Tam has initiated an interesting little discussion about the decline and fall of your house as an ATM machine.
Which, this rainy morning, reminds me of a man who should be read by anyone curious about how the world works.
Paul Edman was an American investment banker, incredibly successful until he zigged the wrong way by going long on cocoa futures. No crap. Cocoa futures. Heavily leveraged, meaning he wagered borrowed money.
His adventurous life included a stint in a Swiss jail for that. The failure of his sure-thing African cocoa blight brought down his bank, and the resultant prison time illustrates the side point that, in Switzerland, nothing is very illegal except losing money.
He went on to get rich again writing novels about money, including explanations of why the Swiss and their bankers prosper so well. One of the most acute observations ever written about money and economics occurred when he quoted a gnome of Basel: "We are not confident of the ability of the world's politicians to manage their economies intelligently." (I quote -- paraphrase -- from memory, I believe from"The Billion Dollar Sure Thing.")
He meant that most nations elect politicians who pander to their peoples' dull notion that free lunches are nature's way. And free medical care. And free meal loaves. And, in the end, even free Oil of Olay for the masses for so long as even one rich dowager can afford the unguents necessary for the illusion of youth. It is a matter of equity and fairness, isn't it?
A third shift on the presses, Mr. President?
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