> *Suppose that [...] Wall St. had used the same tactics to sell crop futures. [...] Instead of the housing crash there would have been a famine. Allegedly, Wa

> *Suppose that [...] Wall St. had used the same tactics to sell crop futures. [...] Instead of the housing crash there would have been a famine. Allegedly, Wall Street did use similar tactics to sell crop futures, and there was a famine. See http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/27/how_goldman_sachs_created_the_food_crisis http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/27/how_goldman... (note: annoying registration prompt, but registration is free or you can use your browser's webdev tools to remove the overlay) and http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-how-goldman-gambled-on-starvation-2016088.html http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/johann-hari... (Disclaimer: I haven't checked any of the claims in these articles.) [EDITED to add: of course maybe AnthonyMouse's "Suppose that ..." was a rhetorical trick and his whole point is that it really did happen.]