It has been another eventful year in our business, and even though there is a so-called recession we have escaped unscathed. In fact, we were able to do some good deeds and help out some financial institutions. We were hoping that these good works of ours would remain anonymous, but it was reported in a newspaper that, our drug money saved some banks during the financial crisis. Still, one good deed begets another and some banks have been laundering our drug money for us. This was reported in some media, but hey, nobody went to jail and we should be thankful for that.
There are some worrying things happening though. We used to have the numbers rackets all to ourselves, now governments are into gambling in a big way with lotteries of all kinds. And some of these governments are into online computer gambling as well, and there have been reports that some government casinos were being used to launder money. What’s an honest crook to do when the government muscles in on their territory? Perhaps, we will have to try running for public office and get ourselves the reins of power. Talking about power, have you noticed none of the really big boys in the financial industry have gone to jail over the fraudulent “toxic assets” scam? Times sure have changed at one time hard time was done when massive fraud was perpetrated. Now the respectable villains get bailed out by tax-payers monies and some of them have been known to advise governments.
Many of these governments have adapted much of our ways of doing business. For instance, in the extortion rackets we keep raising the amounts of money that the stiffs have to pay us. Now governments extort huge amounts of money from the people, only they call them taxes, and they dream up new ways to extort more money from the taxpayers, and it’s all done legally. No doubt about it, honesty is the best policy, as the saying goes, but still the taxpayers complain.
Here is another complaint about what is happening to our business. At one time we ran the porn industry, now it has gone main-stream and some of the big corporations and entertainment industry are heavily invested in it. In fact, according to one report annual revenues are in the billions for these pillars of society. Another media report stated that some of the finest financial firms in the world had speculated in food causing massive starvation in poor countries. Notice the contradiction we are vilified in our business, while the admirable speculators who cause starvation are hailed as brilliant and respected financiers! As, I said earlier, what do honest crooks do when their operations are taken over by respectable institutions? Still, I guess that’s free enterprise! But, it makes one wonder; whatever happened to decency, morality and ethics in business? It’s getting harder and harder to understand what is criminal and what is not! Sometimes, I think we are being discriminated against. We got jail time for pushing porn and selling fraudulent securities, now it appears to be acceptable.
I guess we have to accept this is the society we live in today. What was a crime yesterday does not appear to be a crime today. Change is here and we must change with the times. Convergence has arrived and it seems some criminality has become the norm. Therefore, we must put the old days behind us and work within the system that is using our ideas and business practices.
Satire by Stephen J. Gray
July 22, 2010.
