You're concerned? All of my flowers are gold, and with every crooked banker, politician, CEO, broker, analyst, and TV commentator doing all in their power to wilt my flowers, it has been a trying week. Why, I almost feel like a tech investor!
Seriously, one of the reasons I bought gold was I felt like it was the right thing to do. Of course, "right" does not always make "rich". Still, how can you deny that most of the market run-up of the 1990's was accomplished through fraud and corruption? Clinton made it so easy to justify this type of behavior.
I also find it incredulous that you could think these few companies (WCOM, XRX, IMCLONE, TYCO) are not simply the tip of the iceberg, and that what shows up in public is certainly not the worst of the graft even in these companies that have been caught.
I did not see the movie Liar Liar, but I think the premise was a guy who was struck with a spell which made it impossible for him to lie. I'd love to see this happen for just a few minutes on CNBC. Not that it would matter to most people. The CEO's could come right out and say, "We are crooks, but stick with us, and we will make you money", and most people today would at least ignore the truth in order to make money. "It's the economy, stupid!" -- the standard reply in the 1990's when anyone dared to critisize Clinton and the direction of the country and its morals. I will not do that any more. I have put my money in gold to make a statement. Call me a fool, because most of the investment world already does. But that world is almost 100% corrupt. I believe that corruption does eventually get payback. I don't want to own a part of that corruption when it happens. You may buy a company because it is a "value", but I will not when it is shown to be run by crooks. If it was fraud and theft, they deserve to go bankrupt. It's a shame for the innocent caught in the web, but it would be another crime to give them another chance to steal again. I happen to think that most public companies (especially tech) have taken part in the corruption of the 1990's. The pressure was too great. The riches were too fast and easy. Everyone sold their souls for options.
May they all choke on their gluttony of debt and theft.
I remain,
SOROS |
