Welcome to Our World

[Daveparts]

Welcome to Our World
By David Glenn Cox
http://theservantsofpilate.com



Welcome, good evening, one and all, find a seat and make yourself comfortable. Take your shoes off and stay a while; a little business first, for those of you with cars there is no valet parking. Feel free to ask to ask questions of your neighbors. Those of you who lost your retirement in the Enron scandal please raise your hands so that the newcomers can find you.

There will be no refreshments served, get used to it. So, here we go. You are now poor and this is the awareness group: “So you woke up and found yourself poor.” Any former millionaires here? Ha, ha, ha, ha, I’m sorry, I know that’s mean-spirited but I just can’t help myself sometimes. How about any Republicans? I didn’t think so, I knew you wouldn’t fall for that gag twice, would you?

With that I’ll open up the floor for questions. Yes, sir, go ahead.

“I am a retired business man living in Florida. Just about all my money is invested with Madoff Securities. I have been using that money to live on. Based on what is known so far, can you tell me how badly I have been hurt and if there is anything I should be doing to possibly protect myself or preserve my assets. I appreciate any advice you can give me. Please email me or call me . . .”

That’s an easy one; you are screwed, blued and tattooed. You were retired, now you're just broke-ass poor. Your new hobbies are yard sales, flea markets, and for a big day, hanging out at the public library. Yes, you in the back.

“I have just read the article regarding the Madoff investments. Could you please tell me what investors are supposed do in wake of this news? Or provide any detail that you may have come across in your research for this story?”

Well, ma’am, in the words of the late Johnny Cash, "Cry, cry, cry," but try to look at the bright side. Remember how concerned many of you were before the election that Obama was going to raise your taxes? You don’t have to worry about that any more.

“Both my grandmother and parents invested funds with the firm. We are very concerned. Please advise.”

Clean out the spare room and don’t expect an inheritance.

“We are long-time investors in Madoff with millions of dollars there. We can’t get any information. Do you know anything about how much of the investors assets are left?”

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, I’m sorry, let’s see, he had fifty billion and he’s got around two hundred million left, so what’s that? About two cents on the dollar? Of course, that was before Bernie started passing out millions to his friends and relatives. So, if you’ve got any jars filled with change you might want to start planning your retirement around them.

“I am one of the little guys who has money invested at Madoff. My father was an investor with the company for 30 years, and when he died in 2006 he left money in trust for my children and my wife which is invested in Madoff accounts. Based on what he told me of the firm, I also invested the money he left to me. All totaled we have about $2,800,000 in four accounts. Needless to say I am feeling pretty sick to my stomach this evening. At this point do you have any idea of whether there is (or will be) any money to distribute to account holders. Any information you can provide would be appreciated (that is an understatement for sure). Thank you.”

Had, sir, you had, then he had; now you don’t have and never will have again.

“I am an 86-year-old widow who had her total money with Madoff. I have read the Internet stories but would be interested to learn more about the prospects of getting any money out of this situation. If you have any information or can direct me to how I can get some information I would be very grateful.”

Ma’am, in all honesty you have a better chance of winning the New York marathon with a winning lottery ticket in your pocket. But never forget that you live in the greatest country in the whole wide world. You live in a country where even a man who admits to stealing 50 billion dollars from little old ladies can post bond and be out of jail and home in time for supper. Where he can return to his palace fit for the king of Saudi Arabia and hold meetings with an army of high-priced lawyers on how to keep you from ever getting a nickel and use what’s left of your money to do it with.

“I am absolutely appalled by the arrest of Bernard Madoff. My father has a very substantial investment with his firm and is, at the moment, out of the country and not reachable. Is there any word on whether my father’s account is worth anything? Is there something that he should be doing, or is it too late? What does it mean that Madoff was making distributions to select employees, friends and family? How could this happen??????”

That is a very good question, thank you for asking. The good news is that until you are able to reach your father, he is still affluent. So don’t be in too much of a hurry to contact him. Your father's account is worth a smile and a promise. This happened because you forgot that greed is eternal. You trusted in those who told you that the market could be trusted and that regulations would steal away the precious pennies you sought to put in your pocket, and that is what brought you here today. Try and understand, sir, that you are in the remedial group.

The rest of us already know that we are screwed, we’ve already lost homes and cars and jobs. Most of us had little to lose in the first place, the workmen, the carpenters and painters, plumbers, the sheet rock men have all seen their jobs bled away. Then it was the auto mechanics and bank tellers. But now you dare ask in righteous indignation how could this happen, but what you really mean by that is how could this happen to you?

You are better then? Than the autoworkers trying to keep their jobs? You thought your white collar and your wealth would protect you as you nodded in agreement that outsourcing was vital to a growing economy. You thought these things could never reach you? Well here’s another clue for you all, the walrus is Paul, coo coo ka choo.

Welcome to our world; come on in, a world where the mailman only brings bad news. Where your heart jumps when city vehicles drive by your house. Where shopping isn’t a pleasure but a nightmare; where you don’t decide what you’ll get but what you won’t get. When the door bell is ringing at 3 AM, it’s the repo man, and that red color on your utility bills means that they are delinquent and about to be turned off.

But we welcome you all, you are one of us now, even if you thought you never would be.

They used to tell me
I was building a dream.
And so I followed the mob
When there was earth to plow
Or guns to bear
I was always there
Right on the job.
They used to tell me
I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead.
Why should I be standing in line
Just waiting for bread?
Once I built a railroad
I made it run
Made it race against time.
Once I built a railroad
Now it's done
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower up to the sun
Brick and rivet and lime.
Once I built a tower,
Now it's done.
Brother, can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits
Gee we looked swell
Full of that yankee doodle dee dum.
Half a million boots went sloggin' through hell
And I was the kid with the drum!
Say don't you remember?
They called me Al.
It was Al all the time.
Why don't you remember?
I'm your pal.
Say buddy, can you spare a dime?
(Gorney, Harburg)

The questions are all actual questions posed by the former investors in Madoff Securities; please make them feel welcome when you run into them today.

[undergroundpanther]

1. poverty

it's the result of a racket(called the market or profits) not for the poor but for the greedy.

[Pakhet]

2. Dave, just wanted to let you know

that I always enjoy your articles and always bookmark them for email to my publican family members :) thanks!

[Joe Chi Minh]

3. The point you make is most telling. Fundamental. A lot of people in the UK

who didn't mind most of the people's poverty and suffering are now set fair to know what it's like.

I used to ascribe their cynicism to worldly stupidity, but I've always sensed that the corruption of selfishness was pivotal. Other people are victims of "sharp" worldlings, while retaining their virtue, so my initial feelings that this post was at least verging on bad taste, changed radically, as your point became clearer. An excellent, if fearsome, post.

[HillWilliam]

4. Now they're in our world, with no clue as to how they got here

no clue how to get out, and no clue how to survive in it. They're worse than unwelcome guests and they're aware of the antipathy they're about to face for the reason that they've trodden on our backs and stood on our shoulders for so long. Their whining will earn them a bitchslap these days.

Turnabout's a mofo, idnit. All those years of them not giving a damn about the majority of American and at the end of the day, the majority of America won't give a damn about them. Let them wallow in the pigsty they made. See what magical thinking tends to get.

It didn't matter a bit when we assailed deregulation and the gutting of SEC as Terminally Bad Ideas™. No matter that those in charge of our economic policies and oversight have been deemed incompetent in their own fields and been doing a lot of anything except overseeing. They still won't talk about where they've thrown $350B in taxpayer money. When is that sneaker going to drop? If estimates are correct, that $350B isn't a patch on the several-quadrillion liability. They're bailing out the Titanic with a soup-can. Yet magical thinking still persists about the banking industry, the securities industry, the oversight of each -- and, I suspect, the willingness of anyone in Congress to do feckall about it.

The only difference between Madoff's Ponzi scheme and Wall Street's continuing saga intertwined with the banking industry's own torrid tales of mis- and malfeasance is that Madoff got taken down.

Guess he wasn't greasing the right palms. Hmph.

[HillWilliam]

5. At the time I was writing, this popped into my head

and I didn't have time to include it. Seems perversely germaine:

The Walrus and The Carpenter
The sun was shining on the sea,
Shining with all his might:
He did his very best to make
The billows smooth and bright--
And this was odd, because it was
The middle of the night.

The moon was shining sulkily,
Because she thought the sun
Had got no business to be there
After the day was done--
"It's very rude of him," she said,
"To come and spoil the fun!"

The sea was wet as wet could be,
The sands were dry as dry.
You could not see a cloud, because
No cloud was in the sky:
No birds were flying overhead--
There were no birds to fly.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Were walking close at hand;
They wept like anything to see
Such quantities of sand:
"If this were only cleared away,"
They said, "it would be grand!"

"If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
"That they could get it clear?"
"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.

"O Oysters, come and walk with us!"
The Walrus did beseech.
"A pleasant walk, a pleasant talk,
Along the briny beach:
We cannot do with more than four,
To give a hand to each."

The eldest Oyster looked at him,
But never a word he said:
The eldest Oyster winked his eye,
And shook his heavy head--
Meaning to say he did not choose
To leave the oyster-bed.

But four young Oysters hurried up,
All eager for the treat:
Their coats were brushed, their faces washed,
Their shoes were clean and neat--
And this was odd, because, you know,
They hadn't any feet.

Four other Oysters followed them,
And yet another four;
And thick and fast they came at last,
And more, and more, and more--
All hopping through the frothy waves,
And scrambling to the shore.

The Walrus and the Carpenter
Walked on a mile or so,
And then they rested on a rock
Conveniently low:
And all the little Oysters stood
And waited in a row.

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

"But wait a bit," the Oysters cried,
"Before we have our chat;
For some of us are out of breath,
And all of us are fat!"
"No hurry!" said the Carpenter.
They thanked him much for that.

"A loaf of bread," the Walrus said,
"Is what we chiefly need:
Pepper and vinegar besides
Are very good indeed--
Now if you're ready, Oysters dear,
We can begin to feed."

"But not on us!" the Oysters cried,
Turning a little blue.
"After such kindness, that would be
A dismal thing to do!"
"The night is fine," the Walrus said.
"Do you admire the view?

"It was so kind of you to come!
And you are very nice!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"Cut us another slice:
I wish you were not quite so deaf--
I've had to ask you twice!"

"It seems a shame," the Walrus said,
"To play them such a trick,
After we've brought them out so far,
And made them trot so quick!"
The Carpenter said nothing but
"The butter's spread too thick!"

"I weep for you," the Walrus said:
"I deeply sympathize."
With sobs and tears he sorted out
Those of the largest size,
Holding his pocket-handkerchief
Before his streaming eyes.

"O Oysters," said the Carpenter,
"You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none--
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.