Jayne Barnard reports on watching Bernie Madoff's sentencing:
The most powerful voice in the room was that of Judge Denny Chin in a closely-scripted but emotionally resonant ruling. He cited the many middle-class victims of Madoff's fraud -- a theme deftly created by the U.S. Attorney's Office. He recounted the story of a widow who had gone to Madoff's office to thank him for protecting her family's weatlh. "You're safe," Madoff assured her. Judge Chin noted the many decisions victims had made -- sometimes for decades -- based on their mistaken belief in Bernie Madoff.
Perhaps I'm lacking in the empathy President Obama famously thinks judges need, but I have a hard time working up much sympathy for Madoff's victims--middle class or elite celebrities:
-
If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
-
Anybody with the common sense God gave gravel knows that you don't put all you eggs in one basket. Diversify.
-
Trust but verify. Better yet, don't trust.
-
Nobody beats the market over time.
These folks wanted to believe that they really had found a great and all-powerful Wall Street Wiz and that there was nobody behind the curtain. So they ignored basic precepts of investing. They got burnt. Whatever.
