In America, we all like to believe that everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed and get ahead. This has been the major sales pitch in living in a free society with open markets. To an extent its true, but when it comes down to making the big bucks, having influence and knowing people in high places takes precedence over hard work.
Let me give you a few examples;
1) Last night my step-son called. He is going to school at a major university, and working at an elite country club.
Supreme Court Judge Samuel Alito was a visitor at the club last night, and my step son was Judge Alito's personal waiter for the night. He said that Judge Alito was a great guy, and the judge was very interested in my step-son's experiences in Iraq when he was a soldier with the 82nd airborne.
At the end of the evening, Judge Alito and my step-son were having a conversation when "a person of influence" from the law school approach Judge Alito, and attempted to interrupt the conversation. When this happened, Judge Alito held up his hand in front of the man's face and said, "excuse me, I'll be with you in just a moment."
After finishing the conversation with my step-son, Alito then gave the VIP from the law school his attention.
The VIP was very angry that Alito did not cut-off the conversation with my step-son when he tried to interrupt. After Judge Alito left for the night, the law school VIP told the country club executives to not have my step-son on the premises of country club the following night when Judge Alito returns for dinner.
This folks is clearly an abuse of power. My step-son is an Iraq War veteran, who received the bronze "V" for valor. He went on missions with "Delta Force" after his heroic acts were recognized by the elite group, and a half pint VIP from the law school pulled rank on him because Judge Alito would not allow the conversation with my step-son to be interrupted.
Tell me this wouldn't piss you off. In my younger days (maybe even now), the law school VIP would have left the country club with a busted lip.
This reminds me of a quote by Hannibal Lectur (played by Anthony Hopkins) in the movie Hannibal; “People don't always tell you what they are thinking. They just see that you don't succeed in life".
We all saw this same kind of abuse in the financial markets in 1999-2000.
2) Living along the Gulf Coast, I saw first hand the feeding frenzy that took place during the real estate boom, and in the hot condo market.
In 2003, you couldn't get in on the ground floor (pre-construction, not re-sales) of many condo complexes without knowing someone. As soon as a new condo deal was announced, all of the "real" pre-construction deals were taken. Most of these sales went to "friends of friends" who were able to get in early, and immediately turned around put their units up for sale.
Realtors were re-listing previously sold condos as "pre-sales", and could do so since the units were not actually built. By doing this, they technically did nothing wrong, but they would not fully disclose that the unit had been previously sold unless you were smart enough to ask.
3) Hillary Clinton. Who is backing her? Who got her to move to a district in New York where she could win a race for the senate? Who is backing her for President? How did she make $99,541 in profits on a $1,000 investment trading commodities?
Mrs. Clinton was a neophyte investor, and in 1978 had a reported annual income of $25,000. To trade commodities, most firms require a substantial net worth/ income before approving someone to trade commodities. Of course, having influence and knowing people in high places can get you around a lot of hurdles.
