I’ve written a lot lately about getting rid of debts and reducing expenses. I thought it was time I address the flip side of your finances: making more money. Thanks to suggestions by my Twitter followers, readers and other bloggers, I’ve been able to put together a solid list of 52 ways to make extra money. Most, if not all, can be done even with a full-time job.
Wall Street veterans recall how investors once begged to be allowed to invest their money with Madoff. Unlike Ponzi, he didn’t promise to deliver flashy double-digit returns overnight. He “earned” his investors 1 percent or 2 percent a month, bull market or bear, rain or shine. Because he didn’t overpromise, and because he limited his clientele, he was able to keep the scheme going for decades.
The country’s financial markets have collapsed, as they tend to do when left without adult supervision, and they’re taking our economy with them. With the large banks refusing to make loans after losing billions on worthless subprime derivatives, the government stepped in and agreed to October’s financial bailout package. The $700 billion legislation was meant to buy banks’ “troubled assets” for cash, and thus improve banks’ balance sheets to the point that they would lend again. This would mean credit for struggling businesses and households, and could encourage expansion and hiring, thus pulling us out of recession.
In the aftermath of the Madoff implosion, quite a few people have pointed out the parallels between a Ponzi scheme and Social Security.
“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” - Albert Einstein
The recent economic recession has a lot of people worried, about their jobs, their businesses, their homes and their bills. When your income is dropping or in jeopardy and you still have a mountain of bills to pay, things can get pretty scary.
However, tough economic times do not have to be a time of struggles! If you look for the opportunity in the middle of difficulty, as Mr. Einstein suggested, then tough economic times become an opportunity to transform your life.
The problems of our economy stem from unchecked consumerism – people buying houses too expensive for their incomes, getting into too much debt by spending too much, living a lifestyle of more and more with the idea that things will only continue to get better. Unfortunately, this kind of consumerism is unsustainable, both at a global and a personal level. Eventually, the bills have to be paid and things will be corrected to a more sustainable level.
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New York University said it lost $US24 million in funds managed by Madoff, according to a lawsuit against fund manager J. Ezra Merkin. The university alleges Mr Merkin invested its money without telling investors or performing proper due diligence.
If it weren’t for the shadow cast by Madoff’s gigantic con, the story of Marc Dreier’s chutzpah would be provoking the sort of dumbstruck amazement that Madoff’s tale now elicits.
The arrest of Bernard Madoff, the financier who allegedly ran a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, could mark the end of the hedge fund industry as investors know it.
The Madoff brothers were boys from the Outer Boroughs who made the big time. I liked their street smarts and their charm. Bernie was the elder statesman and Peter was the young visionary. They were generous with their time, whether it was explaining the intricacies of market structure to a fledgling reporter or striving to improve the competitiveness of the NASDAQ Stock Market.
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