The 13 Million Dollar Question
A little while ago, I was invited to participate in a Class Action lawsuit for 13 million dollars. If successful, my share of this loot would only be a small fraction, perhaps a thousand dollars at most.
The accused is an internet company I invested in back in the boom days. Like so many of those companies, their expectations fell far short of reality. They said they were going to make a billion, and a whole lot of suckers – err, I mean investors – wanted a piece of that.
Myself included.
Regardless of the sum involved, I will NOT be participating in this suit. The main reason is this: I am a responsible person. That means when something goes wrong, I accept responsibility.
That means:
- If someone lies to me and I believe them, it’s my fault.
- If I invest in some get-rich fast scheme and lose money, it’s my fault.
- If I lend money to someone who never pays me back, it’s my fault.
I take a risk expecting a reward – but there is no guarantee, nor should there be. My mistakes are my own, and no one owes me a thing. Not the CEO of the company, not the shareholders, not the taxpayers, not my mommy, not you, not anyone.
No bailouts.
Owning my mistakes has provided an invaluable education, and I make much fewer of them. It’s forced me to pay attention and think about what I’m doing.
In turn, I also expect to own my successes.
When I make a profit it belongs to me. Not to pay for wars, not to pay for your grandma’s medicine, not to build windmills, or feed the poor, or fund your retirement – unless I WANT to do any of those things.
No bailouts.
This lawsuit I’ve been invited to consists of people who cannot accept responsibility – being urged on by greedy lawyers – who are enabled by congress who put regulations in place – demanded by people who cannot accept responsibility.
Sometimes these people clamor for more “regulation.” Well guess what Sparky, more regulation leads to more lawsuits – more regulation leads to more bureaucrats. And these are all a gigantic drag on real productivity for real people in the real world.
I want no part of this.
We don’t need more regulations – we need more responsibility.
