Why, then, are we surprised that Facebook is now caught in financial turmoil as those founders sought to cash in, taking billions of dollars for themselves while leaving the new stockholders with pieces of paper that may or may not develop into a fair return?
If we are betting right now, we would have to say that the chances of people participating in the IPO will come away with any sort of profit are moving from dim to dimmer.
I am seriously stupid when it comes to high finance, but even I could see the warning signs: negative reviews by everyone from the sage of the market, Warren Buffett, to the financial TV commentators.
There was no plan inside Facebook for turning the sort of corporate profit stockholders need. That underwriter Morgan Stanley may have slipped warning signs to a negative few is no surprise. Facebook loves to deceive.
I use Facebook sparingly and what I see among my “Facebook Friends” is a mixture of political angst from some hardcore feminists and good will from some of my real-life friends who I knew to be of that ilk long before Facebook.
I also see a lot of insipidness from people I barely know about people I know not. Hence, my sparing use. It is boring.
The world of Facebook is also anarchy, and the fact that it was taken seriously enough to separate people with glints of wealth in the eyes from their hard-earned savings is beyond scary.
Facebook was created to seduce without actual human contact. That’s stupid. Morgan Stanley was stupid. Nasdaq was stupid. And the investors were stupid. There must be something more substantial, intelligent and worthwhile in our lives.
When I think of Facebook, my brain buzz goes to one simple phrase: “Let’s get real, people.”
• • •
Lee Commissioner Frank Mann’s single vote against calling for a referendum to allow slot machines at dog tracks shows he is the one commissioner who understands that when the camel sticks his nose in your tent he’ll soon have his whole body in and you’ll be out.
The tent is Southwest Florida, a community built on the wonders of nature, the ethic of hard work, the lure of sandy beaches and brainpower willing to innovate. The camel is casino gambling, an easy-money path to the denigration of wholesome values. Mann is from an old-Florida family, sadly a minority population in the 2010s.
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My Medicare statement on some surgery I had shows the surgeon charged $9,000, which I thought was low.
He was paid $1,700. I am sure the doc is not living in public housing, but that disparity is a disgraceful demonstration of how governmental involvement in health care distorts any sense of value.
Pulitzer Prize-winning editor Dan Warner led newspapers in Massachusetts, Ohio and Maine. He was a writer and editorial board member for The News-Press. He lives in south Fort Myers. Email him at djwarner1@yahoo.com.
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