Sunday, August 19, 2012
Randy Wray — Why is the Obama Administration Incentivizing Fraud?
Just as the Obama administration continued the specious legal policies of the Bush administration with respect to human rights and civil rights, so too has the Obama administration continued the Bush policies with respect to finance. And the same policies with respect to suppressing dissent. Fail!
Economonitor | Great Leap Forward
Why is the Obama Administration Incentivizing Fraud?
by L. Randall Wray
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37 comments:
Applying Monetary Realism (MR) logic to itself:
MR (Cullen Roche) says: Banks serve private purpose. Period. That's just the way it is. Banks charters be damned. And even though they are doing exactly what they should be doing, this is why I have called them "blood sucking" entities and propose heavy and strict regulations. No contradiction!
If however, anyone else calls banks names and proposes heavy and strict regulations, they are hypocrites, living in a fantasy world and describing an alternate reality. This is because they describe banks as public/private institutions established for public purpose. It's a complete contradiction!
Conclusion: MR's foundation is all wrong. All of it. Including its conclusions, in the event they had any. And its description of the monetary system is intellectually dishonest, an obfuscation, and an insidious attempt to push a political agenda of strict and harsh regulations on "blood sucking" entities. In order for MR to "work", they need a complete overhaul of the system. This same logic applies to MMT as well.
Also, FYI:
Blood sucking entities <> Vampire Squids
Forgot to mention that minor detail.
Hi Trixie, I agree with your views on the banks and MMR, but I'm still not sure how Cullen made it into this discussion. Can't tell where the quote above ends; also could use a link.
Joe: To see the latest incoherent rants, go to the 'Ask Cullen' page at pragcap.
Enjoy!
Thanks Trixie! I never go there anymore, but will look in!
I looked, didn't see anything new there.
A pity, really, because he used to produce a lot of good material before he adopted his own funhouse mirror view of MMT where everything is distorted by his ideological opposition to the JG.
Cullen Roche says: "They like to claim that banks are essentially parts of the govt because they have to obtain charters and are regulated. Well, I had to obtain a charter for my company and I am regulated by the govt. Does that mean the govt owns my company or that I am suddenly an agent of public purpose? Of course not."
Right, which reminds me of the transparency of IAPD and how the state can "revoke" your "charter":
http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/iapd/content/viewform/adv022005/Sections/iapd_AdvRegulatorStatusSection.aspx?ORG_PK=137754&RGLTR_PK=&STATE_CD=&FLNG_PK=0007AA1C0008014105CE82E001E90B89056C8CC0
Your "hedge fund" of "7 years" and all your clients that depend on you to keep you "algo" close to your chest so only they can "profit". And "the entrepreneurial spirit and the multitude of businesses I’ve built over the years." Your AUM is/was quite impressive:
http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov/iapd/content/viewform/adv022005/Sections/iapd_AdvAdvisoryBusinessSection.aspx?ORG_PK=137754&RGLTR_PK=&STATE_CD=&FLNG_PK=0007AA1C0008014105CE82E001E90B89056C8CC0
Who is your one client? Your mom?
"Entrepreneur"
$200,000 assets under management.
one account.
Who needs personal attacks when you can just slander someone?
Hedge funds are pooled as "one account". The initial 200k was my personal investment in 2005 before any client funds were invested. That's why its listed as "majority personal assets". And "revoked" is the standard term the SEC uses when an RIA is closed, as in, I sent in a form saying "no longer doing business as".
I know you guys sometimes misconstrue things, but this is crossing a bad line....
Why is this slander? Because I am "connecting the dots" with verifiable data from the internet? Asking questions?
You should contact an attorney.
Contact an attorney? Why? To complain that someone has anonymously tracked my every word for the last 2 years so they can attack me when they feel its convenient to their cause?
You act as though I should be ashamed of starting a business when I was 25. That I should be ashamed of generating 17% CAGR for 7 years with no negative years during the most turbulent environment in 80 years. That I should be ashamed of shutting down this small firm so I could start a new firm (in progress) that I feel will not be a leach on society and will actually give something back.
If you want to anonymously attack me for this then be my guest. If that's the MO that MMT wants to present then you've lost before the game even started. I still don't know what I did to you personally, but none of this was ever personal for me. And I'm sorry that its even come to this silly point.
So then we can agree that none of this is slander. Best of luck on your next new RIA.
Trixie, I'll say the same thing to you that I recently said to Tom via email. Our beef is not with one another. And I've been way too critical of MMT in response to some reader questions on my site. That's poor form on my end. I'll be more cognizant of that. In fact, I'll do my best to not even discuss MMT. I can tell there's a lot of emotion involved and nobody wins here.
As Tom said, we have irreconcilable differences, but should focus our energy on the anti govt, anti deficits crowd. I'm sorry I've not been better at that recently.
Cullen
Fair enough.
Cullen,
If you are still out in cali, and ramping up, perhaps consider going after PIMCOs state client base out there...
imo they are vulnerable, as well as the other legacy asset managers who do business with California...
Gross is losing it and his commentaries are getting progressively stranger and stranger... you could get in there and get some state/local pension funds to manage....
Check out Yves post that Tom links to above about PE, much state business out there... low hanging fruit...
Rsp,
Matt Gross is losing it and his commentaries are getting progressively stranger and stranger.
Right. Seems to be losing it.
Hi Matt,
Here's how I view the issue. What we have in America is a society that's too dependent on Wall St. Why is banker pay thru the roof? Because revenues are thru the roof. Why are revenues thru the roof? Because demand is thru the roof. So how do we reduce that and reallocate incomes towards more productive uses? I think the best way is to empower investors. You do that by educating them and giving them the tools to not have to rely on a financial advisor or a banker.
So my firm isn't designed to beat the PIMCOs at their own game. Its a totally different game that tries to help reduce peoples dependence on PIMCOs. Easier said than done, but I think its possible to create a financial firm that isn't a leach on society. At least that's the goal...we'll see how it goes. One things for sure - venture capital guys don't like a business model that gives clients no need to come back to you. Oops. :-)
Interesting Cullen...
I would think that model could work for govt sector retirement fund administrators as well ,who may be tired of overpaying for the likes of a pimco to maintain custodial accounts of USTs, and their frustration will only get worse if the risk free rates stay anchored near zero..
pls keep us informed.. rsp,
Typical liberals attacking business owners. Small business owners like Cullen make the world go round. They employ most of our workers and keep the economy moving forward.
Cullen, maybe if you'd decided to stay in the hedge fund industry and had built a hedge fund with billions of assets that leaches off of society like Warren Mosler's company then these same people could put you up on a pedestal. Maybe if you owned a bank like Mosler they'd like you better. Maybe if you moved to the Virgin Islands to pay 4% in taxes they'd like you better. Maybe if you weren't starting a new company that wasn't geared towards helping reduce the size of Wall Street they'd like you better.
Trixie is the exact reason why people hate MMT. She's just a sad pathetic internet troll who wishes the government would offer a job guarantee so she could fill her days doing something other than searching for real work on Craigslist all day and stalking people who actually have jobs. I hope you sue her for these comments.
FDO15 is the exact reason why people hate FDO15.
This is not good. We shouldn't be attacking people personally, their businesses, their achievements, etc. This is a debate about ideas.
Trixie, you don't help the MMT cause by going after people so viciously and anonymously attacking them so personally. This makes the MMT side look petty and immature. FDO, you make your side look equally bad by going after Mosler and his business. Warren is a great man your portrayal of him is misleading and makes you look like a fool.
These sort of very personal attacks need to stop immediately.
It is humorous that the founder of MMT epitomizes the 1%, Romney style off shoring, extreme tax avoidance, financialization and all the other things that this blog continually says is ruining America.
"It is humorous that the founder of MMT epitomizes the 1%"
Do you have any evidence that Mosler is using fraud to accumulate wealth, or is that distinction unimportant to you?
Mosler's companies all engage in the exact same practices that this blog and MMTers speak out against. Mosler avoids taxes by moving to the Virgin Islands, he runs a bank that profits from rent seeking, his hedge fund engages in standard Wall Street practices that include excessive fees and funny money "trading" practices that help protect the wealth of the rich and provide nothing of substance to the real economy.
Mosler is the epitome of everything MMT dislikes about the world. He doesn't commit fraud. But neither did anyone else in finance according to the US government.
FDO says: I hope you sue her for these comments.
So do I FDO, so do I. Especially since Cullen thinks what I did was illegal as well. You know, for using the IAPD website for its intended purpose. I'm not the one that says the state of CA "revoked" anything. The IAPD says that in black and white. Ok, it's in red, but if you want to nit pick, you'll find fault with anything.
Tell you what. If Cullen wants my full contact information to sue, I will gladly provide it. Easy as that.
FDO
"Mosler's companies all engage in the exact same practices that this blog and MMTers speak out against"
I doubt that you are any more honest (or dishonest) about your trading/investments than Mosler, you are asking us to just take your word for it if you're claiming otherwise.
We speak out against fraud and making money as a result of it, among other things here. I have no reason to think Mosler engages in those kinds of business activities and I suspect you don't either.
Further, my own arguments are generally limited to arithmetic and any resulting realities that come from analysis of flows on that basis.
If you are going to be accusing folks of various things you should at least be specific.
Internet anonymity protects you from a lot. Many of the things that come out of your mouth would earn you an ass-whipping if you said them to the person face-to-face.
I notice you're pretty brave in your comments to Trixie. Doesn't mean she couldn't whip your ass given the opportunity.
It's too bad this conversation has devolved to this point. I'd like to make it clear that FDOs is not "our side". I have great respect for Warren and what he's built.
Further, my partnership was planned to be liquidated in 2011 so the form ADV wasn't updated. When you don't update your ADV the SEC revokes your license. Its like not wanting to be part of a local club, not updating your membership form and getting "kicked out" of the club. So yeah, technically, the firms license was revoked, but please be more careful implying that something malicious occurred there.
Lastly, I'm not the litigious type. And I know Trixie is a good person because we've interacted quite a bit and I know her heart is in the right place. Maybe I'll redeem myself a bit in her eyes when she sees my new RIA and our attempt to serve public purpose better. Maybe!
Cullen
This is the sad state of affairs of today's internet world. People like Warren and Cullen and others put their names out there for all to see and they generally do nothing but contribute positively and what we get in return is a bunch of anonymous people insulting them or trying to defame them (and yes, FDO15 and Trixie are both guilty of trying to defame someone here). Trixie and FDO15 should crawl back into the holes they came from. The world has no use for them.
Anon,
Last time I checked the US Virgin Islands are indeed like the name indicates actually IN the US...
So there is no offshoring going on with Warren's operations.... unless you also think that Long Island is also not part of the US because it is not attached to New York...
Lars:
In all fairness I don't see where Trixie slandered or wrote anything unfairly critical of Cullen. It looks to me like an honest disagreement.
She included a quote (quotes) of some things Cullen (apparently) wrote and offered rebuttals, however snarky, that included some evidence to support her argument.
Snark is not slander, and anyway it's Trixie's way no matter who she addresses here and from my POV it's not offensive in any way. She has a natural sense of humor. I can relate.
People need to get thicker skins. The only person whose character has been impugned here is Warren Mosler.
It's to point out how I could run around the internet for months on end, guns blazing and hair on fire, screaming REVOKED, REVOKED, REVOKED!
POINTS!!!
Cullen says: "...but please be more careful implying that something malicious occurred there."
Again, fair enough. I just hope you apply that same standard to yourself. Especially when we continue to agree on who the real "bad" guys are.
Wow. Who needs slander when you can just try to blackmail someone? At least you're on record admitting the purpose of you comments here.
I'm still curious what I did to you that made you so angry as to feel justified in spending your time doing this? Frankly, if you want to spend your time bad mouthing me on the internet then fine. It's your life and your time spent. But I hear your threat loud and clear. I realize you're willing to do just about anything to protect your agenda so I'll shut my mouth if you can. I have a pretty powerful megaphone if you need me to scream into it though. I have no problem explaining why the SEC lists the firm license the way it does. Ive got zero to hide or be ashamed about there. And my sites and partners are only slightly more powerful than you commenting on blogs all day.
And next time you plan on blackmailing someone you shouldn't publish the plan on the internet. FYI.
Take care.
And more wow.
Is there anything you won't hyper-react to? Didn't think twice about the whole "revoked" status, until now.
Scream away, Cullen. Nothing new here.
Its strange to me how you admit that you want to run around screaming in an attempt to intentionally defame and hurt my livelihood and that my response to this amounts to hyper reactive screaming. You have a strange way of viewing the world.
Why don't you go ahead and send me your full name and address. I don't plan on using it ever, but you offered so it can't hurt. You have my email.
Take care.
Cullen, it was a joke. And I was poking fun at how you caricature MMT in order to call them extreme or draw false conclusions. Like how MMT can't be applied unless there is a massive overhaul of the system. Or how you can't have a JG unless you nationalize the banks (or MMT at all). Or that saying banks serve public purpose renders the enitre theory useless. Now the degree to which you apply these and other caricatures vary slightly from day-to-day, but they're always there, and new ones pop up on a regular basis. I was responding in kind.
Since you replied to comments I made here over at pragcap, you talked about how your own company is regulated by the gov but that doesn't mean you are an agent of public purpose (see quote above). I really do disagree. And on a whim, since I know that information is not only publicly available, but easily accessible, I found it ironic that your registration had been revoked. In light of the current discussion, I felt it was fair game to point that out. I really didn't think it was any sort of secret. Because that's why there is an IAPD website, and I am by no means the only one that knows about it.
If a regulatory agency deems an investment firm to not be acting in the best interest of the public, they can revoke its registration. That is just a fact. Now you say yours was a planned revocation. I've not questioned that.
Banking regulatory agencies serve the same purpose, and then some. They are to ensure that the banking industry is acting in the best interest of the public. Obviously, that's not been the case, but that doesn't mean that's the way it's supposed to be. And yes, I know you disagree. It's not the end of the world unless it's made to be.
I'm sorry you if feel offended or defamed, but I think there's plenty of that to go around. You are very sensitive to criticism, Cullen, but you really need to take a look at how easy it is for you to initiate and dish it out.
And after your last response, if you want my address, have your attorney contact me. You already have my email. If not, it's not difficult to find.
Also, I will add, this is the longest comment thread I've ever been involved with. And I really can't help and take note of who I am conversing with and draw a "conclusion". Which I will keep to myself.
God.
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