Author Topic: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse  (Read 5653 times)

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Christians4LessGvt

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Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« on: January 17, 2008, 12:24:07 PM »
Soros Bets on U.S. Economic Collapse

By Cliff Kincaid  |  January 16, 2008

Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama favor government support for people losing their homes because they can?t repay their subprime mortgages. But what about the financial wheeler-dealers in the hedge fund industry who may stand to make billions of dollars from this terrible debacle? Foremost among them is billionaire hedge fund operator George Soros, who has committed his life and immense financial resources to bringing the Democrats to power in the White House.

Ties to the controversial and mysterious hedge fund industry could become a major problem for the Democratic Party. Hedge fund money ?appears to be tilting toward the Democrats of late,? the New York Times reported last year.   

The connection is personal. Chelsea Clinton took a job in 2006 with Avenue Capital Group, a hedge fund whose founder, Marc Lasry, has contributed tens of thousands of dollars to the national Democratic Party and many of its candidates. Federal Election Commission records show $5,000 from Lasry to HILLPAC, Hillary?s political action committee, thousands more to Hillary?s senate campaign, and thousands more to Hillary?s presidential campaign. 

Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards took some criticism when it became known that he had gone to work for a hedge fund. As noted by the Washington Post, ?The hedge fund that employed John Edwards markedly expanded its subprime lending business while he worked there, becoming a major player in the high-risk mortgage sector Edwards has pilloried in his presidential campaign.? Edwards claimed he didn?t know anything about the firm?s involvement in subprime lending. 

It is interesting to note that the co-author of the Post article, John Solomon, has left the paper to become editor of the rival and conservative Washington Times. Solomon had come under savage attack by left-wingers for doing stories about corruption in the Democratic Party. They probably realized that Solomon was on to something when he uncovered Edwards? relationship with a hedge fund company. But Edwards is not alone.

For those reporters interested in getting to the bottom of this growing controversy, there are many tantalizing leads to pursue.

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday ran a fascinating front-page story about John A. Paulson, a Wall Street trader who has made billions of dollars betting that the housing market would collapse. The Journal says that Paulson personally made between $3 and $4 billion, ?the largest one-year payday in Wall Street history.? The story suggests he has been somewhat secretive about his activities but is now opening up about his ?historic coup? in comments to Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman.

While there is nothing improper or illegal in how Paulson made his money, there are no details about where he got some of his funds or exactly how he placed his financial bets. The paper notes that ?European investors? gave him about $150 million and that he is so savvy that George Soros ?invited Paulson to lunch, asking for details of how he laid his bets, with [financial] instruments that didn?t exist a few years ago.? The article said that ?Soros is famous for another big score, a 1992 bet against the British pound that earned $1bn for his Quantum hedge fund.? Soros ?declined to comment? about his meeting with Paulson, the Journal said.

Declined to comment? Since Soros is a major supporter of the secretive Democracy Alliance, a group backed by rich liberals who fund a network of liberal-left groups dedicated to electing Democrats to the White House and Congress, could the discussion have also been political in nature? 

The American people should be quickly educated by our media on how very rich people like Paulson and Soros make ?bets? on the rise or fall of national currencies and economies. Paulson is now telling investors ?it?s still not too late? to bet on more economic problems. These are capitalists who seem to have a vested interest in the further decline of the U.S. economy.

We may not know much about Paulson, but we know a lot about Soros. He is a financial manipulator, convicted of illegal insider trading in France for playing financial games with a bank there.   

We also know that he spent over $20 million trying to defeat George Bush for president in 2004 and has contributed to such groups as the Democratic National Committee, MoveOn.org, and candidates such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Soros, in short, is a major financial backer of the Democratic Party and will be in a position to collect on these debts if Hillary or Obama wins in November. Their election may depend on further substantial erosion in the national economy. Is it possible that the financial activities of Soros could make it more likely that the economy will go into a complete tailspin? 

Any economic problems will, of course, be blamed by the Democrats and the liberal media on President Bush and the Republicans. The Republicans may not be smart enough to recognize that hedge fund managers and their links to the Democratic Party could become a potent campaign issue. Perhaps they will regard the issue as too ?populist? for their taste.

If the Democrats succeed in exploiting the economic problems, they will not only keep control of Congress in this fall?s elections but will put Clinton or Obama in the White House. Their ?mandate,? however, will go beyond new government programs for the economy into the social realm. And that?s where Soros has a keen interest. 

The issue of Obama?s drug use has surfaced in the campaign, but Soros has put millions into the drug legalization movement. Some other money from his fortune, estimated at $7 billion, has been put into causes such as abortion rights, gay rights, voting rights for felons, euthanasia, and rights for immigrants and prostitutes.

Now that Obama and Clinton have patched things up on the race issue, can we count on the media to turn their attention to George Soros and other hedge fund managers who stand to profit from an economic recession or even depression? 

With millions of people either losing their homes or a substantial part of their value, the media should not be content with a no-comment from these crafty behind-the-scenes money men.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cliff Kincaid is the Editor of the AIM Report and can be reached at cliff.kincaid@aim.org

http://www.aim.org/aim-column/soros-bets-on-us-economic-collapse/
"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" - Ronald Reagan - June 12, 1987

Michael Tee

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #1 on: January 17, 2008, 12:44:33 PM »
Big news here.  Soros, a currency trader and investor, supports the Democrats.  Holy shit!  Stop the presses!

Presumably, other currency traders and investors support the Republicans.

Here's a shocker for you:  currency traders bet to win.  Republicans, Democrats, if they're currency traders, they're betting to win.

If the article is correct, George Soros has placed a bet that will win big if the U.S. economy will collapse.  BFD, what was he supposed to do, bet the opposite way and lose money? 

A quote from one of my all-time favourite authors, John Buchan, author of The Thirty-Nine Steps (and a former Governor-General of Canada:)  "Capital has no conscience and no fatherland."  (from The Thirty-Nine Steps)

If George Soros thought the U.S. economy was poised to shoot through the roof, he'd bet on the U.S. economy shooting through the roof.  If someone as astute as George Soros really thinks the U.S. economy is about to collapse (and there's nothing in the article to indicate he does) then I'd be more concerned with the moronic leadership which brought the country to this point than I would be over George Soros' failure to make more "patriotic" assessments of the economy.

_JS

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #2 on: January 17, 2008, 02:12:19 PM »
I read the article and I don't see where Soros actually bets against the US economy.

But, Soros is a currency trading mastermind. If he said the dollar was going to tank (worse than it is right now) then you can take that to the bank. The article mentions Black Wednesday in 1992, but it fails to mention the fortune he made off the Asian Tiger collapse in 1997, and again on the Chinese Yuan.

I don't know why you all hate the guy so much, he's someone who has made hundreds of millions off of the free market. He "pulled himself up by his own bootstraps" and was a stringent anti-communist. You'd think that he'd be some kind of role model for free marketeers. He loathed the neo-cons, but who can blame him? He'll probably make a fortune off of their inane economic policies now.
I smell something burning, hope it's just my brains.
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   Tell me lies about Vietnam.

BT

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #3 on: January 17, 2008, 02:15:35 PM »
I'm surprised you admire him so much.

Makes his money off the backs of the working man and all.


Michael Tee

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #4 on: January 17, 2008, 02:22:20 PM »
The working man was already fucked by the Republocrats.  Soros didn't do it to them, in fact he argued and campaigned for policies which would lighten the workingman's load.  His money is made off the schmucks who have already stolen it from the workingman - - he buys their stolen money cheap and he sells it high; or he sells it to them when it's high and delivers it to them when it's cheap.  In either case, the workers were fucked long before then, and not by Soros.

_JS

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #5 on: January 17, 2008, 02:40:08 PM »
I'm surprised you admire him so much.

Makes his money off the backs of the working man and all.

I don't admire him.

He is a currency trading genius. That is just a fact. On the other hand, he royally screwed a lot of decent people in Britain, Italy, Malaysia, etc.

I was simply stating facts. He seems like a role model for fans of the free market. One of the things he demonstrated on Black Wednesday was how he could game the Bank of England's pegging of their rates to the Deutsch Mark in such a constricted band. He was a real communist fighter, literally puring money into fighting communism in Eastern Europe. And he did come from a humble background and made all his money himself.

Those are just the facts. But no, I don't admire how he does it. I do find it funny that he pisses off the right-wingers so much. If he were funding a right wing PAC they'd worship the ground he walks on.
I smell something burning, hope it's just my brains.
They're only dropping peppermints and daisy-chains
   So stuff my nose with garlic
   Coat my eyes with butter
   Fill my ears with silver
   Stick my legs in plaster
   Tell me lies about Vietnam.

Xavier_Onassis

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #6 on: January 17, 2008, 03:10:58 PM »
Let's say you have a million dollars. You also have a choice. Your decision will not have any effect on the exchange rate, because you have relativelyi little money.

If you invest it in dollars, in two years it will be worth ?750,000.

If you invest it in Euros, it will be worth ?1,200,000.

Is your patriotism worth ?450,000?  That is the question.

"Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana."

BT

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #7 on: January 17, 2008, 06:21:43 PM »
Quote
If he were funding a right wing PAC they'd worship the ground he walks on.

And yet he funds a left wing slew of PACS and you don't worship the ground he walks on.

How can that be?

Plane

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #8 on: January 17, 2008, 10:27:36 PM »
If the article is correct, George Soros has placed a bet that will win big if the U.S. economy will collapse.  BFD, what was he supposed to do, bet the opposite way and lose money? 


[][][][][][][][][][][[][][][][][][][][][]


George S is not just betting on the outcome of the game , he is feeding one of the teams.

So he bets that the US economy will tank and then does what he can to ensure that Democrats win.

Is he working to ensure his bet?

Michael Tee

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #9 on: January 17, 2008, 10:51:27 PM »
<<George S is not just betting on the outcome of the game , he is feeding one of the teams.

<<So he bets that the US economy will tank and then does what he can to ensure that Democrats win.

<<Is he working to ensure his bet?>>

If I recall correctly, the last Democratic President left the country with a huge surplus in the Treasury which the current Republican administration has magically turned into half a trillion bucks worth of deficit.  As a Canadian dollar holder who visits NYC fairly frequently and recalls very well what it used to cost us for every U.S. dollar purchased during the Clinton years, I can honestly say that the disastrous effect of this Republican administration on the U.S. dollar is about the only thing I have to thank the President for, and I certainly thank him for that effusively.  Your post makes me wonder if you and I have been living on the same planet for the past dozen years.

Amianthus

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #10 on: January 17, 2008, 10:55:19 PM »
If I recall correctly, the last Democratic President left the country with a huge surplus in the Treasury

You don't recall correctly.
Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. (Benjamin Franklin)

Michael Tee

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #11 on: January 17, 2008, 11:08:42 PM »

<<You don't recall correctly.>>

Ah, unfortunately, you seem to be correct:

http://www.usatoday.com/money/2006-08-02-deficit-usat_x.htm

Apparently the government was keeping two sets of books, it appears.  How do they get away with this shit?  There is virtually no accountability in Washington today.  Everything is smoke and mirrors.

So how does the state of the Treasury at this point in time compare with what was there when Clinton left?

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #12 on: January 17, 2008, 11:46:21 PM »
Quote
If he were funding a right wing PAC they'd worship the ground he walks on.

And yet he funds a left wing slew of PACS and you don't worship the ground he walks on.

How can that be?


No, he funds a skew of Democratic PACs and that makes all the difference.
I smell something burning, hope it's just my brains.
They're only dropping peppermints and daisy-chains
   So stuff my nose with garlic
   Coat my eyes with butter
   Fill my ears with silver
   Stick my legs in plaster
   Tell me lies about Vietnam.

Amianthus

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #13 on: January 18, 2008, 12:00:03 AM »
So how does the state of the Treasury at this point in time compare with what was there when Clinton left?

If you go with the set of books that had Clinton with a projected surplus, then we have another projected surplus - larger than at the end of Clinton's administration - by 2010.

If you go with the other set of books, we're on schedule to crash and burn financially by about 2030.
Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight. (Benjamin Franklin)

BT

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Re: Soros Bets On US Economic Collapse
« Reply #14 on: January 18, 2008, 12:02:17 AM »
So its OK if you are a democrat.

different rules, different schools.