@dadpad,
Same to you, Oz.
here's a merry festive reworking of an old joke:
It is called ‘Cows! A cheerful summary’, and consists of a series of definitions:
Socialism: You have two cows. The State nationalises one and gives it to your neighbour.
Communism: You have two cows. The State takes both and gives you some milk.
Fascism: You have two cows. The State takes both and sells you some milk.
Traditional capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
Lehman Brothers Venture Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at Bear Stearns, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island Company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. You sell one cow to buy a new President of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public then buys your bull.’
