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areasofmyexpertise: “Leon Cooperman the Omega Advisors Inc....

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:20:51 -0500

“Leon Cooperman the Omega Advisors Inc. chairman and former CEO of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS)’s money-management unit…. [wrote that] Capitalists “are not the scourge that they are too often made out to be….’

“[Now] Cooperman, 68, said in an interview that he can’t walk through the dining room of St. Andrews Country Club in Boca Raton, Florida, without being thanked for speaking up. At least four people expressed their gratitude on Dec. 5 while he was eating an egg-white omelet, he said.”

***

Max Abelson wrote a story today for Bloomberg about the hurt feelings of many bankers and CEOs who feel they are for some weird reason being cast as the villains in ~~“A Christmas Carol”~~ the bleak economy.

Allow me to tell you a story.

At one point on my book tour, I was approached in the airport by a former banker.

He told me he was a life long Democrat and a huge fan of The Daily Show, but he also felt that Jon and the show had it all wrong.

(Because he was a multi millionaire, he has the right to just start critizing anyone in the airport he wants.)

He said that the bankers were not the bad guys in the subprime mortgage scandal and near financial collapse that they had everything to do with. They were just doing what the government allowed them to do.*

And so: he felt it was unfair and hurtful to make the bankers out to be the bad guys.

I was very happy to finally have the chance to say this to someone’s face:

I told him that as a freelance person, I had no idea how much money I would make this year. I never do.

But during the previous few years, due to hard work and exceedingly strange circumstance, I had made more money than I had ever conceived of making in my life. I had also paid a huge bucket of local, state, and city taxes, and that was JUST FINE WITH ME.

Because I knew that I had very little to worry about when it came to providing for my family and me this holiday season. And I suspected he didn’t as well.

But there are many, many people who are VERY worried about this. And out of consideration to them, it seemed to me a little unseemly for wealthy to care so much about the names they might be called.

“From my point of view,” I said, “I think you and me and other wealthy people should just suck it in and take it.”

I have never said anything like this out loud to a stranger before in my life, never mind a stranger who has money; but as I am now a Deranged Millionaire, I now have that right to speak my mind.

Naturally, he just ignored what I said and offered to consult on the Daily Show if we wanted.

***

LOOK: I do not mean to suggest that anyone in this piece is a monster. I am sure they are smart, innovative, and good to their families and employees. I respect success IMMENSELY and I am a capitalist.

However, I know better now than ever that wealth deranges.

It disconnects you from the world. It inflates your self-regard. It allows you to believe that four people congratulating you at your country club makes you a GODDAMN HERO OF AMERICA.

And it leads you to say things like former banker John A. Allison said in the article linked:

“Instead of an attack on the 1 percent, let’s call it an attack on the very productive.”

Because of course, you non-millionaires are not productive, and not worthy.

I know this from experience: when wealth takes hold, the brain creates a new reality in order to explain your new fortune over the poor fortunes of others.

It is not enough to say, as some of these men do, “I am wealthy, and I got some lucky advantages, but I also worked really hard and found some opportunities, and I am proud of it.”

You must instead say: “my extreme wealth proves that I DESERVE to be wealthy, because I am better.”

This logical fallacy is the core of Social Darwinism, but you’d think after a while that Homo Robber Baronensis would have bred some thicker skin.

But it’s like no one around these rich and powerful men have ever called them a name or even disagreed with them!

Oh! That’s right: no one has. At least, not for a long time.

Well, some of these guys are childish, and some of them are creeps.

That is all.

AMAZING IMAGE OF ME AS A POOR DERANGED MILLIONAIRE COURTESY: THE AMAZING APE-LAD.

*This was his actual argument. It is not an argument an adult makes. It’s the actual argument that TEENAGERS make at prestigious high schools where cheating is rampant: everyone was doing it, and no teacher was stopping them. So they WERE FORCED to cheat in order to be competitive. TEENAGERS ARE NOT JOB CREATORS.

the53: Living out the legacy of my Dad - for 78 years, he was a...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 23:17:24 -0500

the53:

Living out the legacy of my Dad - for 78 years, he was a hard working 53%er.

You do know this site is fake, don’t you? It was created as a joke by a wealthy conservative shill.

the53: Sweetheart - just keep believing. I’m paid $20K on...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:15:32 -0500

the53: Sweetheart - just keep believing. I’m paid $20K on my $50K loans. They have charged me $173K in interest. My payoff is $620K. You are just a kid. Unfortunately, you will learn.

We think she’ll do just fine. Any kid who gets the whole concept of individual responsibility at this age should give us all some hope for the future.

the53: Megan - welcome to the 99%. I work three jobs, support a...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:12:27 -0500

the53:

Megan - welcome to the 99%. I work three jobs, support a handicapped relative and pay $3 - $5K a year in taxes (my bill, after deductions). In other words, I am the 99% - just like you. BTW - that ignorant note tacked on by the flake who runs that site does a disservice to you and makes fun of you. You are abused enough and don’t deserve that.

Sorry dude, the closest you’ll ever get to the 1% is to...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:38:52 -0500

Sorry dude, the closest you’ll ever get to the 1% is to either get a job as a groundskeeper or get one of their daughters pregnant …

actuallyyourethe47percent:

Fantastic alternative to universal health care: let’s all work 80 hour weeks just so we can afford medicine!

actuallyyourethe47percent: No dude, it’s more like if Beyonce’s...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:36:52 -0500

actuallyyourethe47percent:

No dude, it’s more like if Beyonce’s vocal chords only still worked cause the federal government gave her trillions of dollars for throat surgery and then a few months after that she went on TV and was like “Wow, why are so many people angry about this? You must all be jealous. You guys should have spent more time practicing singing.”

actuallyyourethe47percent: This one drives me crazy. There is...

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 12:31:10 -0500

actuallyyourethe47percent:

This one drives me crazy. There is no great redistribution of wealth than using tax dollars to pay for a military that the taxpayer gets no say in how they are deployed. If I knew who his commander was, I would bend his ear about this sort of arrogance and disrespect shown while in uniform. Part of the deal is that when you are in uniform, you don’t get an opinion.

Here is a better caption:

I am humbled that my country finds me worthy of educating and I will repay that with service and honor. I am proud to serve in the military of a country where I have a future because promotions don’t belong to the wealthy.

I understand that not everyone is young enough and strong enough to join the military. However, they are part of the country that I serve and I will do so with honor.

I am humble because I know I am one IED away from the rest of my life in a wheelchair or a VA hospital being supported by the American people that I am lampooning in this photo. I will never forget that.

I understand that my livelihood, my education, my future, my healthcare and my family are all being supported by the American people through taxes. I honor that and will never forget it.

the53: You are so the 99% … just like the rest of us....

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:15:15 -0500

the53: You are so the 99% … just like the rest of us. Don’t kid yourself.

wearethe99percent: I employ 6 people through my small business...

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:50:11 -0400

wearethe99percent:

I employ 6 people through my small business and have been trying to hire for 3 open positions for over a year. Stop occupying wall street, and come to work!!

So, instead of being bitter and ironic, why don’t you post an email so qualified people can contact you?

wearethe99percent: I work in child support enforcement. Contact...

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:31:46 -0400

wearethe99percent:

I work in child support enforcement. Contact the SRS or Child Services in your county.

Don’t be smug. You are one disaster away from the gutter....

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 21:10:39 -0400

Don’t be smug. You are one disaster away from the gutter. Plenty of nurses on this board.

Been there, done that … passed the bar exam in two states....

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:52:04 -0400

Been there, done that … passed the bar exam in two states. I’ve seen “great” firms turf entire classes of associates with an escort from security and four-weeks severance pay. I had everythingt under control until a knock at the door at 1:20 AM with the four words that changed everything, “there’s been an accident.” A piece of advice - don’t be cocky and don’t be arrogant. Right now you might carry the briefcase of a 1 percent-er, but you are not one of them.