Leeches On the Back of Society

A universal constant in the world of the rich and powerful is that they will always do what is in their own self-interest. It's how they became rich and powerful to begin with. I have no problem with that, but anytime one of them says something that ordinarily would not be in their own self interest, I have to wonder; What's the game?

The Drudge Report carried a story from Reuters about "renowned investor" George Soros, saying:

the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.

Really? It's more likely that Soros Fund Management Inc. has effectively disintegrated and there's no near-term resolution to George Soros' crisis. But, it gets even better:

...the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union.

Let's take a deep breath and calm down for a minute. Hedge funds have been taking an even worse beating than the New York banks. Hedge funds borrowed from the banks to buy the toxic assets that are causing all the problems. The banks are in trouble, not just because they too own some toxic assets, but because the hedge funds can't pay off the loans for theirs.

Soros Fund Management, located in the Cayman Islands (where else?), is a group of hedge funds. The largest of these funds, Quantum Fund, plays the currency markets. Mr. Soros and his ilk take the money of the rich and move it from country to country, going long on strong currencies and short on weak currencies. If you can talk enough rich people into letting you manage their money, you can do what Mr. Soros did.

In 1992 he bet the whole wad on shorting the English pound. The attack on the pound was so overwhelming that it became a self fulfilling prophesy. It broke the Bank of England and caused a devaluation in the pound. Mr. Soros and his wealthy clients walked away with billions, while the English working class saw the price of everything go up. Later in the decade, he nearly destroyed several Asian currencies. The farmers, the fishermen, the shopkeepers, all paid the price for the fame and fortune of Mr. Soros.

So what's the game today? I'll take a wild shot in the dark and say that Soros Fund Management needs a big government intervention; not only to help their currency positions, but in applying the Treasury Dept.'s magic eraser to all those toxic assets sitting in the Cayman Island offices.

But not to worry, Mr. Soros and his wealthy clients are philanthropists. They help all sorts of working class people with all sorts of problems. In other words, they destroy the working class, so they can help them. This is how the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the powerful solidify their grip. This kind of game is beyond mere hypocrisy, it's beyond even simple BS. It's dangerous.