Sunday, December 04, 2011

After watching 60 Minutes tonight you can see how the U.S. public is being screwed again.

Is gambling the real problem or is it just Poor or neglectful oversight by industry and government And no one cares.

Are we gambling away the future of our grandchildren?

Greed is the human selfishness and gambling is the vehicle to obtain the riches (so we think)

to fulfill one's greed. How did we arrive at this lowest point in our economy since the 1930's?

Pushing individual products into numerous borrowing tools to effect huge fee income and passing risk to 3rd parties with no one being concerned with the inevitable day of reckoning.

Did greed driven euphoria to encourage individuals to bet on the come that a 100 -125% loan to value on their primary residence will be mitigated by nonstop increases in real estate value.

Encouraging increases in credit card debt to have today and pay for in tomorrow dollars at the interest rate as high as 20% or more.

Credit agencies lack of analysis and true valuations of assets and liabilities moved to back burner so fat fees could be earned.

Governments usual inept involvement forgetting the debacle of the early 1980's with the savings and loans associations.

Corporate salaries and bonuses not realistic with performance and accountability displaced.

Unbridled expansion of state lotteries, to fund education, senior citizen programs and other state projects that caused the poor to be poorer and millions to become addicted.

The systemic problem of gambling effected Wall Street, Banking, Government and Public betting on the come. By placing bets in the mortgage area, credit card business, hedge funds, products that will recover if mistakes or poor judgment without a "what-if" analysis brings disaster.

All we hear today are comments about various companies "bets", including Wall Street, Main Street, all with negative results.Lets also look at day traders who are betting on the next buy or sale of a stock to make themselves rich; but in the end, they are just like poker players, betting on the next turn of the card. Customers are allowed to buy stocks with money that they don't necessarily have, by buying on "margin".

We now are a nation of gamblers with 48 states promoting and heavily advertising gambling in order to get their piece of the action. The states are lapping up money from lotteries, scratch offs and casinos and using peoples losses to augment normal taxes. States project how much income they will receive from gambling revenue, in their budgets, and when that projection falls short; where will the money come from?

How about the fact that the federal government makes billions of dollars on taxing the winnings of the gambler?

Billions and billions are bet each year legally and illegally.

Every time one purchases a stock in a company they are placing a bet; who knows what the future price will be when you need to sell?

Is the stock market the biggest roulette wheel in America?

When are we going to realize that the underlying problem of the current economic crisis is greed? Greed that fueled the gambling to achieve the dream of businesses and individuals accumulating wealth without the thought of accountability and responsibility?

I run a help line for compulsive gamblers

888 LAST BET

And in the last few years many of the calls are from gamblers who have been gambling in the financial markets. Some of them are stock brokers / executives, working in the financial field.

The following is a list of symptoms from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual from the American Psychiatric Association, that describe Pathological Gambling. Some of these criteria seem to fit for some of those people who work in the financial field.

Diagnostic criteria for 312.31 Pathological Gambling

DSM-IV

Persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior as indicated by at least five of the following:

1. is preoccupied with gambling (e.g., preoccupied with reliving past gambling experiences, handicapping or planning the next venture, or thinking of ways to get money with which to gamble)

2. needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money in order to achieve the desired excitement

3. has repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop gambling

4. is restless or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop gambling

5. gambles as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dysphoric mood (e.g., feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, depression.

6. after losing money gambling, often returns another day in order to get even ("chasing" one's losses)

7. lies to family members, therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with gambling

8. has committed illegal acts, such as forgery, fraud, theft, or embezzlement, in order to finance gambling

9. has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job, or educational or career opportunity because of gambling

10. relies on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation caused by gambling

Arnie Wexler CCCG

TO REACH ARNIE---

561 249 0922 CELL 954 5015270

Arnie Wexler

Arnie & Sheila Wexler Associates

Lake Worth, FL

561-249-0922 CELL 954 5015270