Where Did All The Money Go?

 

      WHERE DID ALL THE MONEY GO?

I have a question for you.  It is not a trick question.  I do not have the answer.
I asked my very wealthy neighbor and he does not know the answer.

Here’s the question:
ALL THAT MONEY ON WALL STREET WHICH HAS BEEN
“LOST. ALL THAT TARP MONEY.  ALL THAT STIMULUS MONEY.   WHERE DID IT GO?  HAS SOMEBODY GOT IT?  DID IT VANISH INTO THIN AIR?  IS IT BURIED SOMEWHERE?

SIMPLE MATH.     A few years ago I bought one share of AIG for $80.  I rode it to the bottom. It traded for $3.  So I sold it.  I get my 3 bucks and put it in my wallet.  I have “lost $77 but still have $3. (Minus fees and commissions.)
Where did the 77 bucks go?  They guy who sold me his share at $80 (minus commissions and fees) buried the money in his back yard.  (In hind sight, a very smart guy.)
So millions of folks bought and sold AIG at various prices.  Some lost some gained.
Where did all the money go from those who lost?  Did it go into the pockets of those who “won?”  Is it in Venezuela?

FANCY MORTGAGE        I sold my charming (free and clear) little bungalow for $500,000.  Some guy took out a sub prime loan and bought the bungalow (with no money down) for $500,000.  A bank loaned him the money.  I know the bank loaned him “real” money because I, the seller, put that $500,000 (minus fees and commissions) in the bank. The bank assured me I had $500,000 in real money.  But alas, the bank failed.  Now they tell me my $500,000 is “gone.”  Where did it go?  Who got it?  Did it vanish into thin air?
Likewise, the guy bailed on the bank loan.  The house sits empty, its door wide open and swinging in the wind.  The yard has turned to weeds and the penny saver newspapers are piling up on the door step.  They foreclose.  They discover the house is now worth only $200,000.  Where did that other $300,000 go?

YOUR WORTHLESS BROTHER-IN-LAW       Even more simple.  You loan your worthless brother in law $200.  Surprise, he doesn’t pay you back.   But he did something with that $200.  Lost it in a poker game.  The guy who won the $200 bucks used it to pay some back child support.  His wife spent the $200 on a new dress.  Maybe that, combined with the fact that she wore rubber gloves to bed, is why he divorced her.  But the fact is, the $200 bucks is still out there somewhere going through the economy. Isn’t it?
Lets multiply this little math example by billions of dollars.  Where did those billions go?

HIDE AND SEEK        I have looked everywhere and I DON’T HAVE IT.  I’m not sure about my rich neighbor.  Maybe he’s just playing dumb.  Last night I could swear I heard him digging in his back yard.  Probably needed some cash for groceries.

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?     Is lost money like a box full of single socks with no mates?
Or does someone have a box with all my lost socks?
Should I buy a ticket to Venezuela?
And just in case you have all that lost money, have I told you lately that you are my very best friend in the whole world?

Category: Essays, Humor

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