourself, not everyone has an investment advisor that loves them!
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