Money Beagle has a great post on how one goes about making bail, a reflection occasioned by the discovery that a former friend was accused of embezzling $400,000. It’s really a shocker when someone you thought you knew well turns out to be crooked as the proverbial hound’s hind leg.
First time it happened to me was when an ex-flame of mine was arrested somewhere east of Yuma, ferrying the largest haul of cocaine that had ever been nabbed in Arizona.
Heh. He always aimed high. This was the guy who soured me on Republican party politics. If you think “dirty tricks” were dreamed up by Richard Nixon’s boys, think again. 😉
Never occurred to me, though, that his career ambitions extended beyond sabotaging the presidential campaigns and hustling call girls for visiting big-wigs.
Krantcents, commenting on Beagle’s post, reflects on his experience teaching at the Leavenworth army prison and remarks, “The main difference between a criminal and me is I realize I would be caught the very first time where they think they will never be caught….”
Maybe that’s the fundamental difference between the law-abiding type and the crook. I was always too scared of getting caught to cheat, lie, and steal.
So namby-pamby was I, it wasn’t until I hit middle age that I noticed how much stuff some people get away with. The reason some people think they’ll never get caught is that it’s objectively true that they very well won’t ever get caught. The first time I realized a married couple of my acquaintance was committing what appeared to be insurance fraud — again and again! — I was flabbergasted. The worst that happened (other than the disintegration of their life, more a function of their personalities than their larceny) was that their insurer eventually refused to cover their home or car.
After that I began to notice what people around me were pulling off: outrageous mortgages that of course they couldn’t pay; selling bloated mortgages to people who obviously couldn’t afford them; “buying” a dressy outfit, wearing it to a party, and then returning it with a claim that it didn’t fit right; drinking and driving; buying and selling weed and ’shrooms; shoplifting from clothing and grocery stores with impunity; gaming the FMLA law; collecting from insurance companies for nonexistent neck injuries after minor fender-benders; declaring bankruptcy and then heading off to California for an upscale vacation; embezzling from a law firm and leaving the partners holding the bag; and on and on and on.
It’s no wonder college-age students think they can lie and cheat their way to honors-level grades, given the role models they see. They seem to expect to get away with it.
And probably, most of the time, they do.
Goldman Sachs? S and P?
Our former governor?
I would say relatively few of the little guys commit fraud–though I saw a lot post-Katrina and by some very affluent folks.
All the examples given come from little guys I personally know. And IMHO, it’s endemic. Many of the abuses perpetrated during the housing bubble wouldn’t have happened if the man and woman on the street had been ethical enough to turn down offers that clearly were dubious. Instead, many people in the market for real estate took advantage of the shenanigans that were going on.
I myself almost sold my house, which was worth about $215,000, for $375,000, even though objectively I knew that figure was a blatant rip. Problem was, so many other people were selling at larcenous prices that I would have had to a) know the market would crash sooner or later (it was obvious, but few of us had that insight), and b) rented until prices collapsed in order to get into housing comparable to what I had.
LOL! A block down the street, a house with an identical floor plan sold for $490,000. The bank, which loaned that amount against a $215,000 house, is trying to get $368,000 for it now…no takers.
Meanwhile, the woman who bought my old house from me, which also had an identical floor plan but no kitchen upgrade and no pool but did have a forest of moribund ash trees, paid $211,000 for it and, before she defaulted, borrowed about $400,000 against it, money she used to cover living expenses during a period that she didn’t even bother to look for a job.
Republicans don’t have exclusive rights to “questionable” behavior. Let us not forget the Clintons had Whitewater….that President Clinton lied under oath, had a real possibility of being the first President impeached because of the his lying but yet enjoys a “seat at the table” and today is looked upon as an elder statesman. And his wife becomes Secretary of State and becomes the front runner for President in 2016 despite an active role in Whitwater. Is it any wonder our young people see no reason to play by the rules?
@ frugalscholar: All the examples given come from little guys I personally know. And IMHO, it’s endemic. Many of the abuses perpetrated during the housing bubble wouldn’t have happened if the man and woman on the street had been ethical enough to turn down offers that clearly were dubious. Instead, many people in the market for real estate took advantage of the shenanigans that were going on.
I myself almost sold my house, which was worth about $215,000, for $375,000, even though objectively I knew that figure was a blatant rip. Problem was, so many other people were selling at larcenous prices that I would have had to a) know the market would crash sooner or later (it was obvious, but few of us had that insight), and b) rented until prices collapsed in order to get into housing comparable to what I had.
LOL! A block down the street, a house with an identical floor plan sold for $490,000. The bank, which loaned that amount against a $215,000 house, is trying to get $368,000 for it now…no takers.
Meanwhile, the woman who bought my old house from me, which also had an identical floor plan but no kitchen upgrade and no pool but did have a forest of moribund ash trees, paid $211,000 for it and, before she defaulted, borrowed about $400,000 against it, money she used to cover living expenses during a period that she didn’t even bother to look for a job.
@ jestjack: You’re right. But when Clinton lied, it wasn’t about anything that mattered to anyone but him and his wife, and it was about something that was no one else’s business.
When W lied, he got us into a war that has cost thousands of American lives, unknown tens of thousands of Iraqi civilian lives, and has lasted 10 years with no credible end in sight.
When Mitch Romney lied, he lost a presidential race for his party, proving you can fool some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. 😉
I guess we’ll agree to disagree. My thought is we send our young people (interns included) to Washington to learn the process of how our goverment functions. IMHO the President usd his position of power to take advantage of a young lady …about the same age as his daughter. Then lied about it…under oath…Sorry not a fan. As for W….I can only imagine what went thru his mind on 9/11 and when the towers fell. I know that I will never forget that day. And I for one appreciatte the guidance and leadership he provided during one of the most troubling times in our history. I do believe he went with the best information he had at the time and went to war. The ironic thing is some say W went too far and then others say his Dad didn’t go far enough in the first Gulf War that we should have went after Hussein….ya can’t win!! Pretty sure the folks in Kuwait and surrounding countries are glad that W acted when he did. As for Mr. Romney …I don’t think he really has any idea what “real people” experience in our Country…For the life of me I still do not understand how he got the nomination. Still enjoy your blog and your efforts to keep folks straight! Best Wishes….
You’ve got something there, that’s for sure! Clinton’s private behavior was reprehensible.
On the other hand, so was Ms. Lewinski’s. I don’t see her as a naive victim. She was 23 years old at the time the dalliance began, and 24 when it ended. The fact that he was pushing old codgerhood doesn’t change the fact that she was well past the age of consent. She grew up in Brentwood and Beverly Hills and graduated from Lewis and Clark College, indications that she was worldly enough and bright enough to know what she was doing.
It’s useful to note that she profited generously from the “That Woman” affair. She made $500,000 on the book about the scandal; another million from an interview with Barbara Walters; another $300,000 for appearing in TV commercials for Jenny Craig; and you can bet the two appearances on Saturday Night Live weren’t freebies, nor could she have gone unpaid for the Tom Green Show episode and for her appearance in America Undercover.
Birds of a feather, I suppose.
Yes, I’m sure W was shocked on 9/11. But we didn’t enter the Iraq war until 2003, two years after the attack on the World Trade Center. That was plenty of time to get his story straight; instead, we mounted a wholesale invasion on the basis of a spurious claim…not the best way to win hearts and minds. Meanwhile, the man we should have gone after apparently was in Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Having spent 10 years on the Persian Gulf, I can assure you that Americans have never been universally beloved in the Middle East. Where Iraq was concerned some entities might have been happy to say “let’s you and him fight,” but that doesn’t equate to loving us or even to respecting us.
The Romney thing…who can figure it out? The whole business with the Republican party, which has been brewing for decades, is extremely sad.
Truth to tell, I used to be a Republican and to this day am relatively conservative on some issues (such as the Second Amendment and little details like habeas corpus). But the party lost me years ago and, far from presenting any agenda that might lure me back, it has seemed to go from crazy to crazier.
Not that I don’t think the extremists who gained control lack sincerity — I’m sure they believe in their cause. What’s discouraging is that men and women with moderate views have simply been crushed and silenced by doctrinaire folks who seem deaf to common sense and incapable of governing sensibly. The fixation on depriving women of reproductive care — including contraception, not just the right to end an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy — seems emblematic of a kind of extremism that brings to mind our Islamic brethren. Extremism is extremism, no matter where it surfaces.
This brings to mind a “friend” I had in college. One day he remarked with a smirk how he was able to go to college while not working: he “injured” his back and was able to get on Workman’s Comp with the aid of a compliant doctor. That, and an offhand, matter-of-fact remark that he would have to kill his sister if she dishonored the family (he was a Lebanese Shi’ite) brought the friendship to an end.
Gasp! Honor is as honor does, I guess.
Well said “Funny”….We shall agree to disagree. But for the life of me I just don’t understand how “these extremist” feel they have a right to tell a woman what to do with their body…it just makes no sense to me. I too am disappointed at the direction of the Republican Party and am very close to changing my affiliation to independent….but hold out hope that “the ship can be set right”… Like you I am conservative BUT feel there is room for discussion in all matters….isn’t that what democracy is all about? And this whole fiscal cliff thing….Don’t get me started. In closing thank you for the open forum and know that your wit and wisdom is greatly appreciatted. Best Wishes….
Well, jestjack, I don’t know. It feels as though if one abandons the party, the result is simply to leave it to those with a single point of view (even if we don’t regard them as extremists, they’re pretty darned focused!).
Maybe it would be better to remain with the party and keep trying to encourage a broader, more nuanced (if not more moderate) philosophy. But one wonders how. Really, it’s a discouraging predicament. It makes me worry — a lot — about the future of democracy in our country, if as a people we can’t bring our diverse viewpoints together in an effective way.
Glad I could insipre a post. I expect that as the situation continues forward and comes to whatever end (in terms of the legal system) that I’ll have some follow-up posts. I have some working around in my mind just tied to some of the emotional aspects of how this friendship has worked out and even touched into other friendships that I have. This has ‘rocked’ many people in my Facebook circle (though surprisingly the chatter has been minimal, at least on a public level)
Hope you’ll find a way to discuss this on the blog. It’s lively stuff.
I always knew a ton of people pulled off awful things continuously, but it frustrates me every time I hear about a new one. I figure that we can all handle this knowledge in one of two ways – do it too or rise above. I choose to avoid being just one of many people ruining things for others. I might not be making a ton by defrauding anybody, but I can at least know that I didn’t make life worse for anybody through my own deceptions. That’s worth staying on the straight and narrow for me. 🙂
Even more appalling is that the couple of times I’ve expressed dismay or disapproval to friends who mention some way they’ve scammed things, they have been vehement that they’re doing nothing wrong. One couple who are very dear long time friends renovated their home and claimed all of the expenses as deductions through their business that owns a lot of residential rental properties. They were very surprised that I thought they shouldn’t be doing that.
Yes! Isn’t that an interesting phenomenon? Also, people who figure their employer doesn’t pay as much as they think they deserve, and so they’re “entitled,” as it were, to make off with the office supplies! Some (not all…) of them really DO seem to think they’re doing nothing wrong.