Bernie Madoff's Sentencing Over - Good News?
Monday June 29, 2009
Categories: Everybody Hurts, Interdependent Activism & Politics
You know Bernie Madoff, of course. The guy with the onomatopoeia for a name? The Madoff sentencing is now complete. Bernard Madoff is going to jail for an 150 year sentence for his $50 billion Ponzi Scheme. The list of...
Filed Under: Bernard madoff, Bernie madoff, buddhism, compassion, madoff news, madoff victims, ponzi scheme
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Welcome to One City. You've lived here your whole life, whether you know it or not. One City blog is an outgrowth of The Interdependence Project, a Buddhist-inspired nonprofit organization led by Ethan Nichtern, dedicated to teaching the insights of Buddhism, meditation, mindfulness, and interconnectedness in the 21st century world.
If you're interested in how your mind works, are interested in meditation (but don't want to pretend you live in ancient Asia), care about the world, are into media, love contemporary culture, and above all, really dig the truth of interdependence-that nothing happens in a vacuum--then this blog is for you.
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I suppose the Madoff sentence is a symbol, but I agree there's something too gleefully punishing about the number of years.
Hi Ethan. Interesting post.
I think summing the sentences for multiple crimes is standard practice; the most serious offenders often get multi-century prison terms. I wouldn't characterize this sentence as "gleeful" as Ms. May did.
On the whole I agree that Madoff's sins are a sideshow compared to, say, Countrywide's or AIG's, and the main difference is that his malfeasance was obviously illegal, whereas the really big Ponzi schemes might have been mostly legal, though just as unethical. Compensating executives based on long-term performance, and forcing boards to remain independent of executives, could go a long way toward fixing such problems.
But in the end our essential delusions will persist: During a bubble, it's so comfortable to believe the good times will continue, and so hard to remember impermanence.
@Tom
I'm not seeing the relevance of your post here other than to plug your blog. Madoff wasn't a blue collar worker. Your situation sounds unfortunate, but not relevant to this forum. If there is a moderator here, please consider removing this irrelevant and self-interested post.
@Tom and Greg
I dont quite get it either, but ... here is another suffering human being. Lets not compare, but simply offer companionship to all. Nothing to lose, nothing to gain ....
Wow. Quotation marks *and* a Ms.? What did I ever to do you, Jesse?
It's correct what you've said about greed. It amazes me how people flock to buy lotto, especially as it was $90,000,000 yesterday. They don't realise that you couldn't trust anyone if you owned that amount of money. They think it would 'fix' everything... wow.
We're all looking for some 'easy' way to get ahead. Hard work and sacrifice just don't cut it anymore. It's been "better to receive then give" now for a while.
Hopefully people will wake up and figure it out and those of us who already know the truth will work at keeping our integrity and not becoming self-righteous and judgmental in the process.
I feel sorry for Madoff... some things you can't fix in this life. Maybe he's in that role so that we can look in the mirror? Examine our own hearts... that kind of thing?
I am sick to death of a society where I feel we are 'obliged' to pass judgement on strangers with very few facts on which to base it.I don't want to be the conscience for Mr. Madoff or any other human on this planet. I would rather leave that up to those of us who are sinless and thereby qualified to do so. I am very depressed with the way this planet runs and I'd just as soon withdraw and become a total recluse. I'm more than halfway there now and the more I see, the more I am convinced that its the right path to follow.
Nancy, I often feel the same thing. Then I think, if I'm so against passing judgement then I can't pass judgement on the judgement passers, either.
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