While the Goldman Sachs hate continues we should be ashamed of our leaders for not making the most basic of fixes to our financial system. Goldman and it’s greedy, smart, connected leaders are not the problem. The system in place is broken.
To make financial capitalism and democracy work again, we first need TRUST. It’s hard to stomach/believe believe that the most basic steps are being neglected in the rebuilding of that trust.
The fact that ANY bank/investment bank is allowed to offer public research anymore is a crime. Having a sales desk mixed with research did not work. The ‘Chinese’ wall was always a laughable idea and the fact that it was named ‘Chinese’…well… I want TRUST to come back to the markets as people will take more risk and we all win.
While you could easily argue that George Soros has a vested interest in saying our banks are broke and the consumer is also bankrupt, it is easier to believe that George Soros has an obvious interest in saying it. He is either short, or in cash and just worried about the health of the financial system.
If Goldman is saying banks are an upgrade, I sure as hell don’t trust their motives. The fact they can truly move markets and be on both sides of the trade is after what we have seen…ridiculous. It’s negligent and until it stops, we get the financial system we deserve. The few banks left will get bigger and the weak will continue to default on their ‘TARP’ payments.
People look at the daytraders coming back to the market and the growth of poker as a bad thing. To me it just seems inevitable as people lose their jobs, gambling and trading become American’s most honest, least rigged way to make a buck.
Technology is changing the way certain industry shenaningans worked for sure. If a movie really sucks balls, do you think Hollywood would tell you? You think the newspapers/media websites won’t pull a ‘Scintillating’ or ‘Riveted’ quote from Peter Travers of Rolling Stones to nudge you to the theatres.
Now Twitter, blogging is changing the way all that bullshit worked. With those changes comes new problems of course. NONE of which the FTC/SEC is up to date with.
After 9/11 every cop and FBI agent was pulled off their duties to chase terrorists.
We just had a financial terrorist attack on America and the terrorists lived. They are still making the rules. The FTC is chasing bloggers . The SEC will likely chase bloggers too. Much easier than fighting the real criminals right in front of them.
While the public may be broke at the moment, we need them saving and investing, and they need to trust their cash will be there for them. If they want to trade and gamble, we should teach them how to, not run them over before they can get started.
I know the system can be fixed, but in the meantime you have to respect the gaming of the system and invest accordingly.
For me thats underinvested in equities and overinvested in MYSELF, Gold, Commodities and web start-ups.
Interesting thoughts. Problem of broken trust is definitely at the forefront of our problems. We have seen (just in the past 12-18 month) a huge growth in public mistrust of politicians in both parties, big corporate govt.-allied media, and the financial system.
It does not help that most media and academic economists trumpet this period as a “crisis of capitalism”, when in fact what we’ve seen in recent years is more akin to cronyism and corporatism. Privatized gains for the reckless few (bankers riding on bailouts = moral hazard ) and socialized losses for the many. This is not capitalism, it is a culture of corruption and theft, pure and simple.
Great point about the rise of poker and trading. If this is what some Americans need to do to try and replace lost income, we should certainly let them try without further difficulties being imposed on them by government. Maybe this period will also provide the added spark for a return to a more personal, entrepreneurial economy. Let’s hope that it does, I am sick of chain stores & chain people.
Yes chain stores, chain people and chain thinking. Good one
Interesting thoughts. Problem of broken trust is definitely at the forefront of our problems. We have seen (just in the past 12-18 month) a huge growth in public mistrust of politicians in both parties, big corporate govt.-allied media, and the financial system.
It does not help that most media and academic economists trumpet this period as a “crisis of capitalism”, when in fact what we've seen in recent years is more akin to cronyism and corporatism. Privatized gains for the reckless few (bankers riding on bailouts = moral hazard ) and socialized losses for the many. This is not capitalism, it is a culture of corruption and theft, pure and simple.
Great point about the rise of poker and trading. If this is what some Americans need to do to try and replace lost income, we should certainly let them try without further difficulties being imposed on them by government. Maybe this period will also provide the added spark for a return to a more personal, entrepreneurial economy. Let's hope that it does, I am sick of chain stores & chain people.
Yes chain stores, chain people and chain thinking. Good one
Interesting. Thx
Howard,
As a recent joiner to the Stocktwits network and a promoter of using Texas Holdem Poker as a way to teach education I find it fascinating (and I agree with you) that poker and trading (trading without the help of your in-house research team that is) are amongst the last remaining honest ways of making money through speculation.
It is interesting that in the past Mark Cuban proposed setting up a hedge fund that would seed experts at betting on sports. Part of Cuban's motivation was that for all the problems of the sports market it was far less rigged against the speculator than Wall Street.
Aaron Brown's book (The Poker Face of Wall Street) also describes how in the early days of US capitalism poker was used as a way of distributing funds to speculators who would be most effective at investing them.
Keep up the good work
Howard on that last point I was curious if you ever think you’re too concentrated in web 2.0 and social media etc. Obviously I’m a big famyasthenia evidenced by my heavy use of it, but do you ever get worried? Was just curious
I think about it always but its so early in the trend its hard to gauge what is overinvested.
Wow massive typo, meant I was an enthusiast
Howard on that last point I was curious if you ever think you're too concentrated in web 2.0 and social media etc. Obviously I'm a big famyasthenia evidenced by my heavy use of it, but do you ever get worried? Was just curious
Wow massive typo, meant I was an enthusiast
I think about it always but its so early in the trend its hard to gauge what is overinvested.
The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition http://bit.ly/Npn9k (Amazon)
I'll trade you my copy for a signed WallStrip Edge. I'll pay shipping.
Howard,
As a recent joiner to the Stocktwits network and a promoter of using Texas Holdem Poker as a way to teach education I find it fascinating (and I agree with you) that poker and trading (trading without the help of your in-house research team that is) are amongst the last remaining honest ways of making money through speculation.
It is interesting that in the past Mark Cuban proposed setting up a hedge fund that would seed experts at betting on sports. Part of Cuban’s motivation was that for all the problems of the sports market it was far less rigged against the speculator than Wall Street.
Aaron Brown’s book (The Poker Face of Wall Street) also describes how in the early days of US capitalism poker was used as a way of distributing funds to speculators who would be most effective at investing them.
Keep up the good work
Interesting. Thx
The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition http://bit.ly/Npn9k (Amazon)
I’ll trade you my copy for a signed WallStrip Edge. I’ll pay shipping.
How True. Nice Post.
How True. Nice Post.
How True. Nice Post.