Jim Rogers Was Right About Wall Street And Their Maseratis
Over the past several months, legendary investor Jim Rogers has made a few comments about a certain make of car— the Maserati. Now, it doesn’t appear that Mr. Rogers dislikes Maseratis for any reason in particular. Rather, he’s been mentioning the Italian manufacturer of racing and sports cars to make a point about how out of whack things have gotten down on Wall Street. Back on June 6, Rogers told Bloomberg in an interview:
You don’t see any 29-year old cotton farmers driving around in Maseratis, but you do see a lot of 29-year olds on Wall Street driving around in Maseratis. This is not the way the world is supposed to work.
The CEO of Rogers Holdings said such a situation exists due to the tremendous excesses that have taken place in the financial communities over the past several years.
And it’s not only Wall Street traders who have been associated with the exotic sports car. Investment bankers too. Yet, they almost came close to losing theirs a few months ago— if it weren’t for their pals over at the Federal Reserve. Rogers told Bloomberg on March 17:
And here he [Fed Chair Ben Bernanke] goes and gives more of our money to Bear Stearns so these guys can continue to drive around in their Maseratis… The Federal Reserve is using taxpayer money to buy a bunch of Bear Stearns traders Maseratis.
Looks like Jim was right about Maserati being the vehicle of choice down on Wall Street. While surfing the web yesterday, I happened to notice that Bloomberg.com had posted a review of the $115,000 Maserati GranTurismo on their site. Bloomberg’s Jason Harper wrote:
The Maserati GranTurismo delivers on a quality increasingly rare in the auto world: beauty. Put it against any dozen modern cars and the GT’s supple lines, perfect swells and ideal dimensions will outshine them all.
At $115,000 it’s not exactly a drop in the bucket, yet those exotic looks leave most people thinking it’s as expensive as a Ferrari.
Don’t fret, Wall Streeters. A few more taxpayer bailouts here, and some government interference/market manipulations there, and you’ll have enough of Main Street’s hard-earned cash to finally afford that Ferrari…
Jamiroquai, “Cosmic Girl” (1996)
YouTube Video Link
Sources:
Jim Rogers Interview
Bloomberg News Video
Bloomberg, June 6, 2008
Jim Rogers Interview
Bloomberg News Video
Bloomberg, March 17, 2008
“Maserati GT, $115,000, Evokes Classic Beauty of Italian Coupes”
Jason H. Harper
Bloomberg, July 23, 2008
July 24th, 2008 at 10:54 am
The question, then, becomes “why are Americans so complacent?” There was a recent Wall Street Journal editorial asking this. How is it that Americans can sit and watch wealth being redistributed to some of the richest people around (Wall Street, Fannie) and not say anything?
I’m convinced something is wrong with the populace. Take away their stupid football games or Rock Band video games, and then I bet they’d riot. Our spirit has been numbed by too many toys and distractions. Hard to believe they had it right in France long ago.
In this light, you have to respect Black America, because they the system screws them, they protest and/or riot. What was that Clash song about a white riot? It’ll never happen.
July 25th, 2008 at 9:17 am
Thanks for the comment Days of Broken Arrows. You know, Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said:
I’m no so sure of this anymore. I suspect a good portion of the American populace prefers living in ignorance. “I don’t want to know about it,” they say. And then there’s those who say, “Well, as long as I have my toys, why change the status quo?” They’re in for a nasty shock soon. Yet another segment of society knows it’s being manipulated, but throws its hands up in the air, proclaiming, “I know I’m being screwed, but what can I do about it?” Finally, there are those wanting to reform “the system.” What do they say?:
-You want to hold onto your precious seat in Congress? Fine, but you better not go tinkering with the economy and taxpayer money for your own personal/political gain.
-Your financial instiution is going under because of bad bets? Sorry to hear that, but don’t you dare try “socializing” your losses by calling your pals in Washington for a taxpayer bailout.
-Bought a house you can’t afford and now you’re losing it? Horrible, I know. But don’t expect the taxpayers to rescue you. You can argue until you’re blue in the face, but the fact remains— IT’S YOUR NAME ON THE CONTRACT. I WILL NOT PAY FOR YOUR BAD DECISIONS. Besides, when did renting cease to be an option?