IN MEMORY OF MARCUS TULLIUS CICERO

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BECAUSE OF AMERICAN FAT CATS GREED AND AMERICAN POLITICIAN INJUSTICES, ALL OF OUR STATES ARE NOW SUFFERING, ALL OUR FREE COMMUNITIES ON MAIN STREET ARE COMPLAINING, AND EVEN FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS AND PEOPLE ARE PROTESTING. AS FAR AS THE BOUNDS OF
THIS UNIVERSE, THERE IS NO SPOT NOW SO DISTANT OR SO OBSCURE THAT THE WANTON AND UNSCRUPOLOUS DEEDS OF THE AMERICAN FAT CATS HAVE NOT PENETRATED THITHER.
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Dear Larry,
I appreciate listening to some of your speeches. I have learnt more about what and who you are but I believe that this is a conference directed for the small stock investors. It should have a speaker who can understand and discuss the issues that the listener needs to know before he considers investing in these micro companies. Politics is an essential part of macro economics and micro economics. But politics cannot and should not persuade an economist to alter his opinion for the benefit of his fellow politicians. A media economist must remain independent at all times so he can favor what he truly believes in, and that is a fair economy and true economic growth.
Real estate as you may have learnt lately is an essential part of this economy and other economies worldwide. It is a multi trillion dollar business which affects banks, insurance companies, and any other industry that you can think of. A question came to your plate 3 years ago at this conference. It asked you if Americans had borrowed too much and if the true worth of real estate prices had been compromised. You argued that Americans had borrowed the same percentage to equity as usual and that prices were backed by the strength of the money supply of this economy. You were wrong. Freddie and Fannie were giving out or buying out loans with zero equity. When real estate gets manipulated by the politicians and by the greedy fat cats, it could overshoot causing a manic period in prices, just like small stock prices tend to soar on particular times on Wall Street. But there is a difference. Real estate affects everyone anywhere while stock prices in small stocks only affect a few. And the sad thing is that they have more regulation on small companies instead of having it on the real estate industry. You argued in the past against European policies and against its currency. You were wrong. The euro soared to 1.60. But the Europeans followed the greedy fat cats and they also fell in that fat cat trap of this global economy. Somehow, the greed of the fat cats is contagious and persuasive enough to convince people, from economies with more regulations, to indulge into an easy way out of their debt. But now change has opened its doors in America. The president elect has promised to change the way Wall Street operates. His hands are full as he inherits this financial mess. Bailouts and cry-outs are distrusting and disgusting for capitalism but not for the welfare and protection of the economy. The greedy American fat cats and those with unlimited executive compensation who don't know how or are too greedy to protect their companies on a rainy day, now will lose weight and they will feel the pain of change. Capitalism will survive in one shape or the other but it will be played on a different playground.
Taxation and regulation as well as caps on executive compensation for those public companies that are owned by private shareholders will be needed to be implemented in a fair and consistent way. This will be essential in Monitoring against excessive economic spurs that could affect anyone anywhere anytime.
For me, it was Marcus T Cicero who inspired me in writing this letter to you. Even though,
we are more than two thousand years apart, we live in a period of time that could be similar economically and politically to that of the roman senator. History usually repeats itself.
This is serious stuff. This is not what you thought just a few months ago at another stock conference. The amount of money in question here is really huge.
Sincerely, a fellow
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( written in early November 2008, ahead of the Westergaard Paulson Small Cap Conference at the Waldfoorf Astoria, NY )
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