Comments on: Ivy League Clipping: Harvard Loses Half a Billion Dollars in Bad Investment Gamble

By: Anonymously Yours

Anonymously Yours — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:54:13 +0000

Patrick Oden 1, October 20, 2009 at 5:20 am ,

Now how long did it take for you to read that in the article. I am amazed as some comments when that was at near the end.

By: Patrick Oden

Patrick Oden — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:20:47 +0000

O, my, “But rest assured, he is no longer Harvard President. President Obama made him the director of the National Economic Council.” That’s funny and sad all at the same time.

By: George

George — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 06:59:27 +0000

Interesting excerpt, Jill. I’ll check out the book.

On this point: “The elite skimmed off hundreds of millions in bonuses, commissions and salaries from this fictitious wealth.”

I just read an interesting piece on corporate bonuses and the practice of “grossing-up,” whereby the corporations pay the taxes on the bonuses and other “perks” their top executives receive (private jet, driver, security, etc…) so that they can keep all of the money and receive all of the services without paying taxes on it. Nice, huh? Especially when many of them receive the bulk of their compensation in bonuses. We have to pay taxes, they don’t. And it continues!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101903546.html

By: Former Federal LEO

Former Federal LEO — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:14:49 +0000

Them smart Hahvahd folk shore is stupid.

The only real asset with which Lawrence Summers is endowed is a financially criminal mind.

By: rafflaw

rafflaw — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:03:59 +0000

Could the person at the Harvard Foundation who is responsible for making these chancy investment decisions be held accountable for this less than prudent investment scheme? If a Trustee had made this kind of risky move, they could be held liable for the loss.

By: MASkeptic

MASkeptic — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 17:28:47 +0000

“But rest assured, he is no longer Harvard President. President Obama made him the director of the National Economic Council. ”

I lol’d

By: Mike Kilpatrick

Mike Kilpatrick — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:08:52 +0000

The fact that George Bush has a Harvard MBA should have been the first clue as to why you should never send your kid there.

By: Jill

Jill — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:30:08 +0000

This is from Chris Hedges. I highly recommend his book, “Empire of Illusion”. Starting around page 102 he properly excoriates our elite institutions and the type of people they are MOST likely to graduate and send out to prey on the world. (There are many exceptions to this, including several very fine people who write on this blog.)

“The corporate state, and the political and intellectual class that served the corporate state, constructed a financial and political system based on illusions. Corporations engaged in pyramid lending that created fictitious assets. These fictitious assets became collateral for more bank lending. The elite skimmed off hundreds of millions in bonuses, commissions and salaries from this fictitious wealth. Politicians, who dutifully served corporate interests rather than those of citizens, were
showered with campaign contributions and given lucrative jobs when they left office. Universities, knowing it was not good business to challenge corporatism, muted any voices of conscience while they went begging for corporate donations and grants.”

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090406_resist_or_become_serfs/

By: Anonymously Yours

Anonymously Yours — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 13:58:27 +0000

Brotha, can you spare a dime?