3 ms·
When our federal government gets involved in something, the potential for corruption is too great - there's just too much money. We saw it with federally backe
by jorge-fundido 10y ago
When our federal government gets involved in something, the potential for corruption is too great - there's just too much money. We saw it with federally backed mortgages, federally backed student loans, and will see it with federally mandated health insurance. The intentions may be good but it's only a matter of time before opportunists screw it up.
The figures at the end of the article seem to be cherry-picked in a way to hide the full details. Instead of telling us what a quartile looks like, why not show the full distribution?
- TheLarch 10y agoWhy is the federal government more inclined to corruption than a corporation? On the subject of corruption I can't recommend reading this highly enough: https://www.amazon.com/Conman-Master-Swindler%C2%92s-Library-Larceny/dp/0767917375 https://www.amazon.com/Conman-Master-Swindler%C2%92s-Library...
- jorge-fundido 10y agoI didn't mean to imply corruption strictly by the federal government. I meant more broadly that whenever there is a huge pool of money, many actors (individuals, corporations, government agencies) will do whatever possible to get a piece of that. A con man selling a book spilling the secrets of his cons? Sounds like a con - I'm kidding (mostly). Reminds me of how self-help superstars peddle their wares.
- TheLarch 10y agoThe book is a wild, wild ride. He regularly sold "investments" that would ostensibly benefit the Nazis, and never did a mark make moral objections to the investment. Another striking aspect is the value that con men put on their props: there were cottage industries at the time to produce formal-looking documents and fake telecommunications equipment. The Sting was surprisingly accurate, it turns out; there really were many cons of that sort.