Can you hear the whispers, its the murmurs of the Madoff victims asking for a bailout or restitution for their loses and theft. These same people several years ago had a problem with us raising the issue of reparations.
A retired couple that lost the proceeds from several home sales that were invested in Madoffs fund demanded to be treated like GM and AIG, Bank of America. Requesting SIPC money, how dare these people crack there mouths for government dollars, I'm going to demand my reparations check.
A recent article in Vanity Fair, stated how persons in places like Aspen played the spread, basically gamble with there homes...many owned free and clear, by taking mortgages on a 15 million dollar house, at 4 percent interest. To get a loan for $10 million, The carrying costs on such a mortgage would be about $400,000 per year by investing the $10 million dollar proceeds of the loan with Madoff at a 12 percent return, the 8 percent difference between the carrying costs and the return would have given the owner $800,000 per year. But you think that in a down market, that some of these people would wonder how Bernie was able to get these returns.
It just comes down to simple avarice and irresponsible investing, and trust. But in the Jewish communities that were ravished by these events felt that they were getting entree into a elusive club that others weren't benefiting from. So should we empathised with their plight? More to follow on this saga.
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