Sandbagged Me on the Economy, Huh?

February 13, 2009

(bettertrades) - Contrarians are shouting to the hilltops that the bulls are lurking around the corner. Don't believe them. If you want to keep making money over the next few months, stay short.

In honor of the impending pork-filled stimulus package (And the little good it is likely to do), we're laying down a few selected Gordon Gekko quotes to mark the occasion.

Greed, for lack of a better word, is good.

To the banking system who borrowed and borrowed, leveraging up their debt positions 40 to 1, and sunk is into this mess. To Barney Frank and Bill Clinton, who wanted to increase homeownership no matter the cost. To Alan Greenspan, who kept interest rates too low for too long, enabling the homeownership balloon and subsequent housing crisis.

It's a zero sum game, somebody wins, somebody loses.

Much thanks to tax and spend democrats who have and want to continue to expand health care coverage and social security benefits, even as it bankrupts us in the process.

If you need a friend, get a dog.

To George Bush for sinking us into Iraq and Afghanistan, hoping to build a haven of democracy in the Middle East at the cost of exacerbating an already bloated federal deficit. To Wall Street for getting us into this mess and then turning to Uncle Sam for a lifeboat.

Ever wonder why fund managers can't beat the S&P 500 Cause they're sheep, and sheep get slaughtered.

To Bernie Madoff for crushing the last measure of trust that the American public had in Wall Street with his $50 billion ponzi scheme.

You stop sending me information, and you start getting me some.

To everyone, from Wall Street to the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, and Congress, who have been screaming from the hilltops how bad a shape the economy is in, but don't know how deep the hole is. How big the losses are on these toxic assets is a question plaguing investors.

It's all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation.

To President Obama who thinks spending more money at the federal level is the cure-all panacea, when we know an increase in government consumption artificially raises interest rates due to increased borrowing. Higher interest rates will serve to aggravate rising foreclosures. And most specifically, thanks to the American people, For buying homes and cars and consumer goods they couldn't afford, having kids they couldn't support financially, and then in turn placing all the blame on Wall Street, the U.S. government, and anyone else in shouting distance. In the end, it's all about bucks. As it turns out, greed is not good.