"The Big Short"

[fiefoe]

The book would be more entertaining if I could convince myself that modern finance is just how a lot of people making a living. As it is, I spend more time enraged while sitting in my car than I really hoped. I don't remember being so worked up by Michael Lewis's earlier book, "Liar's Poker", but I'm curious now what light hindsight would cast on that story.

Paraphrased to a fare-thee-well:

• In the 80s people trying to securitize home mortgages actually mostly worried about being paid back sooner than they wanted.
• The wage stagnation of lower middle class Americans fueled their need for credit.
• Compared to the bond market, equity market is a fucking zit.
• Golden Rule: Whoever has the gold, rules.
• Warren Buffet said that a check is what separates a commitment from a conversation.

The shorts are a fascinating bunch:

• Michael Burry is 'like a human blind taste test'. (Charles Munger is also one-eyed.)
• the 'enthusiastic misery' of Eisman
• 'the tangy, sweet-smelling aroma of the dropout about' the Cornwall Capital guys
• I don't think I can forgive Greg Lippmann for quipping that a guy who can't speak English can't lie.