President-elect Obama has selected Leon Panetta to be CIA director. While Mr. Panetta is a very smart man, and by all accounts a very good one, he has no experience in Intelligence. There are many cabinet posts that simply call for men or women of good caliber and leadership abilities without necessitating any specific expertise. But the Intelligence department is one that calls for a professional with knowledge of the industry.
You wouldn't select a non-doctor to be Surgeon General or a non-lawyer to be Attorney General. Likewise CIA director is not the place for a purely political appointment.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Nation's biggest Ponzi scheme ever???
By now you are certainly aware of the swindler Bernard Madoff. He has confessed to operating a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. A Ponzi scheme is defined as follows:
When the organizers of the scheme use the assets of new investors to make profit payments to the old investors. The scheme typically has no other source of revenue other than from the new investors. Ponzi schemes, often called pyramid schemes, progress geometrically until they reach the point that the operators cannot find enough recruits (victims) to continue the payout.
Some in the press have described Madoff's crime as the the biggest Ponzi scheme in American history. I suggest they make themselves familiar with our Social Security system.
To be fair, there are some differences. Madoff tricked investors into voluntarily participating, and was actually using their money rather than investing it. For this he will certainly go to prison for the rest of his life.
Our government mandates that we participate, like it or not, and "invests" it into their own deficit spending. For this they are repeatedly reelected.
The differences are clear as mud.
When the organizers of the scheme use the assets of new investors to make profit payments to the old investors. The scheme typically has no other source of revenue other than from the new investors. Ponzi schemes, often called pyramid schemes, progress geometrically until they reach the point that the operators cannot find enough recruits (victims) to continue the payout.
Some in the press have described Madoff's crime as the the biggest Ponzi scheme in American history. I suggest they make themselves familiar with our Social Security system.
To be fair, there are some differences. Madoff tricked investors into voluntarily participating, and was actually using their money rather than investing it. For this he will certainly go to prison for the rest of his life.
Our government mandates that we participate, like it or not, and "invests" it into their own deficit spending. For this they are repeatedly reelected.
The differences are clear as mud.
Apocalypse Now- quick hit
Can there be any doubt that Al Franken being elected to the U.S. Senate is a sign of the Apocalypse? Thanks a lot Minnesota!
There is a silver lining. It is a testament to the American Dream that the nation's worst comedian, then the nation's worst radio personality, has the opportunity to become the nation's worst politician.
There is a silver lining. It is a testament to the American Dream that the nation's worst comedian, then the nation's worst radio personality, has the opportunity to become the nation's worst politician.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)