Slashdot Mirror
Ponzi Schemes Multiply On YouTube
Hugh Pickens writes "While it's probably not true that P. T. Barnum was the originator of the saying 'there's a sucker born every minute,' the proliferation of nearly 23,000 Ponzi schemes on YouTube, with an astounding 59,192,963 views, proves that the sentiment is still alive and well. The videos usually don't ask for money directly, but send viewers to web sites where they are urged to sign up for the 'gifting program,' usually for fees ranging from $150 to $5,000. One of the videos recently added on YouTube featured Bible quotes, pictures of stacks of money and a testimonial from a man who said he not only got rich from cash gifting, but also found true happiness and lost 35 pounds. 'They make it seem like it's legal and an easy way to make money, but it's nothing more than a pyramid scheme,' says Better Business Bureau spokeswoman Alison Southwick. Some of the videos claim that because it's 'gifting,' it's somehow legal. 'They talk about "cash leveraging," whatever that means, and other vague marketing talk,' says Southwick, but the basic scheme is that participants are told to recruit more people who will put in more money. 'It's just money changing hands,' says Southwick, 'and it always goes to people at the top of the pyramid.' A spokesman for YouTube, which is owned by Google Inc., said the company doesn't comment on individual videos."
With more and more videos being pulled because the various MAFIAA organisations can't get enough, crap like that will soon be the only things left on YouTube. Let's be honest, what's left? Music videos were the first thing to go (or "be unavailable in your country" should they not want to cough up the dough to be available for you). User made videos are now targeted, as well as videos to the likeness of "look how I play $instrument to $song".
Soon all there will be left are videos that, bluntly, nobody wants to watch.
But, to avoid being modded offtopic, let's ask another question: Why should it be illegal to play pyramid schemes? Just because people are stupid enough to fall for them? I have no sympathy for people who are lured in by promises that are quite bluntly too good to be true, where thinking about it for only a minute would give you enough reasons to stay away from it. How can they promise you insane interest rates when your bank can only give you 3% or less? How the heck should they have any influence on your weight (aside from you not being able to even buy bread anymore and thus starving)? And if that's illegal, why is religion still legal while promising essentially the same?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
Solid critical thinking skills start with a decent education. Decent education starts by making it free, neutral and accessible.
So true.
Speaking as a philosopher of education I can say that there's no end to the practical application of logic and reasoning that you're taught in the course of the study.
It should be an obligatory course in elementary school, but for some reason it's much more important to have bible-stories read to you.
Makes sense right? I guess someone thinks it's a shortcut to good behavior being told what's right and wrong in broad general terms open to interpretation, instead of equipping people with the basic tools to figure those things out for themselves on a case by case basis in an exact, non-interpretable manner.
If you quote this signature there'll be 72 copies of Windows ME waiting for you in Heaven.
Friend of mine seriously considered "investing" in a Ponzi scheme. Even after I explained to him how it works he was still thinking about it. Why? Cause he considers himself smarter than the guy doing the scheme. The conversation went a little like this:
Bob: Have you heard of these short term money market investments?
Me: Heh, these.. what.. investments?
Bob: short term.. money.. you give them money and a few weeks later they give you 100% return.
Me: Oh really.. what are they investing in?
Bob: Doesn't say.. I mean, that makes sense, if you knew what to invest in you wouldn't need them right?
Me: It's a scam.
Bob: Really? Their web site looks legit.
Me: Web developers are pretty cheap ya know.
Bob: Well I've search around for them and I've not found anyone bad mouthing them.
Me: Maybe they change their name every week.. or maybe they're doing the long con.
Bob: I think they're legit man.. umm.. long con? What do you mean?
Me: How much are they asking for?
Bob: Not that much, only a few hundred.
Me: So if you invest a few hundred and in two weeks time they give you double your money back and then ask you to reinvest that and give a few hundred more, you would right?
Bob: Well, yeah, I guess.. maybe a few times.
Me: So if, say, on the third time they said they really needed to you pump in twice as much as you have already given them or they won't be able to give you back your investment.. you would right?
Bob: Well, I guess, I mean, they'd have a good history by then.
Me: After just 3 cycles?
Bob: Yeah..
Me: You're a sucker.
Bob: No.. I'd take the money before then I think.
Me: So if they ask you for your phone number and call you up, will you talk to them?
Bob: Sure.
Me: And you'd give them your bank info.
Bob: Uhh.. umm.. I guess so.
Me: Yeah, you're a sucker.
Bob: I think I'll give em the first hundred and then take their money on the first cycle.
Me: I think they'll see you coming and make sure you never get that first "investment" back.
(Bob isn't his real name, but if you're reading this M... you know who you are).
How we know is more important than what we know.
It isnt just social security...
The national debt is now over 11 trillion dollars and there hasn't been a real budget surplus since 1969.
The federal government has borrowed money and can not pay the prior lenders back, so they borrow more money in order to do so. This has been going on for so long that only a few people still recognize it as an active ponzi scheme, as is evident by the ignorant people modding my post as a troll.
The interest payments on the debt will crest half a trillion dollars this year, and will be over a trillion/year by the time Obama's 1st term is up. The government will likely borrow more from social security (why not? its doomed anyways) in order to pay off prior lenders as it becomes more and more difficult to find new lenders.
There are other areas where the government is actively ponzi as well, such as medicare (medicare is a bigger problem than social security.)
Check out (U.S. Government Accounting Office) http://www.gao.gov/cghome/d08446cg.pdf to see how grim the pyramid really is.
It wont be possible to take down the pyramids through force (taxation at gunpoint) for much longer. If ponzi could have gone out and robbed some banks, he could have paid off all of his lenders. But imagine the point where even if he robbed every bank in the country he couldn't pay them off. America is pretty much there, right now, at the point of no return.
"His name was James Damore."
Or work for the guy that started it. I wrote the software to monitor one and he offered to graft me on somewhere near the top. As I'd done the maths I realized how sleezy it was (it was fairly obvious that those towards the bottom stood to lose every penny, whilst the guy at the top was looking at £50,000 per month) and in declined. Probably I wouldn't these days.. I'm older, wiser and have less of a conscience.
See the difference? Its hard for the government to write off bad debt when its the one thats upside down.
That's ok. The US debt is backed by nuclear weapons, the IRS, and 2 million prisoners providing near free labor.
I'm trying to be funny, but I'm sort of serious. The fact that the USA can invade another nation with impunity to enforce its economic policies, use the IRS with impunity, and throw you into jail if you don't follow laws specifically created to create criminals makes the USD more valuable.
I'm mostly being pragmatic about the issue even though I don't agree with it. I mean, have you ever tried to pay the IRS in something over than US dollars. I don't think they will be happy with you. By the mere fact they force people to pay in USD means that it is made de facto valuable because you have to pay or face jail time.
Not being in jail is important to you, right? Therefore the USD is valuable to you.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)