Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Story

Here's a story.

Once upon a time, there was an 'organization'. This 'organization' was doing very 'well'. 'Investors' of the organization were happy. The organization was making 'lots' of 'money'.

There came a time, however, when 'members' of the organization started 'implementing' 'practices' that would one day threaten the organization. For a time, these 'practices' made the organization do even better. 'Investors' were happy. The organization was making 'lots' of 'money'.

There were several people, other 'members' of the organization, who became aware of these 'practices'. These people took it upon themselves to warn the 'higher-ups' in the organization of these adverse 'practices'. These 'practices', they said, would one day threaten the organization. 'Investors' would be angry. The senate would have hearings. 60 Minutes would do stories.

But the 'higher-ups' of the organization said that there is nothing wrong. After all, the organization is doing 'well'. 'Investors' are happy. The organization is making 'lots' of 'money'.

But there came a time when the 'practices' did, indeed come to threaten the organization. 'Investors' got angry. The senate had hearings. 60 Minutes did stories.

And everyone wondered why the 'higher-ups' did not heed the warnings they had been given. The 'higher-ups' claimed that they were not at fault. They had no reason to do anything about the 'practices' that eventually threatened the organization. After all, at the time, the organization was doing 'well'. 'Investors' were happy, and they were making 'lots' of 'money'.

THE END

So, my astute readers- what is the story about?

The mortgage crisis....
or Major League Baseball?

1 comment:

  1. There must be a set of physical laws that explains some of this. Personal experience suggests to me that it is difficult to recognize the "cusp" that signifies a change in direction. Watch the stock market long enough and you'll see that it consistently overshoots and undershoots its way to equilibrium. That is true for a lot of human behaviors. You should look into the problem and fix it.

    ReplyDelete