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NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:40:31 -0500
Subject: {ASSD} Re: Stock Exchange Bleeds Our Economy Dry Once More
From: Damaeus <damaeus@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:40:18 -0500
Newsgroups: aus.politics,uk.politics.misc,alt.conspiracy,misc.consumers,alt.sex.stories.d
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In news:alt.conspiracy, St Georges Day April 23rd
<bbbbbdfgdfgdgddfg@googlemail.com> posted on Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:03:21
-0700 (PDT):
> For the last 36 hours the collapse, or more accurately the deflation,
> of Lehman Brothers has left markets around the world in a state of
> frenzy.
Fascinating, isn't it? How one company deflating could affect the
entire world market. What ties to the market gives this company such
profound influence on the global economy? And why is that much power
being handled by one company?
> Last night the Hang Seng Index lost 1000 points; the FTSE, over the
> last two days has lost around 7%. With the markets reporting record
> volatility, many traders will be keeping their powder dry, waiting for
> more reliable moments to strike.
Were there any other possible influences on the market besides that of
Lehman Brothers?
> Others will be following in the shadows of Dick Fuld the CEO of
> Lehman, by taking huge risks, and making or losing huge sums. If
> investment bankers have the capacity for sympathy it is surely for
> fellow investment bankers. Although one banker's gain is most likely
> to another's detriment, there must be a familial understanding of the
> emotions of going through the highs and lows of gambling for a living.
> But do they deserve such sentiment?
Apparently not. All I've ever heard about money-hungry people is that
they're all ruthless, and sentiment has no place in economics if you
want to stay on top of the game. So that one banker's gain is
another's detriment is all part of getting into the rat race. The
lack of sentiment just gives one a bigger advantage in their attempts
to get "high scores" in their portfolios.
> The papers today had a reality-TV style theme to their reporting
> of Lehman-gate. To paraphrase: "It's awful; 158 years old;
> terrible; employees don't know when they will be paid; tut-tut;
> ah well they nearly got Merrill Lynch too; probably going to get
> worse." Then some small section of some small article deduces
> that some untouchables (in the western "old-boys" sense, rather
> than the Indian caste sense) must have done some serious lying
> for things to have gotten as bad as this.
Well, it all began to go south when people began using money for
things it was never meant to be used for. It's been turned into a
tool to control the distribution of goods and services, as well as
being used as a rod against wage earners. Money is used to punish
those who make mistakes in their attempts to climb the social ladder.
As it stands now, the wealthiest people in the country are wagering
that they can convince the rest of us to work for just enough money to
survive, and maybe a little extra money for some luxuries if you can
manage to scrape up enough to go to college and then pay off the
debts, with interest. So far, their plan has succeeded.
> Once it is realised that this collapse was inevitable; that
> Lehman's previous performance was due to its high-risk nature and
> that the "value of your investments and can go up as well as
> down" as adverts have told us for years, there is only one
> newsworthy part left of the story the human side.
Indeed. Fortunately we always get around to the humans in these
ordeals.
> One particularly prominent story involves the heart-breaking news
> of a dog-walker in Kensington whose business has suffered
> instantly, because ex-Lehman lemons now have the time to walk
> their dogs themselves.
So what is the current financial situation of the company's
management? They managed to climb the social ladder, but everything
fell apart once they reached the top. Is all their money and property
being taken away after making so many mistakes, or are they still
living in ultra-luxury, even though they turned out to essentially
demote themselves to pizza delivery drivers in one fell swoop?
Nothing against pizza delivery. I've done it myself, but I got sick
of it after 13 years of doing it: 1991-1997, 2003-2008. Doesn't
amount to anything with the constant vehicle maintenance, tires,
brakes, gasoline. I was spending $500-$600 a month on petrol.
I know that sounded angry. I'm still working on getting over having
worked so hard all my life, being honest, trustworthy, etc... and I
still have nothing to show for it, despite being told it's always best
to tell the truth, be honest, upfront about everything. And I have
nothing. Am I to become a liar and a cheat to succeed in this world?
Is that what it takes to survive? I can't do that and still live with
myself.
> On this evidence alone I hereby call for massive emergency tax
> relief on all investment bankers.
Why? All that does is save a sinking ship and protect the people who
screwed it all up in the first place. Then the sinking ship continues
to drag the economy down with it. It's better to let it go down in
flames, then replace the people who fucked it up to begin with.
> Although there are 26,000 losing their jobs at a time of
> uncertainty, most of the people for whom you should feel sympathy
> will find employment immediately.
Why should we feel sympathy for those who find immediate employment?
That's like feeling sympathy for Jim Carrey when he scores a $20
million movie deal. Why aren't you suggesting that we feel sympathy
for those who can't find work after losing their jobs in a time of
uncertainty?
> The support staff, which must number a huge proportion of the
> recently-unemployed mass, will likely soon find work, thanks to
> their transferable skills and experience of operating under
> enormous pressure.
But above you spoke about this being a time of uncertainty. How do
you support your claim to them being able to find work so easily if
times are so uncertain right now?
> As usual, however we are coerced into feeling sorry for the big
> fallers: the executives with tens of millions of worthless stock
> options.
Being aware of having been coerced into feeling sorry for the big
fallers in the past, do you continue to do that, or are you trying to
be satirical? I must tell you, I abhore satire. Since I have a
serious outlook on fixing the world's problems, satire reads as
something someone has come to accept as a normal part of life. It
isn't. I read satire and it almost makes me want to cry because it
makes things seem as if people have given up on discovering better
ways to live.
> Which would be awful for them and their families were it not for
> the nauseating salaries they had earned up until today; I for one
> expect these investment bankers to know what to do with their
> money.
I make the assumption that they're far more careful with their own
money than with company funds, especially if it's a limited liability
corporation. The LLC simply makes it possible for an average citizen
to run a corporation, make a bunch of mistakes, run it down the trash
heap, and suffer no personal loss as a result. It's an ingenius plan.
> One panicked former trader noted that much of the value of these
> stocks had already been spent on holiday homes and cars.
"Holiday homes and cars"? As one who has had my own apartment a
couple of times, I can appreciate the sense of liberty. But why would
anyone want extra homes for the holidays? It seems like a big hassle
with all the extra furniture and upkeep, unless you hire a crew of
workers to maintain all your personal property.
> So maybe they'll have to cope with just the eight-bed in Surrey,
> the fleet of his'n'hers Mercedes, and an A-Class for Petunia. A
> young prospective trader, whose career has been temporarily at
> least aborted, told of a joke he heard from a French friend:
> "Lehman employees were putting only £5 on their canteen cards so
> they would not lose any money." Oh, the French (t)wit.
How would that prevent them from losing money?
> For the last 15 years Fuld has been the guy to work for. His risk-
> taking brought untold riches to his employees. He was legendary for
> spreading the wealth that he created around his staff at the bank.
> Today his portrait outside the Lehman office is covered in messages of
> anger, quotes of Fuld saying, "Lehman is well capitalised".
>
> The messages I find most bizarre are the ones accusing him of greed,
> as if greed is such a repulsive, unnecessary requirement by bankers
> for their leader. His ex-employees who have basked in his golden
> shower for a decade-and-a-half obviously don't feel sorry for him. I
> find it hard to feel sorry for wealthy, well-educated, ambitious
> bankers who are now turning on the man that got them where they are.
Do you think greed is an inherent human trait or is it something that
can be controlled?
Damaeus