This story at Bloomberg sketches out the latest scam that the usual suspects (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Barclays etc.) have devised in order to further enrich themselves while contributing absolutely nothing to society at large.
It seems to me a tragic waste that so many fine minds are bent to constantly inventing and refining dubious get-rich-quick schemes. It's all fun and games till we have another Long Term Capital or an Enron on our hands, at which point we all get to pay to clean up the mess.
That's why the think tank here at Falling Downs has long advocated for a 100% tax on non-productive economic activities.
Cut out this nonsense and use your money and your brains to do something useful.
Showing posts with label the Rumpelstiltskin economy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the Rumpelstiltskin economy. Show all posts
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Steve Cohen; still out of jail but not out of the woods
I'm a sucker for the rags-to-riches story. I've met dozens of European immigrants who came to Canada and made something out of nothing. Italians, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, Germans, Ukrainians... you name it, this was a land of opportunity for anybody with a bit of good luck and a big work ethic. Some became merely comfortable, others became wealthy enough to keep their grandchildren in cocaine and Porsches in perpetuity.
All of them built something. They started a one man machine shop that thirty years later was a global concern, or they started an excavating company that grew into a major infrastructure provider, or they started a construction business that became a major real estate company... they built real stuff in the real world. They employed real people in real jobs in the hundreds of thousands.
Which sets them apart from the new breed of capitalists, guys like Steven A. Cohen.
Cohen's is certainly a rags-to-riches story. He came from nothing and rode the rising tide of the "Rumpelstilskin economy" to great wealth, employing only a small army of straw-into-gold spinners, whose primary job it was to make Steve wealthier.
Alas, Steve has been laboring under a cloud of insider-trading allegations for the past few years. Multiple investigations have led to the dismemberment of his hedge fund and a repositioning of his business concerns as a closed shop managing only Mr. Cohen's personal fortune of $9 billions.
This story from Bloomberg suggests that he may not be out of the woods yet.
All of them built something. They started a one man machine shop that thirty years later was a global concern, or they started an excavating company that grew into a major infrastructure provider, or they started a construction business that became a major real estate company... they built real stuff in the real world. They employed real people in real jobs in the hundreds of thousands.
Which sets them apart from the new breed of capitalists, guys like Steven A. Cohen.
Cohen's is certainly a rags-to-riches story. He came from nothing and rode the rising tide of the "Rumpelstilskin economy" to great wealth, employing only a small army of straw-into-gold spinners, whose primary job it was to make Steve wealthier.
Alas, Steve has been laboring under a cloud of insider-trading allegations for the past few years. Multiple investigations have led to the dismemberment of his hedge fund and a repositioning of his business concerns as a closed shop managing only Mr. Cohen's personal fortune of $9 billions.
This story from Bloomberg suggests that he may not be out of the woods yet.
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Goldman Sachs' latest straw-spinning trick
You have to admire those guys for their chutzpah.
When GS bought Metro International Storage five years ago the Detroit warehouse network had 50,000 tons of aluminum in storage. At 48 cents per ton per day that's daily rent of $24,000.
Today they're storing 1.5 million tons for a daily rent of over $700,000!
Before Goldman, it took six weeks for an order to be delivered. Now it takes well over a year. Clogging up the supply line has also caused an across the board price increase even if you never deal with GS.
Rumpelstiltskin is spinning in his grave!
Net benefit to society? Zilch... although we all get to pay a little more for aluminum products.
Net benefit to Goldman Sachs? Somewhere in the range of $250 million a year.
A 100% tax on non-productive economic activity would help steer the geniuses who dream up this stuff towards doing something useful.
When GS bought Metro International Storage five years ago the Detroit warehouse network had 50,000 tons of aluminum in storage. At 48 cents per ton per day that's daily rent of $24,000.
Today they're storing 1.5 million tons for a daily rent of over $700,000!
Before Goldman, it took six weeks for an order to be delivered. Now it takes well over a year. Clogging up the supply line has also caused an across the board price increase even if you never deal with GS.
Rumpelstiltskin is spinning in his grave!
Net benefit to society? Zilch... although we all get to pay a little more for aluminum products.
Net benefit to Goldman Sachs? Somewhere in the range of $250 million a year.
A 100% tax on non-productive economic activity would help steer the geniuses who dream up this stuff towards doing something useful.
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