Now, while you may be resigned to the measly 0.5 percent yield on your savings account, the Carlyle people are aiming higher, much higher, to 25 percent... (WSJ):
The $7.85 billion Carlyle Partners IV [private-equity fund from the Carlyle Group], which closed to new investors in March, raised more money from high-net-worth individuals -- some 23% -- than any of the firm's previous funds.
[...]
Carlyle, for example, told investors it was aiming for a 25% annual return for its Carlyle Partners IV fund...
Twenty-five percent is an outrageously high number these days. It's not as if the cesspool of business stagnation we're living in represents a time of high growth. The American stock markets have been flat for the past five years (as opposed to the 300+ percent increase during Clinton's two terms). How can the Carlyle Group pull off a 25 percent return?
The unsuccessful privatization of Social Security was preceded by the highly successful privatization of the Iraq invasion. The public till is the Bushies' playground, from Junior's stadium experiments with eminent domain to Cheney's no-bid Halliburton contracts. "Private equity" does have a nice ring to it, but unfortunately for the non-high-net-worth individuals among us the Carlyle Group's success is based on policies that remove money from our pockets in the form of cuckoo tax policies and wild-ass invasions of non-threatening countries. The belief of members of this administration is that anything public literally belongs to them.
What does this have to do with Jesus? Not a damn thing. I vaguely remember him mentioning something about "blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The ownership-society Bushies are vastly more interested in the kingdom of earth, and the wealth that accompanies it — not by saving or investing, but by pirating.
