Posted on 12/22/2008 3:45:25 PM PST by TexasCajun
Madoff may be a convenient scapegoat for financial collapse, but:
1. If he was smart enough to run a Ponzi / pyramid scheme for 40 years and smart enough to engineer collapse of several major international investment and commercial banks - and in the process near collapse of some Western financial / banking systems (Iceland, Belgium...) - he would be smart enough to anticipate what it would do to his positions.
2. He would make a tremendous amount of money instead of being cleaned out and finally get caught in a scheme. paying off few redemptions would only cement his credentials of being profitable in any market, and people would want to keep money with him instead of drawing on account.
As a matter of fact, the stated strategy of his trading a spread of call and put options only would cause major slide in his portfolio when market went down, which along with clients' redemptions requests caused his downfall.
It's more likely to have been other ultrashort hedge funds, some likely with ties to Democrat machine, combined with any unwitting funds and individuals going along for the ride and providing help with short interest volume and rumor mill, exacerbating panic and draining liquidity from financial institutions.
See links in my post #18 and How Short-Sellers Almost Destroyed U.S. Banking [System]
“The sad part is that you have to wonder how much he could have accomplished if he had gotten even the cooperation that Democratic presidents have gotten from Republicans over the years. Sure, the Republicans have fought the president tooth and nail, but there’s never been the outright attempts to destroy a president and his administration regardless of how badly it damaged the country.”
That is an excellent summary of what the rats have done our country in their non stop attempts to destroy him and his people.
The saddest thing is that he went to Washington with every intention of working with the Democrats and all did was poop on him. Just like with his Dad when they convinced him to go back on his no new taxes pledge then hammered him with it at campaign time. The simple truth is that Democrats have absolutely no honor whatsoever. They are totally without redeeming social value. They go on and on about being for the working person, the party of tolerance, etc. But you can’t show me a single thing they’ve done in my lifetime that required any sort of political guts, period. Every good deed they undertake is performed with other peoples’ money and to make them feel better about themselves.
Remember the Republican agreement to ‘share power’ when the Democrats lost control of Congress? What a farce. They are dangerous to the things that made America the greatest nation in history as Islamic extremists. In some ways even worse, it’s what Michael Savage correctly calls “the enemy within.”
It’s going to be an interesting, albeit very depressing, four years. The bright side of it all is that if they are true to their colors their very nature will make them govern in such a way as to remove any doubt about their true intentions.
I hope that we as a country and people can last 4 years under Zero and his friends. (see my tagline)
I'm sure we can. That's the thing about Americans, the worse it gets the harder they try. There's that sorta no-man’s land when things aren't bad, but the aren't good either and we kind of stand around waiting for someone else to do something. But when the going gets tough, as my high school coach used to say, the tough get going.
The kind of people who made America the greatest nation in history are busy making things and making things happen. The Libs meanwhile are busy planning and talking and figuring out ways to get other peoples’ money to fund their pet charity. There's an old saying, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” The producers will tolerate only so much before they start thinking rebellion. There comes a point when they say “no more.” I suspect that time is near.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.