merovingian_backup

There is a new restaurant near my gym with a big sign that says "New York Steaks starting at $1." I went inside to try it out and there was a stack of paperwork at the counter.

The guy at the counter was arguing with a customer who was demanding a refund. The customer left in a huff, threatening lawsuit.

"He's mad over a dollar?" I asked.

The cashier just slumped a little. "This restaurant is owned by some folks who gave out adjustable rate structured loans. You know, where they gave out home loans to new buyers where the payments would triple after 18 months and by then the loans would be packaged into complex financial instruments and when people were of course unable to pay we acted surprised and the economy collapsed? And then everyone blames the millions of scam victims? Well, now they are in the steak business, only every time you buy a steak you have to pay by credit card and only find out at the end if your meal that you also just bought one of those foreclosed houses."

"You must get punched a lot," I said sympathetically.

"Yeah, this is the worst retail job ever and I am going to quit. Scams like this only work if you are not around for the victims to yell at."