WE'RE SCREWED

Roaming through Barry Ritholtz's blog I ran into this clip. Apparently it's some kind of financial "Lost Tapes" because market players have heard about it, but have not been able to find it. It illustrates the "genius" behind market player Paul Tudor Jones, who called the 1987 market collapse before it happened. I like it.

However, I'm not sure it convinces me that market players like Paul Tudor Jones are geniuses, or simply good gamblers. They're probably a little of both. You be the judge.

Here's the problem. The aggressiveness and rapaciousness of market players like Paul Tudor Jones are fine when you're playing only with the money under your charge (as Paul did). Unfortunately, the market players who gave us our current market collapse have effectively been playing with our money. They now have bailout guarantees which insure payouts, even for their bad days. With $14 trillion guaranteed, and with regulations gutted, there's no end in sight. The bankers and finance guys literally can't lose.

Watch the clip (I know, it's 55 minutes long). You'll understand why, without meaningful reforms, we're screwed.

- Mark