http://www.banksterusa.org/content/cheery-holiday-message-bankster-death-eaters-wall-street
Today’s Wall Street Journal has a stunning expose on a publicly-traded company called Life Partners Holdings. Are you ready for this? Life Partners creeps around asking the unemployed, the elderly and the sick (especially people with HIV/AIDS) to sell them their life insurance policies for cash. Then they bundle these policies into securities and sell them to vultures -- oh, I am sorry, “investors.” Then the “investors” sit around and wait for people to die -- the sooner the better for the purchasers of these death bonds. The future of this industry “looks bright,” chirps National Underwriters.
Reminds you a little of those Death Eaters in Harry Potter, doesn’t it?
Of course the “life settlements industry” would not be possible with out the financing and backing of big Wall Street banks, the triple-A rating from Wall Street credit agencies and, of course, the quality work of the “big four” accounting firms. The recently-indicted Ernst and Young cooks the books for Life Partners. Last year BanksterUSA targeted Goldman Sachs’ financing of this emerging industry. This year, Goldman shut down Longmore Capital, its death bonds subsidiary, and withdrew from the market...
from the Wall Street journal community:
"This is a disgusting and ghoulish way to make money" ~ Mark Wiley
What are the Mises Communities thoughts?
So people have life insurance, and then they have the option to sell it. They can either keep what they already had, or trade it for something else. These death eaters simply must be stopped!
Life Partners creeps around asking the unemployed, the elderly and the sick (especially people with HIV/AIDS) to sell them their life insurance policies for cash. Then they bundle these policies into securities and sell them to vultures -- oh, I am sorry, “investors.” Then the “investors” sit around and wait for people to die -- the sooner the better for the purchasers of these death bonds. The future of this industry “looks bright,” chirps National Underwriters.
People voluntarily sell their life insurance policies in exchange for cash that they need at the present moment, meaning they somehow come out better than before, or else they wouldn't have made the - I'll say it again - voluntary exchange.
I don't think you need a Patronus Charm to keep from sucking out your soul, so... no.
Weren't you supposed to debate Sieben on something a while back?
Would you buy some if the profit margins were good?
Sure, I have free time now, let's debate. What's the subject?
If a random person and I could both profit from an exchange? Of course I would. Is there a website where I can sign up?
Life insurance for 300k You could die any time in the next 1-15 years Or take 250k now! ^shoot anyone who offers this deal to people
If you think about it, it actually removes the incentive to kill yourself to get the money sooner. It increases the amount of money old people have now, so they can use it to buy better care and enhance their quality of life.
Thank you profit seeking market!
"Is there a website where I can sign up?"
Uh, it's called Wall Street: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=LPHI
If there are any major famines, wars or pestilences in the U.S. your investment will go through the roof.
"If there are any unpredictable events that will screw up your plan, your plan will be screwed up and you cannot predict it" Debate behind tautologies more please.
"Is there a website where I can sign up?" Uh, it's called Wall Street: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=LPHI
I was jokingly exaggerating my enthusiasm for the idea. But seriously, I might invest in some of those shares.
"Life insurance for 300k You could die any time in the next 1-15 years Or take 250k now!"
Oh, come on, we're talking about really old and sick people here.
I bet a slick broker could get a much bigger cut than that.
Try talking to some people with alzheimers, you could probably sell them a pat on the back.
What would voluntarism's position be on doing so?
ravochol:Oh, come on, we're talking about really old and sick people here.
ravochol:I bet a slick broker could get a much bigger cut than that.
ravochol:Try talking to some people with alzheimers, you could probably sell them a pat on the back.
That would be ok with voluntarism, right?
What is your specific problem with the deal? Do you think a broker will somehow trick an old person into exchanging the policy for a bad deal?
He's retreating to the "what about people who are 6 ways handicapped" argument against capitalism. You know you've won when he implicitly concedes that capitalism is okay for 99.99% of the population.
You know you've won when he implicitly concedes that capitalism is okay for 99.99% of the population.
I agree. Okay, let's go. We have to be at Voldemort's house by 11.
With rationed cancer drugs, I'm sure the industry will thrive. It seems Keynesians will do anything to inflate another bubble.
FleetCenturion:With rationed cancer drugs
Someone immediately close to me died recently to cancer. Chemo visits cost any where from 10-20k per visit. Roughly $6000 per 8oz bag of liquid, where less then 10% of the bag is actual medicine.
Would you mind PMing me with more information about this?
I don't know specifics, but, if you're researching for a paper or anything, I'd call a few local oncologists/hospitals and ask about the specifics government licenses needed to perform these operations (including doctors, manufacturers of the chemicals, etc.).
I can imagine people being furious if someday they would no longer find a market for their life policies. Now the problem is that there is a market?! If commies would just make their mind up with some ‘problem’ and stick with it, we’d all be spared much in blood pressure terms.
flic:Would you mind PMing me with more information about this?
Here's a couple:
http://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2010/12/17/death-panels-begin-reaction-to-fdas-decision-to-begin-rationing/#more-207528
http://biggovernment.com/capitolconfidential/2010/12/21/congress-should-act-to-halt-fda-rationing/#more-208584
There's probably much more out there. Unfortunately, I think this is only the beginning. Most media are keeping it pretty quiet.
Probably just patents...
Reminds a bit of mortgages. Again you had a financial products being sold, bundled and sliced so many times in the end you did not know who held final title to a house, not to mention downright frauds, for example creating "subprime" mortgages out of thin air simply because there weren't enough "subprime" lenders to go around.
If you take a look at the WSJ article you'll see that the same, let's say, careless approach seems to be used by Life Partners which regulalrly underestimates life expectancy, resulting in the client having to pay premiums each extra year, besides Life Partners' hefty fees. You will also see that instead of having a pool of physicians and experts in statistics to come up with lifetime estimates they rely on a single expert, an oncologist in Nevada: he may be an authority on cancer but what about, say, people who are elderly but still in good health? He also works alone and has to review between 100 and 200 cases each week, besides his normal medical practice. He candidly admitted he simply has no time to check the accuracy of his work for Life Partners during judicial procedures involving Life Partners in the State of Colorado.Life Partners settled the case by agrreing to repurchase policies from Colorado State residents.
Yet the firm makes a nice return and the owner seems to be doing quite well. Hmmm... then we wonder hy the financial sector is such a mess.
This is genius. But ultimately this is the same thing you can do in any other insurance market too.
If you find it morbid to profit from someone's death, remember that there are people paid to bury the dead - and the latter sure had to die.
As more investors buy these bonds, it will squeeze the profit margins of these sorts of trades to the favor of those receiving the cash.
This really isn't a bad thing, as long as the company doesn't start killing people to collect.
It is good for the person selling their policy because they get to enjoy it in the present. It is a simple time value of money thing, and the yields will improve for the recipients as more investors participate.
Another leftist put in his place. Awesome.
Political Atheists Blog
Clayton Slade: This really isn't a bad thing, as long as the company doesn't start killing people to collect.
Evidently, somebody is predicting an upsurge in the death toll, at least among seniors. "Reverse mortgages", where people get income from their home in exchange for turning it over to the lending institution upon their death, have been all the rage for years. But this is a new idea. I think somebody sees an angle.
Fantastic