10.1.09

Madoff; pronounced Made Off

Since a few of us were discussing this today.....
Madoff's Clients list is a staggering example of the enormity of our troubles where money matters are concerned. Now, besides all of the victims of monetary losses, is the loss of one R. Thierry Magon de la Villehuchet, a hedge fund manager who had lost $1.4 billion with Bernard L. Madoff.

On the other hand, though the news seems tragic, this man lived well and high while many people around the world live horrible impoverished lives. The amounts of money listed as investments of Madoff's clients could possibly have fed all of the hungry on the planet enough so they would not be starving or improved the lives of senior citizens. All that money collected into something where it was meant to be increased. Some of it seems to have been collected to support good causes or to insure retirements.

Who is this Madoff person and how does this all work? Strange how there are seemingly no boundaries and no oversight of these things. Apparently, there were allegations of Madoff's monkey business as far back as 2000, but no action was taken and no investigation was made. Why not? I keep wondering to what end all this is taking us and where or will it ever end?

So many regular working "Joes" out there who think being able just to buy a new car is something special and lately all we hear about are these huge amounts of money and investments and losses that were gains for many wealthy people who probably owned not only several cars, but several homes and boats and had the very best of everything served to them on silver platters and flew around the world on their private jets.

Many people I know are ignoring the news as much as they can. They are going to their little jobs day after day and doing their part. They have a few weeks a year to try to relax and then not enough money to enjoy the sort of service to them that people like Madoff and Magon de la Villehuchet likely expected every day.

What I am saying is that there is a reality to be addressed here. The story about Mr. Magon de la Villehuchet is sad, but he did it over feeling that he lost wealthy people's money, not because he felt or understood the hard working person's plight on the planet. Many of us show great respect for the wealthy in the world. We think they are that way because they are smart or come from prominent families. Lately, an acquaintance of mine who is in the same environment as I am didn't even know what HEAP was. I just couldn't forget that. This was a person who never had to get assistance to pay for heat in the winter and apparently didn't know anyone who had to apply for it either. Most people with money just ignore the other realities because they are troublesome or they don't want to acknowledge that poverty is the symptom of of the disease of greed.

Can I honestly say I have any respect at all for the wealthy now? There may be a few who tirelessly attempt to patch up some of the inequalities in this old world and that is admirable I guess. If we are not frothing over with gratitude for their help, we might lose what little we get to help us along, though.

Mr. Magon de la Villehuchet is dead and it is no different than any of our species. He stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating. Suddenly, there is no difference between him and the nameless man in the morgue who can't be identified. Villehuchet's memory is not shared by a tribe on the other side of the world that can't read the newspaper where they spend their days hunting or farming to be sure they can eat another day.

We won't think about this tragedy beyond this week and maybe not beyond this day, but maybe we should think about it. Maybe we should think of what it may be like for many working class people with no jobs starving and cold in the streets and sleeping in their SUV's and tents. Maybe we should think about how powerless we are because somebody else has made decisions that serve them well about what we use as a means of exchange and how it is distributed and manipulated so that the majority of people live mundane lives working to make the few very comfortable. Maybe while we are out there in the streets, there will still be a few flippant persons who think somebody is in the street by their own bad choices and that it's just too bad so sad instead of realizing that we are the same and their fortune may not be there tomorrow for it could change and they might be the one in the street instead. Maybe at some point because they didn't know what HEAP was or care to know, somebody died in the cold and in the end, that dead person and our hedge fund manager are the same. We are the same. So why don't we care enough about each other to find a way to all live better?