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I think the title is misleading, he's not looking to spill 'my' companies corporate secrets, he's looking to spill big business' secrets (and by secrets I do be

I think the title is misleading, he's not looking to spill 'my' companies corporate secrets, he's looking to spill big business' secrets (and by secrets I do believe the intention is to reveal unethical behaviour). I don't work for an oil company or an investment bank, two of which are targets of his next round. Change the title!

hugh3 16y ago
"First they came for the oil companies and investment banks, and I did not speak up, for I was not an oil company or an investment bank..."
- michaelchisari 16y ago
  I do hope your comparison of oil companies and investment banks to Jews and Gays under the third reich was facetious.
  - hugh3 16y ago
    Well, they have certain features in common, like getting scapegoated a whole lot.
charlesattlan 16y ago
If you read the whole transcript then you will find that he does indeed want "your" company secrets. He believes in markets but insists they cannot function without good information to highlight bad competitors. This allows the good endeavours to continue, rather than going bankrupt due to the undercutting from companies that get an advantage from unethical or illegal behaviour.
jrockway 16y ago
I don't work for an oil company or an investment bank, two of which are targets of his next round. Change the title! I do, but honestly, we aren't doing anything particularly evil. The subprime meltdown was not caused by one person's evil dealings, it was caused by many parties each doing something not-particularly-evil individually. It's like littering -- if you do it, it doesn't matter, but if everyone does it, then there's a major problem. Liar loans and CDOs were like littering, not really a problem when one person or bank "does" them. But when the whole industry does little things like this and people bet a lot of money under the assumption that this isn't happening (because the credit rating agencies mislead them), then things unravel. But it's just a colossal fuckup, not some super secret backroom deal designed to fuck over retirement funds. (The big issue was that the credit rating agencies were lazy, and told institutional investors that CDOs were a good credit risk. They obviously were not, and people lost a lot of money either buying the CDOs, or selling insurance on the CDOs.) The bailout was similarly non-evil. The banks said, "we're fucked unless you give us a lot of money, and if we are fucked, so is everyone else", and the government said, "you're right, take the taxpayers' money". The banks did, they continued to operate, and eventually paid it back. Hardly the crime of the century.
- weavejester 16y ago
  I do, but honestly, we aren't doing anything particularly evil. You may not be. In fact, it's probable that the vast majority of people working for the banking industry are honest, law-abiding citizens. But just because most people are honest, doesn't mean all of them are. I find it somewhat hard to believe Madoff was the only one lining his pockets at other people's expense.
  - jrockway 16y ago
    But FWIW, Madoff was not an investment bank.
hyperbovine 16y ago
The article appears in Forbes. QED

hugh3 16y ago

"First they came for the oil companies and investment banks, and I did not speak up, for I was not an oil company or an investment bank..."

michaelchisari 16y ago
I do hope your comparison of oil companies and investment banks to Jews and Gays under the third reich was facetious.
- hugh3 16y ago
  Well, they have certain features in common, like getting scapegoated a whole lot.

charlesattlan 16y ago

If you read the whole transcript then you will find that he does indeed want "your" company secrets. He believes in markets but insists they cannot function without good information to highlight bad competitors. This allows the good endeavours to continue, rather than going bankrupt due to the undercutting from companies that get an advantage from unethical or illegal behaviour.

jrockway 16y ago

I don't work for an oil company or an investment bank, two of which are targets of his next round. Change the title! I do, but honestly, we aren't doing anything particularly evil. The subprime meltdown was not caused by one person's evil dealings, it was caused by many parties each doing something not-particularly-evil individually. It's like littering -- if you do it, it doesn't matter, but if everyone does it, then there's a major problem. Liar loans and CDOs were like littering, not really a problem when one person or bank "does" them. But when the whole industry does little things like this and people bet a lot of money under the assumption that this isn't happening (because the credit rating agencies mislead them), then things unravel. But it's just a colossal fuckup, not some super secret backroom deal designed to fuck over retirement funds. (The big issue was that the credit rating agencies were lazy, and told institutional investors that CDOs were a good credit risk. They obviously were not, and people lost a lot of money either buying the CDOs, or selling insurance on the CDOs.) The bailout was similarly non-evil. The banks said, "we're fucked unless you give us a lot of money, and if we are fucked, so is everyone else", and the government said, "you're right, take the taxpayers' money". The banks did, they continued to operate, and eventually paid it back. Hardly the crime of the century.

weavejester 16y ago
I do, but honestly, we aren't doing anything particularly evil. You may not be. In fact, it's probable that the vast majority of people working for the banking industry are honest, law-abiding citizens. But just because most people are honest, doesn't mean all of them are. I find it somewhat hard to believe Madoff was the only one lining his pockets at other people's expense.
- jrockway 16y ago
  But FWIW, Madoff was not an investment bank.

hyperbovine 16y ago

The article appears in Forbes. QED