Never heard of Andrew Lahde? He's a former hedge fund manager whose hedge fund prospered by an 866% return in 2007. He announced today that he is leaving the financial arena. Financial Armageddon (a financial/economy blog owned by Michael Panzer, who wrote a book by the same name), republished Andre Lahde's letter to another blog telling of his reasons for quitting, making recommendations to government and giving criticisms of our present socio-economic-political environment in this country. His letter can be found here in its entirety: Andrew Lahde's Farewell
Andrew Lahde's fortune has been estimated to be somewhere between $10 to $90 million-- not an enormous amount, but certainly enough to keep him well stocked in hemp (you have to read his letter to understand). He has gained most of this through short selling of commercial real estate stocks. An outstanding quote? One gets the notion that his observation on our present governmental system comes with not a small amount of pain as he states:
First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reined in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt.
Lahde goes on to suggest that someone like George Soros (who Lahde apparently respects) "...start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man’s interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles."
The America that Lahde sees is "clearly broken." On November 4th, we will begin to mend it. This is probably one of the most important times in our nation's history. Lahde notes that other nations have known for some time that there is something seriously wrong here--among them Canada. Having once lived a number of years in Canada, I can tell you that most Canadians love Americans but are deeply concerned about their neighbor to the south and wonder what kind of government appears to be making war on its own citizens. When Lahde surveys the life of many who live on the adrenalin of high finance, he strikes a note of pathos when he asks, "What is the point?" Some have suggested that those who criticize this country are un-American. I would say that those who criticize the ways in which this country has lost its way are the ones who are truly pro-American. They love America passionately and desire a better day for her.