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To whistleblow, or not to whistleblow


Guest kawikaho

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Guest kawikaho

Not related to the whistle blowing, but along the lines of cynicism in this country:

 

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/01/geithners-dubious-aig-cover-up.html

 

And here are the emails:

 

http://www.scribd.com/doc/24899682/E-mails-from-N-Y-Fed-to-A-I-G-to-Not-Disclose-Counterparty-Payments

 

Not to politicize here, but it's interesting to see some of the conspiracy theories being spot on.

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This guy "sang" only after he was caught. It appears like he provided info not voluntarily but under pressure from authorities.

 

I wouldn't class him a whistle-blower, whom I would define as one who comes forward with information to highlight wrongful acts, often at some risk to himself. They do it not out of self-interest but in the interest of the common good.

 

This guy's actions are more like that the Galleon insider-trading crew who are cooperating with authorities in the hope that they will get lighter sentences.

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Guest kawikaho

Based on the interview he is a whistle blower and even if he sang after he got caught why is he doing the most time compared to the people he ratted on.

 

Exactly.  That's the point.  It's not like we're saying he shouldn't deserve jail time.  I mean, he is a co-conspirator that has failed to oblige the whistleblower protocols.  The hypocrisy lies in the fact that none of the egregious frauds went to jail with him!  And I wonder why???  I sort of know a guy, a contractor, that did 9 months in the hole for tax evasion.  Although he owed quite a bit of back taxes compared to the average Joe, it probably pales in comparison to what these frauds owed.

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Keep in mind that there are practical limits to this.

 

To reduce this stuff you really need to materially increase the payoffs to the first ones for talking; which effectively requires the fraud to always be personally massively profitable, otherwise its more profitable to talk. But as with options, the 1st one gets the biggest take ..... the next one less, etc. Wait too long, & you could get nothing.

 

If you're the 'brain' its better that the potential talker have an accident. Of course, if you're good - this can go on for years, & we have entire (global) industries using this as their business model (mafia, drug & war lords, etc).

 

The incentives rise with the increasing 'cost' of business, but you have to be around to collect. And as with any business, if you can improve on the collectability of your debts - you can do a lot more business!

 

SD 

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