[dennisw]

A bubble is a form of a Ponzi scheme and all the Ponzi schemes are now collapsing. These range from our huge Social Security pyramid to smaller Madoff type scams ...
Like any bubble, the disillusioned people are left with broken promises and worthless empty symbols of what might have been ...

"When the tide goes out you find out who has been swimming naked"

Warren Buffet said that

[dennisw]

The swimming naked awards
Dec 16th 2008
From Economist.com

A year of embarrassment when the financial tide went out

“YOU only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out”, Warren Buffett famously observed. In 2008, the financial tide went out further than anyone expected, revealing a multitude of skinny-dippers. To help them cover up their embarrassment, Business.view is proud to announce the following winners of the 2008 “naked shorts” awards:

Scoundrel of the year: Too many contenders to mention, but the last minute entrant has won by a landslide: Bernie Madoff, who is providing a helpful demonstration of the difference between a financial collapse due to management incompetence (most of this year’s banking failures) and a genuine 100% fraud.