obstinate.org

Humans are functioning robots, some are broken, some are in need of repair and some have the gears turning perfectly as-is. All of them, working or not want the same thing: Money, Sex, and maybe a random assortment of closely following third placers. They will stomp over any other robots in order to get that. There is no dignity, respect, integrety or honor left in this world. 

I read this article yesterday, which is a fantastic – and I really mean fantastic read about wall street. It is a story about one man who predicted, profited, and also tried to WARN EVERYONE about the financial collapse. The robot in question on wall street was a man by the name of Steve Eisman. Eisman started shorting big investment firm stocks in the early 2000’s right when it was the not cool thing to do. He knew the end was coming, and it did, this year. #3 on this guy’s list (see above) was doing the right thing. In his case, that was attempting to warn the entire world of the impending doom. I suggest you Read It

Here is a lovely quote from around the middle.

Eisman, Daniel, and Moses then flew out to Las Vegas for an even bigger subprime conference. By now, Eisman knew everything he needed to know about the quality of the loans being made. He still didn’t fully understand how the apparatus worked, but he knew that Wall Street had built a doomsday machine. He was at once opportunistic and outraged. 

Their first stop was a speech given by the C.E.O. of Option One, the mortgage originator owned by H&R Block. When the guy got to the part of his speech about Option One’s subprime-loan portfolio, he claimed to be expecting a modest default rate of 5 percent. Eisman raised his hand. Moses and Daniel sank into their chairs. “It wasn’t a Q&A,” says Moses. “The guy was giving a speech. He sees Steve’s hand and says, ‘Yes?’”

“Would you say that 5 percent is a probability or a possibility?” Eisman asked.

A probability, said the C.E.O., and he continued his speech. 

Eisman had his hand up in the air again, waving it around. Oh, no, Moses thought. “The one thing Steve always says,” Daniel explains, “is you must assume they are lying to you. They will always lie to you.” Moses and Daniel both knew what Eisman thought of these subprime lenders but didn’t see the need for him to express it here in this manner. For Eisman wasn’t raising his hand to ask a question. He had his thumb and index finger in a big circle. He was using his fingers to speak on his behalf. Zero! they said.

“Yes?” the C.E.O. said, obviously irritated. “Is that another question?”

“No,” said Eisman. “It’s a zero. There is zero probability that your default rate will be 5 percent.” The losses on subprime loans would be much, much greater. Before the guy could reply, Eisman’s cell phone rang. Instead of shutting it off, Eisman reached into his pocket and answered it. “Excuse me,” he said, standing up. “But I need to take this call.” And with that, he walked out. 

You see, this guy was a brash, harsh, jerk. But his heart was in the right place. He had some sense of dignity and respect to ry and warn everyone of the impending doom. The above is not his only example but it is the most entertaining.  The rest of the sub-prime markets, and wall street in general were irresponsible to the point of delusional. They didn’t think they had built a doomsday machine, but they had. This entire crisis can be summed up with one word: greed. These robots wanted big fat bonuses for themself’s. If the entire market collapsed – who cares? I got my bonus check!

It’s a sad world we live in, and having any faith in anyone else to do the right thing will only set yourself up for dissapointment. You will be a slave to your anxiousness and doubt. The only true way to be free is to lose all hope. Assume that the worst possible thing someone else can do, will happen. They aren’t going to let anything like principals or respect get in the way of whatever they happen to want RIGHT NOW. We live in a disposable society, and ethics and morals are disposable nowadays. So are you, each of us will get sliced and diced until all we are is a bundle of spare parts that allows someone else to make their arms swing faster.

The only way to be happy in this world, the only way to be free of the bondage of our minds is to lose all hope. By doing that, nothing good – or bad can ever happen because your expectations are permanently neutral.