January 20th, 2011 — Guest post
“Those who can’t do or teach, steal.” motto of “Gus,” publisher of Swindler’s Monthly: The Premier Journal for Cons Everywhere [Editor’s Note: Gus says he is now serving time in a federal prison.]
Like many of you guys, I’ve mostly traveled the world by reading books and magazines. Thankfully these wonderful diversions for the imagination have given me inspiration for this guest post on Brucenomics, “Why Fraud is a Good Thing”
First, you’ve got to run the numbers. Just look at what fraud does for an economy. Continue reading →
January 7th, 2011 — Economics and Investing
Gillian Tett had a very good op ed piece in the Financial Times last December called “Let’s not forget the reality cheques in cyberspace games.” Tett speculated about whether the invisibility of money transfer (via cards, online transfers, and bill payments) makes us all less aware of what money really means.
A money transfer that’s performed at the behest of a third-party is called a wealth redistribution. “Wealth redistribution” is a straightforward term. It means just what it says. Wealth as a whole doesn’t grow when part of it is transferred; it simply passes from one hand to another.
Wealth redistribution is what Bernie Madoff did. He took money from new clients, paid old clients, and kept a lot of their money for himself. All ponzi schemes involve illegal wealth redistribution.
But there are legal ways to redistribute wealth too. Continue reading →
December 29th, 2010 — Economics and Investing
Hoarding is now the subject of two series on cable TV. One, called “Hoarders,” is on A&E. The other, called “Hoarding: Buried Alive,” is on TLC (The Learning Channel)
The format of both shows is similar. Both feature people suffering from hoarding. What I mean by “people suffering from hoarding,” is those who love and care about the hoarders. The hoarders themselves look quite happy, even gleeful, about their habit.
Hoarding, we are shown by the camera, creates homes filled to the gills with “stuff.” There is literally no room to walk in some hoarder homes. Some hoarders can’t even open the outside doors to their house. Some can’t even live in their homes. Continue reading →