ZeroHedge, a site I enjoy immensely, had a post today featuring Michael Burry giving the commencement address for the UCLA Economics Department. Burry is one of the stars of the Michael Lewis book The Big Short, which analyzes the few people who went against conventional wisdom and made huge amounts of money. Good for them. Burry and the few others who called the crisis correctly (Peter Schiff comes to mind) are examined in Lewis' book. They are fascinating characters and the fact that they were able to summon the monumental act of will in order to go against conventional wisdom is inspiring. Reading Lewis' book coincided with my introduction to Austrian Economics and libertarianism - both non mainstream schools of thought and it made the transition easier as I had inspiration to guide and help me down a path ridiculed by the mainstream. It has now gotten to the point that I enjoy being the odd man out, asking the questions that just shouldn't be asked.
Burry's 15 minute speech is worth it. As I get older I listen much more closely to those who went against the grain. What is noteworthy is 14:05 into the speech. Burry describes what happened to him after he published an op-ed in the NY Times called "I Saw The Crisis Coming, Why Didn't The Fed?" Within 2 weeks, his 6 defunct funds were all audited. The Congressional Economic Crisis Commission demanded all of his correspondence dating back to 1993. The FBI showed up at his door. It should be noted that a government that is incapable of doing anything right is suddenly able to react with efficiency and speed when it comes to someone who criticizes the FED in print. I wouldn't trust the government to fix a pothole as it is so cloddish. This is the same government that botched the response to Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, missed the economic crashes of the dot com bubble and the housing bubble, blew the chance to catch Madoff's ponzi scheme even after the SEC was tipped off ten times, is trillions of dollars in debt and has an approval rating near the single digits. Despite whiffing on huge issues, it is able to, with pinpoint accuracy, go after Burry with dedication and skill. This is what a once proud country has come to. Burry asked a question, and he paid - about a million dollars in legal fees and hundreds of hours of wasted time, all for naught as he broke no laws. All he did was state (1st amendment?) that the emperor has no clothes. What government apparatchik made the call? Which of the obsequious toads decided that this guy needed to 'be taught a lesson?' This is a pathetic response from a government that exists at the consent of the governed. That anachronistic phrase should be retired, as we are now servile whelps who bow and scrape before our overlords. Good for Michael Burry to "bet against America, and win." America deserves to take some losses as collectively we have become soft minions genuflecting before our god, The State. Perhaps we have already lost.
Recommended reading: Harry Markopolos' Nobody Would Listen. Mr. Markopolos continually figured out that Madoff was running a ponzi scheme. He repeatedly informed the SEC. Nobody would listen, nor would they take him seriously. Anyone who thinks that 'government regulation' is worth anything should read this book.
For those who are upset at my disdain for the much of America:
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