Madoff mass fraud was a Jewish conspiracy?

[Thunder]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090622/ts_nm/us_madoff_sec

It appears that many if not all of the co-conspirators in Madoff's scheme of mass greed, are Jews.

Did this conspiracy profit the larger Jewish or Israeli community in any way? Absolutely not. In fact, many charities that were indeed desperately neccessary to various Jewish communities in such places as the former Soviet Union and in Israel were decimated by the Madoff scandal and many have closed their doors for good.

So was this a "Jewish conspiracy"? Not if that means a conspiracy by Jews to help the Jews. But it may have indeed been a conspiracy made up entirely of Jews.

Will this difference mean anything to Jew-haters? Naaa.

Will it make a difference to everybody else? I hope so.

These men and women should be expunged from the Jewish community. Not just for what they have done financially to the Jewish community and other innocent victims..but also for what they have done to our sensitive reputation. Excommunication is in order.

[oldhat]

I don't have too much sympathy for his victims actually. I feel sorry for the people who unfairly got caught up, like the beneficiaries of the charities and their employees but I'm not shedding any tears for the greedy people who lost their money.

[Thunder]

I don't have too much sympathy for his victims actually. I feel sorry for the people who unfairly got caught up, like the beneficiaries of the charities and their employees but I'm not shedding any tears for the greedy people who lost their money.

im sorry...what???

what is greedy about giving your hard earned dollars to an investment dude to invest your money so u get a better return?

do you have a savings account? 401k? own any stocks or bonds? its no different buddy.

[Wowbagger]

but I'm not shedding any tears for the greedy people who lost their money. Only a very small percentage of his investors thought he might be doing something illegal, and invested with him anyway. But, most of those thought it was probably insider trading.

I won't shed any tears for that very small percentage, either. But, the vast majority were holding their perfectly legitimate investment accounts and retirement funds with him. So, I hope you show a bit more sympathy, for all of them.

[oldhat]

No, I'm not dumb enough to sink all of my money into a fund that magically returns 10% every year without a clear explanation of what the fund manager invests in. Never put all of your eggs in one basket and read the prospectus. It's not too difficult.

No sympathy for those greedy rich people in Palm Beach. Or Stephen Spielberg.

And investing in a 401(k) or mutual fund isn't the same as getting suckered into a secretive Ponzi scheme. "If it sounds too good to be true, it is" is just common sense.

[oldhat]

So if Bernie Madoff comes along and magically does the unheard of in finance -- guaranteed profits, year in, year out -- I'm supposed to bail them out as a taxpayer for their gullibility and greed? If you make dumb bets like that, you deserve to lose. That's a market correction.

These weren't paupers who were wiped out, BTW.

You take that risk when you speculate and there is no guarantee you get your money back. And that's all they were doing, speculating on the market. Moral hazard. Dry eyes on my end.

[Thunder]

No, I'm not dumb enough to sink all of my money into a fund that magically returns 10% every year without a clear explanation of what the fund manager invests in. Never put all of your eggs in one basket and read the prospectus. It's not too difficult.

my 401k used to get 15% a year. thats right.....15%. should I have been suspicious that the City of New York's defered compensation plan is a Ponzi scheme??

:mad:

[Thunder]

So if Bernie Madoff comes along and magically does the unheard of in finance -- guaranteed profits, year in, year out -- I'm supposed to bail them out as a taxpayer for their gullibility and greed?

bail them out??? who is bailing them out??

what on Earth are you talking about???

:confused:

[oldhat]

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=14746
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/business/08madoff.html?ref=nyregion
http://firedoglake.com/2009/01/08/why-the-madoff-bailout-should-be-limited/

The SIPC can't pay. Guess who will?

[Thunder]

http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=14746
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/08/business/08madoff.html?ref=nyregion
http://firedoglake.com/2009/01/08/why-the-madoff-bailout-should-be-limited/

The SIPC can't pay. Guess who will?

Not one dollar from the taxpayers is gonna go to these folks. Don't worry.

Only the FDIC insured deposits. Any other money will come from suits against Madoff, his family, and clients who got money from Madoff's ponzi payouts.

[Wowbagger]

No, I'm not dumb enough to sink all of my money into a fund that magically returns 10% every year without a clear explanation of what the fund manager invests in. Good for you.

I also remind you that, in some cases, whole families placed their fortune in him. The "dumb decisions" were made by family members in the early, less suspicious stages; and the current generations merely inherited the accounts, not bothering to move them; (in part because, by that time, everyone knew Bernie so well).

So, let me know when you are done blaming the victims, so we can continue persecuting the actual perpetrators.

These weren't paupers who were wiped out, BTW. And, what difference does that make?

[oldhat]

Good for you.

I also remind you that, in some cases, whole families placed their fortune in him. The "dumb decisions" were made by family members in the early, less suspicious stages; and the current generations merely inherited the accounts, not bothering to move them; (in part because, by that time, everyone knew Bernie so well).

So, let me know when you are done blaming the victims, so we can continue persecuting the actual perpetrators.

I'm not blaming the victim, I'm being actually being quite fair. I think the rules of capitalism and investing should mean something when people lose, instead of only when people win. It's called due diligence for a reason, as in, you're supposed to do it. Does a sense of personal responsibility even exist among the elite in this country anymore? The game isn't ante up your X million dollars and then kick back on a lawn chair waiting for the monthly statements to roll in with all of the money you're "earning" doing nothing. Investing has never worked like that.

Plus putting all of your eggs in one basket is asking for it. Every junior broker in the world knows that. The floor runners at the NYSE know that. The guy sweeping the floors knows that.

And, what difference does that make?

The poor, poor millionaires who lost their money by making wild-ass bets on a hedge fund? Call me Che Guevarra but my heart goes out a little more to the guy who actually works for a living and got laid off from his job at a factory instead of the investor class folks who don't work for a living and are going to have to sell their beachfront mansions in Florida and lose their country cub memberships. They'll get Social Security like everyone else.

[jhunter1163]

Remember, Bernie was a former president of the NASDAQ, so it wasn't unreasonable to think that he knew what he was doing. If it was me, I'd certainly think that a former NASDAQ president could consistently beat the Street a few points a year.

[Ysidro]

Weren't a lot of his victims jewish? How is a jew ripping off other jews in his community a "jewish conspiracy"?

Unless of course, you're* paranoid enough to think they were in on it too. In which case, I shall laugh at your and taunt you a second time!

*"You" refering to anyone who believes this, not any specific poster. Taunting will still occur as scheduled.

[Wowbagger]

Weren't a lot of his victims jewish? How is a jew ripping off other jews in his community a "jewish conspiracy"? They only made it look like many of the victims were Jewish, just so it wouldn't look like a Jewish conspiracy. These guys were smart. :rolleyes: