Posted on 12/16/2008 7:17:43 AM PST by Red Badger
There must be a lot of “goldbugs” on FR, because it seems like no one can empathize.
I guess everyones up 40% around here.
...ends with "it probably is". Not that it DEFINITELY is. I've found a few opportunities in the past that I pursued, even though they seemed to be much too good to be true, and they ended up wonderfully.
Have a new business opportunity that seems that way at first blush, but after tearing into it for the better part of a year turns out to simply be a woefully underserved market in which the current providers, and most of the consumers, have not a clue about the potential.
Just because it seems to good to be true does not mean it isn't!
That said, one should always check out an investment before you dive in. I'd ask to see last year's purchases and divestments. It shouldn't compromise anything "secret" to see what was invested in last year or sold...
“Nothing like the combination of greed and ignorance to make someone a pauper.”
Yep. It is sad and I don’t wish any one ill but the lesson here is to be educated about your investments and not to let your pursuit of promise of high returns be your sole guiding light.
Also, throw in a healthy amount of irresponsibility. "It's everybody elses fault".
If your retirement funds are in the mkt when you retire it's just dumb. You should be moving those monies into secure (insured) vehicles 7 years before you retire. The only reason not to is you figure you're so smart you will beat the safe bet and get a 7-10% return rather than a 3-4% return.
Call 1-202-456-1111.
Ask President Bush to give you a bailout, as he is furiously trying to throw money at failing auto companies.
Seriously, this is a tragedy for this woman, and I don’t envy or make light of her pain.
Quite frankly, Wall Street has never been worth one nickel of our money for bailouts. They are thieves with a license and always have been.
These kinds of financial collapses are happening every eight to ten years.
The savings and loan scandal was from 1989-1992. The dot.com bust in 2000. Now the mortgage crisis in 2008.
Next crisis is due in 2016, when a ton of boomers, myself included will be starting to withdraw funds for our retirement.
Always a new way to scam the public. We throw a few miscreants in jail, and the cycle starts anew.
This time, our own government has actively participated in a scheme to defraud us AND to mortgage our future ahead three generations to fleece us. Trillions of retirement savings value has been lost, and well as trillions in home values(homes would have been the fallback in value if stocks went south).
And in eight or nine years, the government will not be able to fund Social Security and Medicare.
And the sheeple keep re-electing the fools that fleece them.
The time for tar and pitchforks is rapidly approaching. The colonists revolted for far less.
This particular woman has reaped what she did not sow, and is now complaining about it...........
Also, throw in a healthy amount of irresponsibility. "It's everybody elses fault".
If your retirement funds are in the mkt when you retire it's just dumb. You should be moving those monies into secure (insured) vehicles 7 years before you retire. The only reason not to is you figure you're so smart you will beat the safe bet and get a 7-10% return rather than a 3-4% return.
“It was less than $400,000 - not a large amount by Madoff standards...”
Maybe not to Madoff, but nealy 400K would be a huge retiremet principle for me.
We have the Schnitt show which covers Florida>
Yesterday he had a very nice 87 year old woman (she stated her age) call up and say she had lost two million and her family three million. They had been with Madoff for 30 years....Back when he started out honest I’m sure
They thought money just fell from the sky, I suppose. And she also has her IRA, Social Security, and presumably her house, unless she spent way too much on it when she moved to Florida. "Ruined"?
So?
Yes. Remember the movie “The Flim Flam Man”?
Wanting a profit is the greatest driving force in our economy, but "pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered". Commonsense dictates examining risk vs return. Leaving all your money in one place when you retire is not very smart.
No kidding. The mark in any sort of scam is not always a saint. It is his/her greed that drives plays right into the hands of any con artist.
I find it very hard to feel sorry for these people. The first rule of investing is to never invest money that you need for day to day living. The second rule is to always diversify. DUH.
How did all these stupid people get rich anyway? I must be doing something wrong.
She took income from this fund? Uh oh. She better hope she doesn’t get sued for that money from a later investor who also got screwed by this Ponzi scheme.
Were is the SEC in all this? Oh yeah...ignoring derivatives on derivatives
If they were living off the interest for 15 years, they may not have lost money — assuming they never added to the principle.
+++ They never questioned their earnings, even when they were "amazed" at the returns. The original investment was $400K.
No con works unless the one being conned believes they can get something for nothing or that they are putting one over on the system. And yes some of them are victims because of gullibility. But that gullibility often means ignoring common sense and warning that something is not quite right.
Believing you are investing money so that you can retire comfortably and not depend on SS is greed?
What am I missing here?
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