Greed is Bad ; Very Bad

Gordon Gecko with his infamous line : "Greed is Good"

Michael J Douglas didn't know it at that time but when the colossal hit movie "Wall Street" was released all over the world, it romanticised all the excesses of Wall Street and the rotten to the core bankers, as typified by Gordon Gecko ( the name was chosen with tongue definitely in cheek) who as an unscrupulous fund manager had 2 mottos in life :

a) Win at all (moral) costs

b) Greed is good

Fortunately, in the end, the young apprentice (played by Charlie Sheen who later went on to his own successful TV sitcom "2 and a half men" and ultimately spiralled downwards in life with drugs and an HIV infection) took revenge on Gecko and the "bad guy' was implicated in the end for market manipulation amongst other things and sent to jail. If only this was true in the real crash or Financial Crisis of 2008 ! 

My humble opinion, is that I have seen numerous friends and acquaintences, who in their ultimate quest for all things materialistic, fuelled by this stupid and totally unholy tagline "Greed is Good"  end up in massive money problems and ultimately, bankruptcy. Bankruptcy per se is not the end of everything, but the pursuit of wealth illegally and using any kind of means to 'get rich quick' is well, illegal for the first move and morally reprehensible for the second.

Bankrupcty, as if I need to say it again,sets you back financially. Your savings will be wiped out, and you will have to sell off any asset with value like a car, equities, bonds and all insurance policies.In addition, as a last resort, you may have to sell your single largest asset you have which is your house, condominium or HDB flat. Emotionally, you are mentally scarred by it. It ultimately makes many people stronger, but it is a  big deal. This is the 'school of hard knocks'. Everyone falls down from time to time, you just need to learn to pick yourself up, brush off the dust, ignore the pain and start again - just like in the cartoons.  

Managing your hard earned savings is really about risk mitigation, value investing and growing your wealth against inflation. It is totally not sexy, there are no wild swings and the mantra for everyone should be :

1. Live within your means

2. If you earn $1000, spend much less than you earn, invest some and save some. 

Its boring, humdrum, but as my good friend Frank Rigley told me many years ago, "save your pennies, the dollars will save themselves" meaning if you save even the small money, ultimately it adds up to big money. 

"Greed is good. " should be banished totally from the collective consciousness of all baby boomers like myself and millions of others born in the early 50s till the year 1980 (we are now in the ages of almost 70 right down to almost 40 years of age. Our prime time is right now, and we need to save, invest in value, personal health and prepare for our golden years. To pursue risky deals and gamble away our hard earned CPF (pension money) all in the name of making more is foolhardy.

Michael J Douglas' character did have a reprise in Wall Street II where he apparently learnt his lesson and he was on the flip side (the good guy) trying at all costs to prevent the major 2008 crisis. That financial crisis was fuelled by bankers' collective greed to sell CDOs - all kinds of collateralised DEBT, mortgage debt, credit card debt all bundled up nicely and repackaged and rate them as AAA or some ridiculous rating, all in the name of making more money at all costs ; bankers are truly the Gordon Geckos of this world . "Screw the ordinary house mortgagee, lend him the money, I dont care if he has no job or just migrated here, property prices are rising up and up !  I need to make my commission ! "

Unfortunately for many millions of Americans, and countless others worldwide, the Great Financial Crisis left the top 10% even richer and the middle class feeling very squeezed as each financial year went by. Many lost jobs which never came back to the US, and people were forced to work 2  maybe 3 jobs at inhumanely long hours just to earn perhaps 80% of what they could earn before they were retrenched. Structural Retrenchment affected many millions of people worldwide. In the USA alone there are easily 50 million people living in poverty and another 50 - 100 million living from paycheck to paycheck. 

The newly skilled were filled by people with the 'right' skill sets, younger, hungrier, many from foreign countries. Is it any wonder, the ordinary citizen feels squeezed out and pushed aside in his own country ?  Someone comes along and says the magic word, MAGA ! 

Make America Great Again ! Just like that ! and he is elected !   This is no more than populism at play just to win votes.

Globalization is here is stay, Artificial Intelligence is coming, Disruptive technology is also the buzzword, and the Internet of Things will empower people to be masters of their lives. 

Do not believe in the above marketing bullshit, work hard and smart, save, invest wisely, work with a common purpose and lead a balanced lifestyle.

Toss that notion " Greed is Good " into the Garbage Can and Shut it forever.