True, but we can’t have the government responsible for everything... That’s the deal with the devil—you abdicate personal responsibility and rely on the government to protect you, you then have consequences of that.
I agree, but I didn't say that the government was responsible for the situation, only that they profited just as Madoff profited. And that is a problem for our government.
Given that attitude, then there's no fault, other than your own, for anything bad that befalls you, when you trust someone else to do something, since you've abdicated your responsibilities to do it yourself.
For instance, if you're in a car wreck, because the brakes on your car failed, it's your responsibility because you didn't install and test the new brakes yourself. If you get sick because of food poisoning, it's your fault for not growing your own food, and ensuring that the preparation of that food was hygienic. If your house explodes and burns down, due to a fire caused by overpressure in the gas mains, you're responsible for not maintaining the gas line, and keeping a vigilant eye on the regulator.
In the world we live in today, it's simply not possible for one person to do everything needed to live a "civilized" existence in society. We have to rely on the expertise of others. And in many cases, society has organized governments to provide certain services, and even regulate some industries, in order to combat the fraudulent taking of life or property in exchange for compensation. After all, THAT IS one of the legitimate roles of government.
Given the fact that Madoff was issuing fraudulent documents, AND he was registered as being covered under the US government protection laws for his industry, then I disagree with you, and I believe that these people did NOT abdicate their personal responsibility. If anything, the SEC was partly responsible for the reason the people kept their money with Madoff. They believed that he was being regulated by the government. But given the fact that over the years there were a number of whistle-blowers within the SEC and nothing was done, indicates that there was collusion between Madoff and the SEC.
Do I believe that these people deserve any compensation other than what they were promised when they went in? No. They knew the rules of the game when they started. However I won't minimize the role that the government played in the loss of their funds, nor will I blame them for "abdicating their responsibility." I don't believe that they did.
Mark