Global Capitalism Explained in a Few Sentences

[William Hung]

Capitalism Explained. This Is So Accurate It Hurts.

@LeveragedBuyout, @FairAndUnbiased, comments?

 

[LeveragedBuyout]

Capitalism Explained. This Is So Accurate It Hurts.

View attachment 149323

@LeveragedBuyout, @FairAndUnbiased, comments?

That gave me a good laugh. As with all good jokes, there is a kernel of truth in it. The description of American capitalism reminds me of a Goldman Sachs joke when they were still masters of the universe:

Billy went to Texas and purchased from a farmer a donkey, for the price of $100.
The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.
The next day the farmer told Billy, "Sorry, but I have bad news, the donkey died."
Billy replied: "No problem, give back my money."
The farmer said: "I can't return your money, because I have spent it already."
Billy said: "OK, then give me the dead donkey."
The farmer asked: "What are you going to do with the dead donkey?"
Billy replied: "I will hold a lottery."
The farmer said with a touch of irony: "There is no way you will be able to successfully pull off a lottery for a dead donkey."
Billy replied: "Of course I can. I simply won't tell anyone that the donkey is dead."

A month later the farmer ran into Billy and asked him: "What happened with the dead donkey?"
Billy replied: "I held the lottery for the donkey and sold 500 tickets at $2 each and I made a profit of $998."
The farmer asked, "Nobody complained?"
Billy said: "Only the guy that won the (dead) donkey complained, so I returned his $2 so he would stop complaining."
Billy is now working for Goldman Sachs.

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Good times, good times. First came the dot-com crash, and the response was Sarbanes-Oxley. Then came the financial crisis, and the response was Dodd-Frank. Now banking isn't nearly as fun as it used to be.

 

[William Hung]

That gave me a good laugh. As with all good jokes, there is a kernel of truth in it. The description of American capitalism reminds me of a Goldman Sachs joke when they were still masters of the universe:

Billy went to Texas and purchased from a farmer a donkey, for the price of $100.
The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.
The next day the farmer told Billy, "Sorry, but I have bad news, the donkey died."
Billy replied: "No problem, give back my money."
The farmer said: "I can't return your money, because I have spent it already."
Billy said: "OK, then give me the dead donkey."
The farmer asked: "What are you going to do with the dead donkey?"
Billy replied: "I will hold a lottery."
The farmer said with a touch of irony: "There is no way you will be able to successfully pull off a lottery for a dead donkey."
Billy replied: "Of course I can. I simply won't tell anyone that the donkey is dead."

A month later the farmer ran into Billy and asked him: "What happened with the dead donkey?"
Billy replied: "I held the lottery for the donkey and sold 500 tickets at $2 each and I made a profit of $998."
The farmer asked, "Nobody complained?"
Billy said: "Only the guy that won the (dead) donkey complained, so I returned his $2 so he would stop complaining."
Billy is now working for Goldman Sachs.

---

Good times, good times. First came the dot-com crash, and the response was Sarbanes-Oxley. Then came the financial crisis, and the response was Dodd-Frank. Now banking isn't nearly as fun as it used to be.

Now that I think of it, working in the banking/financial industry might not be so difficult as I've thought.

If I had more interest in economics and finance during my undergraduate days, I'd probably have chosen it as a major and be rich like Billy.