[SHAKEDECADE]

To play devils advocate; who doesn’t want to protect themselves and that which they’ve worked for? From the poor who’ve worked hard for the past year to save up for engine for the late 70s truck. To the middle(ish) class who’ve worked hard for their first purchased two bedroom home. To the middle upperclass who’ve gone on a vacation to Branson Missouri. To pretty much everyone with children. To the ultra wealthy that are worth seven figures and up. Everyone wants to protect what they feel they’ve worked hard for. That includes the proposed ultra wealthy that have the means to insure they aren’t pulled into Epstein’s legal whirlpool.

If it exists, it makes sense they would protect themselves.

[mc32]

Ok but by looking out for yourself it’s typically and socially accepted and expected you’re not going to do grievous direct harm to other parties.

[buttcoinslol]

To the ultra-rich, "other parties" are other ultra-rich people. Everyone else is just an insect. I mean that in the most visceral way possible, the ultra-rich view us with contempt.

edit: This is why Bernie Madoff went to prison and why basically no one went to jail over the 2008 GFC. Madoff stole from his own social class, which is a big no-no.

[otakucode]

A couple years ago I listened to a college course from The Teaching Company called 'Explaining Social Deviance.' It analyzed deviant behavior in a multitude of different societies and contexts, going through history and modern day across the globe, examining what behavior societies found deviant, what they do about it, how they attempt to stop it, etc. When the social scientists researching the topic studied the upper class, they realized that crime could not be classified as 'deviant' in that social context. It was accepted, expected, and universal. Restraint from criminal activity was actually what was deviant.

Despite the fact that white collar crime does more economic damage and even kills more people every year than street crime, it is punished very rarely and then typically only lightly. That's a social issue, and the majority of society are complicit in it, fighting for tougher laws to control the middle and lower class while fighting against substantial penalties for crime committed by the upper class. The Protestant Work Ethic says that hard work, endurance of suffering, and virtuous character is the only way to wealth, so the public presumes that is how the wealthy got wealthy. It is almost never true, however.

[goatinaboat]

Madoff stole from his own social class, which is a big no-no.

I don’t think that analysis tells the whole story. Elizabeth Holmes got away with a slapped wrist despite defrauding some very, very powerful people.

Whereas Shkreli got jail despite returning every penny to his investors.

[greenyoda]

> Elizabeth Holmes got away with a slapped wrist despite defrauding some very, very powerful people.

Holmes hasn't gotten away with anything yet. She's been indicted on federal charges, and the trial is expected to begin in 2020. She could end up in prison.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Holmes#Criminal_char...

[baobabKoodaa]

Shkreli didn't "return every penny to his investors". He stole money from one group to pay another group. Yes all of his investors ended up in the green eventually (because some underlying businesses were profitable), but that doesn't change the fact that he defrauded a lot of people and not "every penny" was paid back.

For example, if you invest money in a profitable business and the CEO skims a little bit off the top, you might end up making money despite that you were defrauded off some of your gains.

[candiodari]

Technically Elizabeth Holmes hasn't yet gone to trial. The consequences for her aren't quite decided on yet.

[DennisP]

That's the ideal and the law, but in practice it's not that uncommon for people do grievous direct harm to other parties, when they think they can get away with it.

[hbosch]

Nice. Now play devil’s advocate to explain why it’s actually good to be involved in a global pedophilia ring.