Scripture
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
~I Timothy 6:9, NASB
Quote
He who is greedy, is always in want (and never satisfied).
~Horace
Bob and Sarah Chew worked hard and saved well. After living in the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles for years, they sold their home at the height of the housing market, downsized drastically, and then bought a cabin in the mountains of Colorado. They took their liquidated wealth, 1.2 million and gave it to a trusted friend in Sarah’s family, a man by the name of Stanley Chais. He had been Sarah’s parents financial adviser for more than two decades and had consistently produced good dividends. Bob was a bit nervous about putting all his eggs in one basket and against his better judgment, he went along with Sarah and gave everything he had to Stanley. A few months in, Stanley began telling Bob about a new account he had invested in, it was a “private arbitrage account,” something not open to the public. Some friends of Stanley’s {New Yorker’s} had learned how to game the system. They were trading stocks using a method called “split-strike conversion” and it guaranteed a 15% return which meant 6 figures for Bob and Sarah annually. Bob had a lot of doubts and questions. He didn’t really understand anything that Stanley was talking about but he went along: he didn’t want to rain on the parade.
Then one Thursday morning, December 11, 2008, the phone rang and Sarah answered. Bob looked on as Sarah turned white, “You must to be kidding,” she repeated over and over. Stanley’s New York friend was Bernie Madoff, who had just confessed to running the world’s largest Ponzi scheme. Bob and Sarah had lost everything. They were not the only dupes, Steven Spielberg, Elie Wiesel, Mort Zuckerman and others lost millions but Bod and Sarah lost everything they owned other than the cabin. My mother had a adage, “If it seems is too good to be true, it probably is.” No one wants to admit the truth but all Ponzi schemes play upon greed and so do all get rich quick schemes. I got into a discussion with someone over the holidays and I can’t remember who it was but we were talking about gambling. He mentioned the lottery and I told him, “The lottery is a State tax on the poor and ignorant.” The poor idiots think they can get rich quick and so they spend their children’s lunch money buying lottery tickets. The poor saps are not going to win but even it they did, the money would not solve their problem. Any government that imposes a tax on the poor and ignorant ought to be ashamed. Amen! Beware of all forms of greed.
- I will probably have less and less extras. Most of my extra stuff is church related. I do know that we will go by the same schedule this Sunday and there will be no breakfast.
- We are trying desperately to get our office moved but it aint happening: too many interruptions. Don’t worry about me staying busy. Folks keep asking me how I like retirement and I tell them, “I may have to go back to work to get some rest.”
- Loving this weather. I think this time last year we had warm weather and flooding.