Woody's Place

Fifteen Years Ago Today

After a month of ups and downs in the neo-natal ICU we weren't sure we'd bring our baby home at all, much less in time for Christmas. Then we got the best Christmas gift ever...

Merry Christmas y'all!

Bernie Madoff & Social Security, A Side By Side Comparison

Bernie Madoff was sent to prison for running what's called a Ponzi scheme.  He convinced people to invest with him but instead of actually investing their money, he just spent it.  When someone wanted to withdraw the money Madoff had been entrusted with he just used the funds from his new "clients" to pay back the old "clients".  But, like all Ponzi schemes, eventually there are not enough new investors to pay back the old investors and the whole thing just implodes.

Now Bernie Madoff is one of the most hated men in America and he is off to jail, and rightfully so.  He stole the life savings and dashed the hopes and dreams of thousands of American families, but the dirty little secret here is that the US government has been doing exactly what Madoff did to his investors to all of us for over seventy years with the Social Security program.  There is no meaningful difference between the two schemes, except that one was operated by a private individual who is now in jail, and the other is operated by Washington politicians who are rewarded by the very people they are defrauding.

You doubt me?  Well here's a side by side comparison:

BERNIE MADOFF	Took money from investors with the promise that the money will be invested and made available to them later.
SOCIAL SECURITY	Takes money from wage earners with the promise that the money will be invested in a "Trust Fund" and made available to them later.
BERNIE MADOFF	Instead of investing the money Madoff spent it on mansions, limousines and yachts.
SOCIAL SECURITY	Instead of depositing money in the "Trust Fund" the politicians spend the money on pork barrel projects and "freebies" to buy votes.
BERNIE MADOFF	When the time came to pay some investors back Madoff simply used some of the funds from newer investors.
SOCIAL SECURITY	When benefits for older investors become due the politicians pay them with money taken from younger wage earners.
BERNIE MADOFF	When Madoff's scheme is discovered all hell breaks loose. New investors won't give him any more cash.
SOCIAL SECURITY	When Social Security eventually runs out of money they will simply force you to send them even more of your wages, and then congratulate themselves for "saving" Social Security.

Bernie Madoff is in jail, but the politicians remain in Washington enjoying the perks and privilges of their offices, once again proving that there is no place more corrupt and hypocritical on this Earth than Washington DC.

P.S.This came in my inbox today and I just tweaked the wording a bit, made the table and added the photos.  The original author is unknown to me, but I figured he's still due a hat tip for his efforts.  I didn't want to pull a Joe Biden and try to pass off his words as my own.

Global Warming My Ass... It's 6° Outside!

Austrian MP Takes On Islam, The Turkish Ambassador & European "Tolerance Romantics"

Via CmBlake6:

Damn.  That was awesome!  Makes me wish he'd apply for a "Certificate Of Live Birth" from Hawaii so he could run for President of our country.  We need some backbone like that in Washington.