THE FORMELY WEALTHY MEET THE NEWLY UNEMPLOYED.

Log in or register to commondreams.org

Friday, December 26, 2008
HomeHeadlinesViewsNewswireRSSAbout UsDonateSign UpArchives
E-mail this articlePrinter-friendly
ShareDiscuss
Home > Views
Published on Saturday, December 20, 2008 by CommonDreams.org
The Formerly Wealthy Meet the Newly Unemployed
by Christopher Brauchli
Men have been swindled by other men on many occasions. The autumn of 1929 was, perhaps, the first occasion when men succeeded on a large scale in swindling themselves.
— John Kenneth Galbraith, The Great Crash

Put in a positive light, so as not to cast a pall over the joys of the Christmas season, Bernard L. Madoff should be viewed as someone who has expanded the consequences of one of the great new traditions of the holiday season to a group that never expected to share in it. The tradition to which I refer is the tradition of corporations large and small alike informing their employees that in the new year they will have more time at home with the family. That news is always accompanied by the news that there will no longer be a paycheck, thus, in most cases, reducing the quality, if not the quantity, of time spent at home with the family.

The timing of the announcement is nothing more than a sad coincidence that results from the conscientious (and usually high paid) executives’ year-end examination of the performance of the company. They cannot be blamed for the fact that Christmas and the year-end coincide. In addition to the sad news imparted by employers of ongoing companies to employees, in 2008 many companies were forced into bankruptcy and retired and former employees learned that pension plan payments and health insurance benefits might be reduced or eliminated because of the company’s misfortune. (People with IRAs and other retirement accounts have seen the value of those accounts reduced by close to one-half thus permitting them to at least partly share in the joys of the season.)

Unaffected by such misfortunes, until recently, were the highly paid executives of these companies. Similarly unaffected were the wealthy who relied on investments, rather than pay checks, to maintain their standards of living. Thanks to Mr. Madoff that has all changed. Whereas the beneficiaries of the imposition of cost cutting measures that have cost them their jobs now have more leisure time, the beneficiaries of Mr. Madoff’s business practices, though having no less leisure time, will find its quality greatly diminished.

Thousands of extremely wealthy individuals have now learned that their wealth has been taken from them by a man who led them to believe for years, if not decades, that their fortunes were safe if entrusted to him. In that respect they were like the long-term employees of corporations who believed that nothing was more important to the executives of their companies than their future welfare and comfort.

For more than 30 years, Mr. Madoff was the darling of Wall Street and thousands of people who invested with him. In some cases would-be investors joined Tony country clubs in order to gain access to Mr. Madoff. Many big names in the financial world invested with Mr. Madoff. Mr. Madoff seemed to guarantee a modest but consistent return that enabled his clients to live in the style to which they not only were accustomed but entitled, thanks to their accidents of birth, in some cases, and their business acumen (except when it came to investing) in others.

Mr. Madoff is not the only financial wizard whose efforts have leveled the living field between employees and their more affluent counterparts. On December 14 the New York Times reported that Marc S. Dreier the founder of the 250-lawyer Dreier L.L.P. Park Avenue law firm had bilked clients and his law firm of more than $380 million. Among other things, he represented the Solow real estate firm for many years and began drafting and selling fictitious promissory notes that had apparently been issued by the firm. Like Mr. Madoff, Mr. Dreier was a one-man swindler. None of the 250 lawyers who worked with him were aware of his activities. He had no equity partners and there was no executive committee to review the overall operation of the firm. In addition being a one-man operation, there were other similarities between Mr. Dreier and Mr. Madoff.

Each of them owned three expensive homes and each of them owned a yacht. Mr. Dreier’s was docked in Manhattan whereas Mr. Madoff’s was kept in the Bahamas. Both men were generous to a fault using their money to support a variety of charitable causes although it was not, of course, their money.

Thanks to Messrs. Madoff and Dreier, many people who have lost all or significant parts of their savings will now relate more easily to the touching and sad picture on the front page of the New York Times of former Chrysler employee, Cindy Spisak, being hugged by Douglas Yandura after she was laid off by Chrysler. They now know exactly how she and millions like her feel because that is how many of them feel. Maybe Doug Yandura will come by and give them all hugs. Messrs. Dreier and Madoff won’t. They’ll be confined.

Christopher Brauchli can be emailed at brauchli.56@post.harvard.edu. For political commentary see his web page at http://humanraceandothersports.com



E-mail this articlePrinter-friendlyShareDiscuss
21 Comments so farhide all
Comment viewing options

thegreatrockyhill December 21st, 2008 3:07 pm
"With the increased excesses of Zionism, it's soooo much easier to be anti-Semitic. Someone, preferably Jewish, should call Zionists what they are--fascist monsters every bit as culpable as the Nazis. If I were Jewish I'd do everything I could to disassociate myself from this despicable philosophy. Oh, and the boy bonkers at least are not slaughtering Palestinians."

Nonetheless, people shouldn't succumb to anti-semitism, just as people shouldn't let the racial problems in Louisiana turn them anti-black or anti-white.

You also have to keep in mind that not all Zionists are Jewish and not all Jews are Zionists, not to mention the fact that the people with most of the money are still old WASPS, and that Zionism hurts Jews also.

The elites want us to resent and fear one another. Don't give in. When you do, they win by fracturing the human family.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
GwNorth December 21st, 2008 1:34 pm
Maybe all these ex wealthy can have sleep overs at Barbara Bushes place.

She can gush on as to how they have never had it so bad.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
thegreatrockyhill December 21st, 2008 12:56 pm
"I have to let go of my MAID; i have to stop taking a CAB and instead take a SUBWAY in new york; i have to sell my FLORIDA cottage; i have to turn down my son's offer to live in his extra cottage behind his house in california and feel DEPENDENT on him; i have to do ironing; i have to give up the hair-dresser and pedicure;....everything is gone....and I WORKED for it all my life".........

Man, I wish I had a cottage. I'd sell it.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
Hotrod December 21st, 2008 11:14 am
There is a new phrase that accurately descibes the unfolding events: ECONOMIC TERRORISM and it should be dealt with in the same manner.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
hootowl December 23rd, 2008 1:37 am
Ding, ding, ding!!!!

Where is a Green Huey Long when we need him (or her as the case may be)?

http://www.hueylong.com/

or another way of looking at it in the spirit of Christmas is, I may not be a Christian but Jesus got it 100% right when he got pissed and turned over the tables of the money changers and threw them out of the temple. Where is that righteous anger against usury now? Hint "investment income," ISVs and other "commercial paper," rent income, "currency derivative trading," and bank interest are all examples of unearned income that involves no mental or physical labor whatsoever and thus are in essence welfare for the rich. EVERY TIME some "conservative" tries to argue that welfare for the poor is disincentive to work this ought to be put in their face in a forceful fashion IMO. It doesn't take a genius to figure this our BTW as the lyrics to this old hobo song show:

http://www.utahphillips.org/songbook/thetwobums.html

Login or register to post comments report this comment
cpotts18 December 23rd, 2008 9:46 am
You obviously don't own any rental properties. Maintaining a rental property while working a full-time job as a garbage man is a lot of work. As landlord, you're responsible for maintaining the property (I shovel and driveway and take care of the yard) and making sure all is in order. Also if my tennents screw the place up, I only have 1 month's worth of rent to fix it. Guess what? That usually doesn't cover it. But I don't mind doing it because my rental income provides me enough to cover my own rent and living expenses. I saved all my other income. And thank god for it because I recently became part of the "involuntary part-time" workforce.

Regardless, you are talking out of context when you describe investment income. Derivatives, commodities, wall st. BS... yes I agree has no place. But small scale businesses provide great supplimental income that is NOT excessive.

My tennents are happy, pay a pretty cheap rent, and are friends of mine. I'm a good landlord. But just because there are bad ones doesn't mean you should outlaw rental properties.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
jimmyjazz December 23rd, 2008 6:42 pm
"My tennents are happy"

says the landlord

Login or register to post comments report this comment
hootowl December 23rd, 2008 8:40 pm
You got that right JimmyJazz!

Login or register to post comments report this comment
Truth_Forward December 21st, 2008 10:04 am
"Schadenfreude is so ugly. Let's not fall into the sewer with the scammers and oppressors. Revenge is not justice."

Schadenfreude: To take delight in another's misfortune. While, for me at least, that is the case many people do not feel glad to see someone lose it all. I on the other hand revel in it. It has nothing to do with revenge and everything to do with the justice that has so rightly come to them. Fate has decided to check their greed. They have to give up their maids, yachts and limos....boo-hoo.
My heart pumps purple panther piss for them.

All I have to say to them is this: mac 'n' cheese is less than 50 cents a box and, combined with Vienna sausage, makes a filling meal. Bon apetite!

Help reduce the National Debt - TAX CHURCHES!

Login or register to post comments report this comment
Morticia December 21st, 2008 8:34 am
Schadenfreude is so ugly. Let's not fall into the sewer with the scammers and oppressors.

Revenge is not justice.

Love Morticia

Login or register to post comments report this comment
blackfeather777 December 20th, 2008 11:55 pm
Tomorrow,s headlines:

"MADOFF COMMITS SUICIDE, CREMATED BY SUNSET, WIDOW FLIES TO ISRAEL WITH ASHES."

(With list of numbered Israeli bank accounts and keys to vault boxes in urn.)

"By Way of Deception, thou shalt do War".

Login or register to post comments report this comment
rickster469 December 20th, 2008 10:21 pm
Boy I feel for them, going from polished wood floors, or should that be carpeted, to dirts floors must be hard for them.

It would be interesting to know how many people reading common dreams has ever slept in a barn? I have..

My wife of 28 years told me, she told me this when I first meet her, I lived in a chicken coop . Till then I never thought of it that way. Standing back from it and looking at it, it did remind me of a chicken coop. What's amazing is I had grown up around chicken coops all my life.

Life is really tough if you make it that way.

Rickster

Login or register to post comments report this comment
teddy December 20th, 2008 9:57 pm
this reminds me of a story - an article - i read a few years back about how an american travelled to africa - and visited among the poorest of the poor - and how IF ALL a family or someone could OFFER HIM or someone else was the LAST drop of their water or bread -- they WOULD..and would apologize that it was all they could give.

americans who were "formerly wealth"

NO MATTER that they can justify (and rightly so) that they are devastated for losing their comforts and wealth they worked hard for -- TRUE as THAT might be -- need to OPEN their eyes that what they call "hard work" for wealth and comfort - does NOT EVEN COUNT or COMPARE with the kind of hard work some poor people somewhere have to make -- AND KNOW that they HAVE NO HOPE nor FUTURE because of circumstances beyond their control -= PARTLy and LARGELY because of the "lifestyles" and societies in which these "wealth hardworking" americans PARTICIPATED IN all these many generations. THEY need to realize that in many countries - where poverty is endemic and NOT because people who are not americans are LAZY and NOT "hardworking" but BECAUSe of the structures IMPOSED upon them by the KIND OF SOCIETY that these wealthy americans HAVE in america -- can not even HOPE to find food - where people in haiti have to EAT MUD CAKE just to feel their stomachs not growl in every minute of their waking hours!

people like that - the "formerly wealthy" - who complain like this - should be ASHAMED of themselves! and are not FIT to lick the shoeless feet of the very poor in this world who suffer because of american "gathering of resources unto oourselves at the expense of others" as the mentality !

these kinds of people are EXACTLY what an american poet talked about when saying:

"WE AMERICANS -- WE CAREFULLY NURTURE A STUDIED ATTITUDE OF DETACHED INDIFFERENCE TO THE SUFFERING OF OTHERS .........EVEN IF *WE* ARE THE CAUSE OF IT".

Login or register to post comments report this comment
hootowl December 23rd, 2008 1:41 am
Ding, ding, ding we have a winner! Populist revolt now/general strike now! The youth in Greece have the right idea.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
teddy December 20th, 2008 9:49 pm
you should all read an article in ANTIWAR.com - by Justin Raimondo who is the editor...who mentions and gives links to a blog by a certain "once wealthy" woman author and artist or something who blogs to show her desperation at how :

"I have to let go of my MAID; i have to stop taking a CAB and instead take a SUBWAY in new york; i have to sell my FLORIDA cottage; i have to turn down my son's offer to live in his extra cottage behind his house in california and feel DEPENDENT on him; i have to do ironing; i have to give up the hair-dresser and pedicure;....everything is gone....and I WORKED for it all my life".........

o me, o my............

she needs to get a GRIP and take a plane ticket and travel for once to africa and see how the people have to walk miles each way to get half a gallon of water for their daily needs! and all she can think about is how "i lost everything i worked for"........and see how poor people everywhere are poor NO MATTER how they try to eke out a living in the direst of circumstance -- and WORK JUST TO FIND WATER!!!!

she has no business complaining - tragic as her loss of her WEALTH is. !

Login or register to post comments report this comment
Truth_Forward December 20th, 2008 10:15 pm
To the tragic artist: Enjoy eating pork and beans from the can in your about-to-be-empty studio you arrogant faux art snob. Maybe I'll buy one of you pieces to put on the mantel in my brand new double wide U-Haul box. Remember honey: you worked all your life for it!

Help reduce the National Debt - TAX CHURCHES!

Login or register to post comments report this comment
thegreatrockyhill December 20th, 2008 9:13 pm
His own sons turned him in. Bwahahaha!

Login or register to post comments report this comment
GIA December 21st, 2008 8:07 am
I heard speculation that Madoff and his sons worked out that scenario - where the sons turned in the father - because the father is old, and this way the sons could be protected (or appear to be) from their involvement. Maybe we'll find out the truth.

I want to express my sadness that after this news came out - 3 people I know shocked me with their anti-semite comments. All 3 are catholic and brush off priests boinking young boys, but this Madoff thing brought out the real ugly in them.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
George Markley December 21st, 2008 10:19 am
With the increased excesses of Zionism, it's soooo much easier to be anti-Semitic. Someone, preferably Jewish, should call Zionists what they are--fascist monsters every bit as culpable as the Nazis. If I were Jewish I'd do everything I could to disassociate myself from this despicable philosophy. Oh, and the boy bonkers at least are not slaughtering Palestinians.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
ezeflyer December 20th, 2008 8:17 pm
In the Wall Street Casino, the house always wins.

Login or register to post comments report this comment
frank1569 December 20th, 2008 7:38 pm
Boo hoo. Maybe someone should open a food pantry and soup kitchen at Broad and Wall Street, help the now-less-wealthy through these "tough times"...

Login or register to post comments report this comment
Join the discussion:
You must be logged in to post a comment. If you haven't registered yet, click here to register. (It's quick, easy and free. And we won't give your email address to anyone.)

CommonDreams.org is an Internet-based progressive news and grassroots activism organization, founded in 1997.
We are a nonprofit, progressive, independent and nonpartisan organization.

About Us | Donate | Contact Us | Sign-Up | Archives

To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.

© Copyrighted 1997-2008
www.commondreams.org