I always check out the Ludwig von Mises Institute from time to time, as they always have some interesting viewpoints. Interesting piece today called Free Bernie Madoff.br /br /Here are a couple of quotes. a href=”http://mises.org/story/3546″Click here to read the whole article/a. br /br /blockquoteHis life is already ruined. He is a pauper. He will never again do business. From the innovative genius whose information technology in the 1960s became the basis of NASDAQ, he rose to the heights and fell to the depths where he will stay this way until death. He won’t be able to be seen in public for the rest of his life without encountering scorn and derision from everyone around him.br /br /What, then, precisely, is the point of jailing him? He is no direct threat to anyone. Society would not be safer because he is in the slammer. He is not going to rob people or beat people up. He might write a book and donate the funds to charity or make some restitution to his victims. I, for one, would like to read that book.br /br /So let us ask the unaskable: Just how unusually evil were Madoff’s actions? Not that unusual. In fact, the whole notion of paying off past investors with the funds of present investors is at the very core of the Social Security system. At least Madoff sought the consent of his investors who let him care for their money based on their own volition. And at least he didn’t attempt to defend himself with the claim that he was conducting wise public policy./blockquotebr /br /Something to think about. Especially that last quote.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/819581243324579563-8912507581503501702?l=briskycapital.blogspot.com’//div

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