Capitalism baby, capitalismI played a few irresponsible hands this weekend. I played my hands according to my expectations on the returns relative to the risks involved. Some I won and some I lost. However, after each loss, I would stop to readjust my behavior. I definitely did not look around expecting someone to bail me out for, say, $700 B.
I thought about how crony capitalism is quite similar to gambling. I look at the financial market and the entire concept of securities, futures, and speculation of the market is really no different from gambling.
Greed promotes the mentality that it is only irresponsible if you lose. This mentality and the resulting behavior are supposed to be corrected by losing. Can you imagine how people in Las Vegas will play if they thought they would be bailed out?
Again, it's socialized risk for the fat cats and market discipline for everyone else. Christmas for them and Festivus for the rest of us!
