i have no idea what allens others posts are like. but i was impressed with his response. where do we live. if you are going to pay for this womens loss with my tax dollars then why not eliminate some or all everyone elses expenses. Who decides whose life or concern is more deserving? Why make people pay back their loans. why not give everyone medical insurance and and why stop there. I think everyone in San Diego should have a heated pool and spa paid for by the gov't because our climate is mild and we can not handle cold nights or very warm days. I feel for all who got destroyed by Madoff -and I feel for people with diseases - but many people plan for the future at great expense, other have lost 15 years of savings in Real Estate. I would love to get my loses back.
Thanks jem. I covered my sympathy in earlier posts. I have a lot of empathy for the hardships she and the other investors are going to go through. It sucks. It however sucks no more than the problems I have to deal with. Always trying to be more adult about it though Mandelbrotset.
LOL, me too. *** This country is corrupt in terms of how it deals with criminals and it still doesn't have a good handle on how to deal with white collar, financial crime. The best chance we had of straightening things out in a long-time was Eliot Spitzer, and we all see how that one turned out. So now they get the kid glove treatment ...whereas, in reality, if the perppatrators faced the reality of the potential threat of lifetime imprisonment and/or capital punishment I don't believe we would situations which are quite so blatent as this one.
Brokers/Money managers cannot be trusted. I manage my own money. Anyone who has money better read and educate yourself. You cannot trust a stranger with your own hard earned money.
Good posts the 4 posters above. "Should" is one of the most destructive words in the englsih language. Life is not fair, not even close. How you deal with the set backs is what sets you apart, Allen and Jem, wishing you both the best. The fact that you are both doing what you can to improve on the shitty deal that life has delt you speaks volumes and put you way ahead of most of the sorry rabble who are looking for someone to help. Sadly that person will never come for most, better that people come to grips with that sooner rather than later. Sound advice KOS.
hey - i do not even consider my deal shitty. I took a chance lost some money - to me its money. I prefer what I was doing before (trading and real estate) But, I went back to work as an attorney full time. While I loved trading I prefer my current equity curve. I am sure almost everyone has some tough things to work with.. I am in no way putting my real estate financial set back in the category of health or family. I just hate bailouts. They create disincentives to choose intelligently. If we have bail outs for bad investment decisions - let me know ahead of time - so I can order my investments. If you put all your eggs in one basket - you broke one of the most common bits of wisdom we have. Its hard for me to feel sorry for you.
Too few can see reality for what it is Jem, my hats off to you and your objective and yet at the same time optimistic perspective. That's the frame of mind we need to drag ourselves out of the current mess. You can't fix what you can't even acknowledge. I heard a guy on NPR who had been ripped off by Madoff for a few million, again everything he had worked a lifetime to accumulate (he had built a garment business from scratch)and he was quite philosophical about it all. He said he was furious with Madoff for the 1st few days but after that he said he no longer cared about the man, no need to add injury to the insult by wasting any more of his time nor energy on the guy. He cut his losses so to speak. He is 76 years old and is only concerned because he is having to get help from his kids to keep afloat, otherwise he says he has his health, his wife has heres, and he isn't going to waste one more second on Madoff. His parting words in the interview to all the radio listeners were that he had a life time of business experience and still had plenty to offer and was looking for a job. I bet he gets one too. There is a guy who isn't waiting for Obama or anyone else to "save" him.