Ever see a guy at your work, school or other place simply fake his way through the funk? The guy who could talk so well and everyone touted as the "nice guy" who could do no wrong? Even though the guy could talk well, his actual performance really sucked, however, there was always a crowd of followers that didnt care about how bad the smell was because the talk was so good. Madoff is the perfect example of a guy who could simply fake his way through life. The mega-wealthy individuals and corporations have lots of money to burn. They will throw money at just about any "nice guy". There are many like Madoff out there, however, who everyone swears by. There are a few notable individuals on this site and in blogs who people follow into the trades that are quite similiar to Madoff. You can never trust anyone with your cash. If you are going to lose money, then do it by your own hand and not some money manager. Madoff is a lesson to you to watch the people you seem to trust most...trust but verify... P.S.- I know Cramer isnt related to Madoff, but I couldnt help myself. Some how I wonder how Cramer has managed to fake his way through Wall Street seeing how its so obvious that he is a fake, phoney and fraud.
For the same reason most people don't feel *as* bad losing so much net worth if all of their neighbors do the same, the sheeple will gladly go to slaughter just as long as the slaughterhouse has a great brand name. Kind of like people buying luxury cars and not haggling on 20%+ commissions the car salesmen get. (or any luxury item) They'll gladly be had because that experience of getting raped is part of the joy of owning luxury for a lot of these people.