I've had a bit of time to think about my lost investments and think now is the time for me to start whinging. There have been many articles scorning us investors, suggesting that the tax incentives were our only reason to invest. There have been others after the collapse waxing lyrical about how any man and his mule would have known these were dud investments - 'hello Michael Pascoe!' (hand wave there too)
It seems to me that it is all too easy for everyone to become a Latterday Expert. Someone who knows it all when they have all the facts. Where were these people when us investors were signing up to what we were being sold as the greatest invesment on earth? As I wrote to one MP, if ASIC, the ATO, and hundreds of accountants thought these products were good enough to hawk, then why didn't someone get out earlier and tell these reputable organisations that there was something odd in the bookkeeping?
So far tonight I have written to a Federal MP, a local MP, and the editor of the SMH. I'm open to any and all suggestions. I'll write to anyone that has the eyes to read, and anyone with the ears to listen.
When you can't trust the experts who can you trust? Being an expert gives you special powers, rather like superman...shouldn't they be used and not abused?
What is worse than my losing my investments, is that last night I read that there are others who have invested over 20 times more than me, and most likely more. Yeah, we could say they had lots more money so they could afford to lose it. I'm sure there are other people less wealthy than me who could say the same. We need to save the judgements for another day.
Fact is, people have lost money because of a badly managed company that had all it's boxes ticked by the appropriate people. If an accountant can't see it's wrong, if the tax office can't see it's wrong and if ASCIC, our corporate watchbody can't see it is wrong, then who can - oh yes the hindsight journos, that's right.
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