Great Teachers & A Grand Unified Political Theory

Some months ago, while scraping the bottom of the barrel of possible speakers, the esteemed Rutgers Philosophy Department invited me to give a talk. Also invited to attend were the Economics and Law faculties and students. I decided to speak about some of my greatest teachers in life, and show how what I learned from them ties into various decisions I have made in business and in life. I hope you enjoy it, because I put my back into it.

Patrick M. Byrne speaks at Rutgers University from Overstock.com on Vimeo.

Total
0
Shares
46 comments
  1. Dear Patrick

    Good speech, but you were very good in the Q&A portion.

    Perhaps you can give more examples, or case studies related to “Disbursed Costs and Concentrated Benefits”? It appears this is a central theme related to the issues raised by DeepCapture.

    I wasn’t clear why the NEA listed you as Public Enemy #1, as I didn’t discern any criticisms of public educators, only that there is a discrepancy on what costs are, i.e. salaries, benefits, infrastructure, etc, versus what is being charged, which you referred to as “monopoly rent”. What are examples of this “rent” and who or what are the landlords.

    Always enjoy your posts, hope to read many more.

  2. Old but worth revisiting.
    Thanks for attempting to educate the average investor as to what the system is REALLY doing with the money put into it.
    I am beginning to think it may be too little too late the damage to the average persons reasoning ability may be too much to overcome at this point and the damage to the system of government and regulatory over-site is complete.We as a people and a country have been destroyed from within.As a survivor of a health problem that is becoming epidemic I think Mr. Byrne may have interest in this links subject of study it may be part of a explanation of how we the people are being chemically changed to better fit the needs of the few who would rule.
    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/38175434/GLNatResCenter_HormoneCopycats_Apr1994.pdf

    https://dl.dropbox.com/u/38175434/BloombergBNA_FdaDeniesCitizenPetitionSeekingBanOfBisphenol_Apr2012.pdf

    Can anything be done?
    Only if we all work together.

  3. @OutofDate1980
    Here’s a link to the NEA article cited in the video.
    http://www.nea.org/home/35943.htm

    “Patrick Byrne, CEO of this online discount retailer, is an outspoken supporter of school vouchers. Overstock President Jonathan Johnson, meanwhile, has reportedly said that “dealing with unions is not a deal worth doing.” Perhaps shopping at Overstock.com for marked-down goods is not such a good deal after all.”

    Of course this paragraph is not supplemented with contextual articles.

  4. I’m eager to listen to it (for now, tl;dl) but, but (sorry for nitpicking) have you a better sound track around? This make it difficult to listen to (1 hr long!)

    thanks

    and keep up the good work

    -a reader from Quebec

  5. 1. Makes enormous complexity out of a very simple solution (see the Creature from Jekyll Island)
    2. Dismisses the arguments of some of the country’s Founders, while claiming to be a student of history
    3. Relies too much on idols, like Friedman and Buffet. Friedman was NOT a libertarian, since he advocated for floating fiat currencies.
    4. Ignores certain aspects of economic problems, such as the over reliance on a central bank to regulate economic activity
    5. Over educated, and to some extent therefore brainwashed. Too much reliance on what he believes to be educators that have the answers, and therefore cannot think outside of the box. This appears to be because the underlying reason is social control tending to benefit business, while denying the value of greater freedom to those outside the corporate world. This is antithetical to the sale of any company’s products/services. One example is Byrne’s support for taxation of Internet purchases, in violation of the Commerce Clause, which leads into his thought that small retailers will benefit from a new business where small retailers will have an “Overstock solution”.
    6. Too much association with the upper end of society and therefore doesn’t understand the issues of commoners. Warren Buffet is but one example, because Buffet speaks out of both sides of his mouth with a different message issuing from each side. While Buffet may have made the appearance of a “dirt farmer”, that particular segment of our population draws more in terms of government support than most others.
    7. Appears to be completely at odds with the actions of historical figures like US President, Andrew Jackson. This excludes Jackson’s treatment of the American Indian.
    8. Ignores the fact that many upper managements in the S&L crisis went to jail as lawbreakers, which is not happening today. As a company founder, where was there any discussion of the “deep capture” aspects of the problems associated with Overstock?
    9. Does not understand the dangers of overarching big government, or more probably views government as helpful to business, as long as it sticks to the “inflationist” paradigm (less cereal in the box, same size box).
    10. Doesn’t believe in “getting government out of the way”, such as adhering to the “too big to fail” philosophy that has become much into vogue since the riddance of the Glass-Steagall Act. This is what is meant by Buffet talking out of both sides of his mouth, since one the one hand he (Buffet) characterizes things like derivatives as “weapons of economic mass destruction”, but on the other hand doesn’t identify the problem as the replacement of the Glass-Steagall Act with the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act that gave banks the ability to socialize their risk. (hand failures to taxpayers).

    1. Mr. Byrne makes valid points in regards to “concentrated benefits and dispersed costs” and school choice. His work exposing Wall St. exploits is valuable as well.

      But how he can defend some of the worst aspects of the state, e.g. the military, the dept. of injustice and the FDIC is completely ludicrous. I would agree with many of your criticisms as he fails to recognize that all governments, no matter how they are formed, seek to be totalitarian. He also embraces the use of force for the “betterment” of society. The false idea that “if we could only elect ‘good’ people” the use of force and coercion is somehow justified. He seems to believe in the concept of the noble lie.

      1. …more like… hmmm. A know-it-all?

        That was a very long winded attempt to show others how smart you are….but only succeeded in showing us adolescence.

  6. Somewhere, presumably, there must be a line of demarcation between Patrick Byrne and Warren Buffet by which Wall Street’s ruling elite separate those they hate from those they love. That line also separates companies as well as individuals; for example, OSTK on the one side and AMZN on the other.

    For years, OSTK management tells the public it is purposely spending its cash flow to grow its business and market share, intending to break even within a few percent. The “market” hates that and punishes OSTK as a chronic money loser.

    On the other hand, AMZN reports this week it is spending to build its business and the “market” cheers so loudly the share price rises $30. OSTK finally reports its past investments in the business are finally paying off in earnings, and the “market” puts the share price up a few dollars and then takes it back as soon as the spotlight of earnings is gone. Anyone see a pattern here, or is it my imagination?

  7. Not one post here about the attack on Apple.
    Sad just does not express it well enough.
    Here is a nice site to visit as we all are under attack in this way as well.
    http://www.endocrinedisruption.com/home.php
    It is scary to think that perhaps one of the reasons we are less vocal about the clear corruption in the systems around us is because we are being conditioned to be less able to understand and respond to it.
    Hello… hello.. anyone left out there…is there a thinking, feeling being left ?

  8. Patrick, I have the highest respect for you. I believe you are a principled person and truly believe all you say, but I watched the video of your Rutgers talk a week or two ago, and I think there a couple points you should consider more carefully.

    The first has to do with your criticism of the personal greed assumptions of other students of our political-economic system. While you are not greedy yourself, there are plenty of others who are. Elsewhere on your web site, you have not hesitated to identify many of these malefactors. Why do you dismiss greed as a fundamental motivator?

    Also, in the face of so much recent evidence to the contrary, you seem to favor a rather right-libertarian political philosophy, from which springs a bias against public schools and teacher unions. Perhaps you should take a closer look at the roots of government interference in the “free market.” I submit to you that the original sin of state interference in the “free market” is the limited liability corporate charter. This is the fundamental mechanism through which money and power is transferred from workers and consumers first to shareholders and later to corporate executives and hedge fund managers at the very expense of the shareholders themselves.

    I agree that roughly $350,000/year to educate 24 American children is a bit high, probably twice what it should cost in an ideal world, but is privatization within today’s political economic system likely to improve things given the demonstrable greed of those who stand to benefit from charters and privatization via vouchers? I would not be nearly as opposed to the destruction of our government (public) schools if the management of any charter or private school benefiting from vouchers were restricted to sole proprietors and common law partnerships. Schools should be run by parents and teachers, not by some large for-profit corporation or its non-profit shill.

    1. Better than nothing, but embarrassing regulators doesn’t help much. Remember the investigation of Pequot Capital and the SEC investigation led by Gary Aguirre? Five of the seven top SEC officials resigned, but not a single person was prosecuted or went to jail – especially not among those who were engaging in a long string of insider trading scams.

      Who was the person who made the call to the SEC which wound up getting Aguirre fired. Why, that would be one Mary Jo White, who is taking a substantial pay cut to become the new SEC chair.

  9. 14 Arrested in Market Manipulation Schemes that Caused Thousands of Investors to Lose More Than $30 Million

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 14, 2013

    Two Federal Indictments Charge 15 Defendants in Plots that Fraudulently Inflated Stock Values and Laundered Profits through Offshore Accounts

    LOS ANGELES – Federal authorities have arrested 14 people named in two federal indictments that allege long-term schemes to manipulate stock prices that led to more than 20,000 investors losing over $30 million when artificially inflated stock prices collapsed. As one defendant described his scheme during a wiretapped phone call: “What I do is turn stock into money.”

    The arrests were made yesterday pursuant to two grand jury indictments that were unsealed yesterday. The indictments detail two separate, large-scale fraud schemes in which conspirators:

    gained control of the majority of the stock of publicly traded companies, often co-opting company management to assist in these efforts;

    concealed their control of the stock by purchasing and transferring shares to offshore accounts and to nominee entities with names such as “Dojo,” “Picasso,” and “Big Dog”;

    fraudulently inflated the prices and trading volumes of the companies’ stocks through slick marketing campaigns, misleading press releases, payments to stock promoters, and “cross-trading” among co-conspirators that made it appear the stocks were being actively traded;

    coordinated the sale of the companies’ shares at the peak of the fraudulently manipulated market; and

    hid profits in nominee and offshore accounts.

    According to court documents, the defendants are serial market manipulators who carried out several fraudulent deals each year, each of which generated several million dollars. The defendants generally targeted marginal companies operating in areas they believed could easily be touted as generating breakthroughs or deals that would explain sudden increases in trading volume and price, including companies purportedly involved in pharmaceuticals, hair restoration, green technologies, entertainment, oil and gas development, and e-commerce websites. The indictments allege that increased trading volume and higher stock prices were actually the result of the defendants’ fraudulent actions. A company CEO brought into one of the schemes summed up a typical deal during a wiretapped call: “There’s nothing in there, there’s nothing to the company. It’s monkey business.”

    The indictments allege that the schemes collectively engaged in five specific deals that defrauded more than 20,000 investors around the world and generated more than $30 million in illegal profits.

    “This case has dismantled a far-reaching stock market manipulation scheme run with ruthless efficiency and operated with one goal in mind – to steal money from the investing public,” said United States Attorney André Birotte Jr. “This type of predatory behavior cheats the average investor, erodes overall confidence in the markets, and has a devastating impact on companies and their employees.”

    One indictment alleges a scheme led by Sherman Mazur and his nephew, Ari Kaplan, charging that they “perpetrated a multimillion-dollar scheme to fraudulently inflate the prices and trading volumes of public company stocks and then sell millions of shares of those companies at the fraudulently inflated prices to the investing public for substantial profits.” The indictment alleges that the scheme involved a number of companies, but focuses on deals involving two businesses – GenMed, which purported to develop, manufacture and distribute generic pharmaceuticals; and Biostem, which purported to develop and license regenerative stem cell treatments, including hair regrowth technology.

    The 32-count Mazur indictment charges nine defendants, all of whom were taken into custody yesterday morning. They are:

    Sherman Mazur, 63, of the Westwood district of Los Angeles, who controlled a company called the London Finance Group, Ltd.;

    Ari Kaplan, 40 of Venice, who is Mazur’s nephew and was his partner in the London Finance Group, as well as in a series of other business endeavors;

    Grover Henry Colin Nix IV (who generally used the name “Colin Nix”), 39, of the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, who controlled the Santa Monica-based Calbridge Capital, LLC, which purported to be a “boutique investment banking firm”;

    Regis Possino, 65, of the Pacific Palisades district of Los Angeles, a now-disbarred attorney who was Nix’s partner at Calbridge Capital;

    Edon Moyal, 32, of Carlsbad, California, who controlled a company called 8 Sounds, Inc. and while allegedly involved in this scheme was free on bond pending trial in a criminal case filed in federal court in San Diego;

    Mark Harris, 56, of Scottsdale, Arizona, a stock promoter who controlled Apache Capital, LLC, an investor relations firm in Scottsdale, Arizona;

    Joey Davis, 46, of the Los Feliz district of Los Angeles, who controlled Scripted Consulting Group, a public relations firm in Los Angeles, and who was allegedly involved in this scheme while free on bond pending trial in a criminal case filed in federal court in Los Angeles;

    Curtis Platt, who turned 51 today, of Sarasota, Florida, who controlled Big Dog International, LLC; and

    Dwight Brunoehler, 62, of Maitland, Florida, who is the CEO of Biostem, a company based in Clearwater, Florida.

    The Mazur indictment alleges that the nine defendants conspired to commit securities fraud and wire fraud. The indictment alleges that members of the scheme generated at least $13 million in illegal proceeds when they sold their shares of manipulated companies, a figure that includes at least $2.1 million in illegal proceeds from the manipulation campaign for Genmed, as well as $500,000 in illegal proceeds from the ongoing manipulation campaign for Biostem. The indictment further alleges that Mazur, Kaplan, Nix, Possino and Harris engaged in money laundering, using funds transferred from offshore accounts to promote their fraudulent scheme.

    “The defendants’ alleged combination of celebrities, press releases, gimmicks and lies was similar to a how a magician deceives unsuspecting believers into an illusion,” said Bill Lewis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “While operating the schemes alleged in the indictments, the defendants kept their audience captive until stock prices peaked, while investor money vanished into defendants bank accounts.”

    Release No. 13-024

  10. China to Expand Short-Selling Program as Part of Reform

    By Bloomberg News – Feb 23, 2013 6:24 AM ET

    China will expand its short-selling program on Feb. 28 by allowing selected brokerages to borrow shares from institutional investors, the Shanghai Securities News reported.

    Eleven brokerages will be able to borrow shares in a pre- approved pool of 90 publicly traded companies, according to the report, which cited China Securities Finance Corp. The state- owned agency was set up to provide securities firms with funds and stock for short-selling and margin trading.

    The expansion of short-selling — in which investors sell borrowed shares in the expectation of profiting when they fall – – will increase the efficiency of China’s equity market, help manage risks and boost brokers’ revenue, the report said.

    The brokerages in the trial program are: Citic Securities (600030) Co., the biggest listed broker; Everbright Securities Co.; GF Securities Co.; Guotai Junan Securities Co.; Guosen Securities Co.; Haitong Securities (600837) Co.; Huatai Securities Co.; Shenyin & Wanguo Securities Co.; China Merchants Securities Co.; Galaxy Securities Co.; and China Securities Co.

    These firms will be allowed to borrow shares from CSFC and re-lend to customers. The pre-approved pool of securities comprises 50 companies listed in Shanghai and 40 in Shenzhen, with a total market capitalization of 9.3 trillion yuan ($1.49 trillion), according to the report.

    Brokerages will be able to borrow shares from CSFC for fixed periods — 3, 7, 14, 28 and 182 days — at different rates, the report said.

    The expanded program “will not necessarily add to the selling pressure and suppress the equity market” because more brokers are participating in the margin-trading program, which allows investors to borrow money from brokers to buy shares, according to the report.

    To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Jun Luo in Shanghai (SHCOMP) at +86-21-6104-3036 or [email protected]

    To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Jun Luo in Shanghai at [email protected]; Feiwen Rong in Beijing at [email protected]

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stanley James at [email protected]

  11. Cry with joy he was dad.
    Cry with sorrow the rock to lean on is gone.
    Weep with the blessings of peace.
    Give it all you got.
    Life till death.

  12. Patrick, first of all my heartfelt condolences on your recent loss.
    Secondly I would like to thank you for the tireless work you and your staff at Deepcapture has done to make the following occur….

    http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/collusion_course_eIMheVVy3lvwiD5Q35SVvO

    An explosive lawsuit accusing the country’s biggest private-equity firms of conspiring to drive down prices on deals is moving forward after surviving its biggest legal challenge yet.

    A federal judge in Boston denied a motion to dismiss the antitrust case — which accuses 10 buyout firms of costing shareholders billions by keeping prices artificially low — while narrowing the scope of the claims.

    The PE firms, including Apollo Global Management, Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, Carlyle, KKR and a unit of Goldman Sachs, have tried nearly a dozen times in four years to get the suit tossed.

  13. Sean: I have had some very interesting communications recently concerning Daleco Resources Corp (or Corporation – Yukon Territory, Canada entity #24173 withdrawn on August 28, 2000)and the use of “NAKED SHORT SALES”. See my past posts. It is all there and it happened. I will not attempt to post this information because I do not want you to be upset. Hang in there.

    Marv Eatinger

  14. Upon reading any of these SEC charges..one can quickly realize that the SEC is minimizing the gains that these crooks have attained through the criminal activities. I assure you that there was much more than 72 million dollars earned (and I use that term very loosely) from the insider trading activities of this HedgeFund!! I think if the SEC were to report the true number a revolution might occur against both HedgeFunds and Wall Street alike!!

  15. EXCLUSIVE: SAC’s Cohen buys $155M Picasso after settling trading probe
    Last Updated: 12:04 PM, March 26, 2013

    Posted: 12:05 AM, March 26, 2013

    Steven A. Cohen, whose SAC Capital just settled two insider-trading lawsuits with the government for $616 million, has bought himself a gift — Picasso’s “Le Rêve” for $155 million, Page Six has exclusively learned.

    Billionaire Cohen secretly bought the masterpiece from Vegas mogul Steve Wynn, who famously put his elbow through the 1932 painting of Picasso’s mistress, creating a six-inch tear.

    The price is estimated to be the highest ever paid for an artwork by a US collector — and it’s even more impressive because Wynn had previously agreed to sell the masterpiece to Cohen for $139 million in 2006, but accidentally tore the painting the following day.

    A source told Page Six, “Steve bought ‘Le Rêve’ as a gift to himself. This was supposed to be a top- secret sale because of the government investigation and settlement.”

    It reaped a hefty profit for Wynn, who also got a $45 million insurance payout after he elbowed the painting while showing it off to friends including Nora Ephron at his Las Vegas office.

    Wynn, who suffers from vision problems, agreed at the time to release Cohen from the sale and repair it. Now he has sold it to Cohen for $16 million more than the pre-damage price.

    Another source told us, “Steve has wanted that painting for a long time. The timing of the sale is just a coincidence.”

    In what officials are calling the largest-ever settlement of an insider-trading action, SAC Capital Advisors LP agreed March 15 to pay securities regulators more than $600 million to resolve a civil lawsuit related to improper trading.

    Despite reports that Cohen, worth about $9.3 billion, was feeling the pinch after investors in SAC asked to withdraw $1.68 billion — sparking speculation he might sell his art — it seems he’s building his collection, which includes works by van Gogh, Manet, de Kooning, Cezanne, Warhol, Francis Bacon and Damien Hirst.

    Cohen’s longtime spokesman Jonathan Gasthalter declined to comment, and reps for Wynn didn’t get back to us.

  16. Warren Buffett to become one of the largest shareholders of criminal organization.

    Right Patrick?

    OMAHA, Neb. — Warren Buffett’s company will likely become one of the biggest shareholders in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. later this year, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won’t even have to part with any cash to do so.

    Berkshire and Goldman said Tuesday they had renegotiated an agreement that gave Berkshire the right to buy 43.5 million shares of the investment bank for $115 per share. Now the 2008 deal will be settled with stock this fall.

    Buffett and Goldman Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein both characterized this new deal as an endorsement of the investment bank – much like they did when Buffett invested $5 billion in Goldman during the financial crisis.

    “We intend to hold a significant investment in Goldman Sachs, a firm that I did my first transaction with more than 50 years ago,” Buffett said.

    Berkshire is generally known as a passive shareholder that doesn’t interfere with the companies in which it invests. And Buffett’s soft spot for bank investments is clear because Berkshire already holds large stakes in Wells Fargo & Co., U.S. Bancorp, Bank of America Corp. and M&T Bank.

    Goldman spokesman Andrew Williams said Tuesday that at current share prices the new warrant agreement would put Berkshire in the lower end of the top 10 of Goldman’s biggest shareholders, but the number of shares Berkshire will ultimately receive will be determined by Goldman’s stock price this fall.

    Goldman shares were trading at $146 in midday trading, down 11 cents for the day but roughly 27 percent higher than the exercise price.

    Investor Andy Kilpatrick, who wrote “Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett,” said the new terms appear beneficial to both companies. Berkshire saves cash at a time when it’s preparing to acquire half of H.J. Heinz Co. in a $23.3 billion deal, and Goldman gets to enjoy Buffett’s backing while issuing fewer shares.

    “It saves Berkshire cash and hassle,” Kilpatrick said. “And it extends the Berkshire halo over Goldman.”

    Blankfein said he is pleased that Berkshire plans to remain a long-term investor. Goldman already paid Berkshire $5.65 billion in 2011 to repurchase the preferred shares Buffett’s company bought in 2008 during the financial crisis.

    Berkshire also received the right to buy the Goldman common shares in the same deal. Originally, Berkshire could buy Goldman stock for $115 per share until this Oct. 1.

    Now instead of Berkshire paying $5 billion cash for all 43.5 million shares, Goldman will compensate Berkshire with stock for the difference between its stock price and the exercise price near the original deadline this Oct. 1. At Tuesday’s prices, that would give Berkshire about 9 million Goldman shares, or a stake of almost 2 percent.

    Besides investments, Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 80 businesses, including BNSF railroad, Geico insurance, General Reinsurance, MidAmerican Energy, Helzberg Diamonds and Acme Brick. The conglomerate is based in Omaha, Neb.

    ___

    Follow Josh Funk online at http://www.twitter.com/funkwrite

    ___

    Online:

    Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com

    Goldman Sachs Group Inc.: http://www.goldmansachs.com

  17. The criminals are going down finally.. Right Anonymous?? LOL!!!

    SAC Capital Advisors Trader Charged With Fraud
    Steinberg Is Most Senior Employee at Hedge-Fund Firm Caught in U.S. Investigation

    Senior SAC Trader Arrested, Given Perp Walk
    Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/29/2013 – 07:26
    Hopefully the $155 million purchase of Picasso’s “Le Reve” by Steve Cohen coupled with his splurge on a $60 million East Hamptons pad comes with a 30 full day money back guarantee, because very soon he may have more practical and immediate uses for the money. If the SAC head was hoping that the recent $602 million settlement his firm had reached with the SEC was enough to put all his troubles behind him, he may want to think twice. First, yesterday, New York District Judge Victor Marrero pulled a “Judge Rakoff”, when he balked at the SEC’s use of the “neither admit nor deny” provision (the same argument used by Rakoff when he rejected an SEC settlement with Citigroup in 2011). Marrero also asked what would happen if Martoma, who has pleaded not guilty to related criminal charges, is convicted. “How would it look if in the settlement before it, the parties were allowed to say ‘We did nothing wrong?’” Marrero asked. “The ground is shaking, let’s admit that,” said Marrero. “This court is in the same position that Judge Rakoff was some months ago.” But in the end we are sure that Marrero, just like Rakoff, will fold to pressure, and money. However, where things got interesting is that moments ago the Feds arrested long-time SAC suspect and PM Michael Steinberg, giving him a perp walk out of his Park Avenue apartment. This was the highest profile arrest so of any SAC employee and means that while the SEC may be trying to close the book on Cohen, the Feds are only now getting started.

  18. Gary just ripped Patrick again on his web site.

    Where have Judd Bagley and Mark Mitchell been?

    Why have they abandoned the cause?

  19. It seems that Patrick, Mark and those associated with Deep Capture are beginning to realize that what had been posted some time ago from this screen name was absolutely correct. And that is what accounts for the long silence from this website’s principals.

    There is one common denominator in all financial criminal activity, and that is the fiat money that has been circulated worldwide ever since the coming into being of the petro-dollar. The US$ led the way resulting in Bretton-Woods, which was preceded by FDR’s seizure of the private wealth of Americans by making ownership of gold a felony. The genesis of all these events was the formation of the Federal Reserve formulated in the Jekyll Island meeting in 1910. Everything that followed was merely a progression towards making slaves to everyone worldwide to the banking interests.

    This explains wars, famines, the control of political parties, the media and a host of other things all related to what the Founders would have determined to be capital crimes when money is counterfeited, as spelled out in the Coinage Act of 1792.

    Unless people, in large measure, wake up to the fundamental underpinnings (fiat money) of criminal behavior in the financial sector there will be NO permanent change of direction until current monetary systems fail and are replaced by honest money. Period! End of story!

    Expecting regulatory action has proved worthless. Expecting political leadership to bring about such change is successfully opposed by the criminal elite, which includes most business interests because monetary devaluation is passed on to their customers. They may talk the talk, but unfortunately do not walk the walk, as in form private committees to put pressure on the politicians, courts and police agencies to call to account all who engage in financial crimes with jail sentences to show that they mean business.

    This past couple of weeks has proven the agenda of the criminal elite as the only form of real money has been manipulated sharply downward to dissuade any who might think the “gold bug” crowd understands the problem. But the problem is that the intended recipients of this story line are not buying it, as the lack of availability of real money in the form of precious metals is proving. There are now month long delays in getting delivery totally failing the postulates of Economics 101, which states that when supply is met with increasing demand prices will rise accordingly. Matter of fact prices are rising, but are not reflected in the “paper” market as broadcast daily. It’s all part of the financial elite’s attempt to con as many as possible into believing that money grows on trees.

  20. Patrick,
    Sorry, but when a guy like you starts bashing the people that educate our children, I turn off. Big time.

    I’ll won’t mince my words here: It’s a sickening sight when a person of vast wealth viciously attacks a person making $60K a year who works hard, every day, on behalf of her students.

    Do you know how arrogant and bullying this makes you look? How crass? How…stupid?

    FYI; I’ve never been a teacher and neither is any member of my family, immediate or extended. (Okay, full disclosure, my wife’s second cousin, who lives on the opposite coast and whom I’ve only met twice in my life, is a second grade teacher. But he’s the only one.)

    I’m a parent of a young son. And a small business owner. Your ideas about education truly make me want to regurgitate. Sorry. It’s not you. It’s your sociopathic attitudes about education and children. They’re odious.

    Why do so many men lose their soul and their conscience once they become billionaires?

Leave a Reply to DCN Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Previous Article

Professor William Black Flunks Bethany McLean for Giving Hall Passes to Goldman Sachs and Wall Street

Next Article

The SAC Capital Scandal--Made For TV

Related Posts
Total
0
Share