Eric Cantor Stands to Gain Big Time if U.S. Defaults -- Bets Against America

Yes, my fellow ATSers. One of the heros of the Right, the number two man in the House for the Republicans has invested thousands in a fund that has placed a bet that the U.S. defaults on our debt. That's right, this supposed honest, patriotic American has shorted America as proven BY HIS OWN financial disclosure.

blogs.wsj.com...

Putting his money where his mouth is? Eric Cantor, the Republican Whip in the House of Representatives, bought up to $15,000 in shares of ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury ETF last December, according to his 2009 financial disclosure statement. The exchange-traded fund takes a short position in long-dated government bonds. In effect, it is a bet against U.S. government bonds—and perhaps on inflation in the future.

This is from June 18 of last year, but it is worth reminding everyone now that drama queen Cantor has walked from debt negotiations, strangely without even informing Boehner before he did it. I wonder...just maybe...do you think he strung the talks along and gummed up the works in an effort to make his big bet pay off?

What a fine American. Who the H E double L actually BETS against his own country?...ESPECIALLY when he is a top politcal figure. I DARE any U.S. citizen here to justify the shorting of America (non Americans are welcome...and who can blame you). The simple, unescapable fact is that he has a conflict of interest because he has conciously decided it is in his best interest if America defaults.
www.addictinginfo.org...

And lest you forget, this slime bag, along with Boehner voted for EVERY debt limit increase when Bush proposed them.
www.whereistheoutrage.net...

Granted, intellectual honesty is not something you should expect from the Right (and often the Left). (I submit Ron Paul is perhaps the only, maybe Kucinich, honest politicain with integrity in the entire House.). I won't blame right wing ATSers about hypocrisy because the average voter on all sides is an uninformed idiot unaware of the facts like these. Ask the average Republican and he'll swear to his dying breath that guys like Cantor never voted for debt increases when reality shows that he only cares about debt when the opposing party is in power...yet more proof that he cares nothing for America, only power.

Chase them all out.

Seriously, people like this are vile traitors, regardless of party.

I can't think of words for this. outrageous....disgusting....typical ?

shorting of all kinds needs to be abolished, as well as the ability to insure against losses in things like derivatives. it leads to either poor decision making or flat out treasonous fraud

bastards, every stinking one of them

Democrats, Republicans whats the difference?
String him up!

He's a crook and a bum.

He stands to make a financial gain if the US slides into default. He has a serious conflict of interest going on, by ensuring the US does default and making a handsome profit from it.

This has been posted already.

Only 15,000? Doesn't seem like he's that confident in his bet.. I don't know much about the stock market though

Originally posted by Rockdisjoint
This has posted already.

Sorry. Missed that. Mods can kill the thread if they so deem.

What i wrong with people. Making money is not wrong. Everyone wants to improve their lot in life. He made that bet last year before this mess came up. I haven't looked but I would image that articles author is liberal. Capitalism is a good thing. Making money is a good thing. Government just takes and spends on crap like that shrimp treadmill and empty buildings.

Originally posted by Bramble Iceshimmer
What i wrong with people. Making money is not wrong. Everyone wants to improve their lot in life. He made that bet last year before this mess came up. I haven't looked but I would image that articles author is liberal. Capitalism is a good thing. Making money is a good thing. Government just takes and spends on crap like that shrimp treadmill and empty buildings.

Seriously? There is no room for morality, ethics? The end always justifies the means in your view? What about conflict of interest. Any idiot could see this problem looming when he made his bet. You think someone in his position had no visibility? So now that he is invested in American failure you don't think he has no conflict of interest.

Improve his lot in life? You sure take wide latitude. By your logic it would also have been perfectly legit to short German businesses owned by Jews in the late 1930s. Hey, it's just capitilism, right?

Thats treason in my book if he gets his way and trashes our country I say firing squad. Full blown public execution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by tmac420
Thats treason in my book if he gets his way and trashes our country I say firing squad. Full blown public execution!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think willingness to engage in treason is now pretty much a requirement to run for office. It is a fact that Russia and China do a far more credible job of jailing their corrupt politicians. In the U.S., very little they do is considered illegal and they nearly ALL become multi millionaires shortly after leaving office.

George Soros also stands to gain financially
from the US Collapse.

just a mention

Originally posted by boondock-saint
George Soros also stands to gain financially
from the US Collapse.

just a mention

I am no fan of his either, however, he is not a U.S. politician, Constitutionally bound. Heck, he is foreign born so you can make the argument "good for him." I hold a U.S. politician to a higher standard than a foreign financier, just as I hold a cop to a higher standard than a civilian (I know, that's a joke today, but they SHOULD be and their penalties should EXCEED civilian penalities because of the responsibility and power entrusted to them).

To those defending this Republican hypocrite. . . . This is the same fool who didn’t want to help the tornado victims. And who said to the president of Israel that he would protect their interests, as if he was a congressmen form Israel not the US.

Now he bets against his own country and is at the table where they debate the issue and is influencing how his investment will go and some one here calls that capitalism! That is a blatant conflict of intrest.

Someone here mentions George Soros. George Soros is not the second most powerful congressmen in the Republican party, he is a private citizen.

Also another defender of this guy says “only 15000 dollars.” I don’t have 15 thousand dollars to invest in anything, let alone that my country will default, do you?

George Soros also stands to gain financially
from the US Collapse.

Soros is also a private citizen. Koch brothers probably also have investments in funds that bet on a US collapse (and I noticed you didn't provide any links...)

Being that Soros is a billionaire hedge fund investor, I doubt you could find anything he isn't invested in.

The big difference is that Cantor is an elected official who should be working to prevent a default, not playing the markets and betting on it's collapse. Since the GOP takeover of congress they've passed 18 bills (a record low) NONE of which address the deficit.

Congress 'worse than it's ever been'?

After three straight lopsided elections, Congress still can’t — or won’t — function.

Just 18 bills have become law through the first half of 2011, and 15 of those named a building after someone, temporarily extended expiring laws or appointed an official to the board of the Smithsonian Institution. Congress can’t decide what to do on critical issues like Libya, spending or the nation’s debt limit, and no compromise is in sight on a host of other issues

So what exactly is Cantor doing in congress? Working tirelessly to prevent the economy from collapsing? Or investing his money that it does collapse?

ya'll can't be that naive.

ya'll say that Soros is not this or that

but just who do you think pulls the strings
of the very individuals you mention by name
in this thread ???

Soros

his money even helped put Obama in office.

You appear to be using Soros as a distraction regarding Cantor. Did Soros have anything to do with Eric Cantor's investing in a fund that bets on a US default? Or the conflict of interest this represents? No.

I am shorting the markets, the banks,and if I thought the bonds were gonna fail soon I would short them as well. The shorting by average investors like you, or me is miniscule compared to the manipulation by large institutions.

What moral qualms is there with shorting? The markets are horses on a race track with little connection to the real economy. If the working group on finance is going to pump trillions propping up imaginary asset values you can be damn sure I will short them. The same goes for bonds. It is not like T-Bonds are going to fall because I short them, or if a million people shorted them. They are failing because the Fed has printed 9 TRILLION dollars in the past few years. The bond markets will collapse, and the US will default. It is not like I created a perfect storm through my corrupt policies. I merely recognize reality, and am making financial decisions accordingly.

Should I go long on bonds when I know the unelected oligarchy is going to speculate them into worthless assets?

Should invest foolishly for some idealized "nation" that's leadership has done everything possible to hurt my economic future?

No. I will invest in local economic investments, and short the hell out of the imaginary global casino that we pretend is an economic system.

Originally posted by boondock-saint
ya'll can't be that naive.

ya'll say that Soros is not this or that

but just who do you think pulls the strings
of the very individuals you mention by name
in this thread ???

Soros

his money even helped put Obama in office.

Really, all you are doing is trying to derail the thread by using the kindergarten whine of "well he did it too!" Only your whine is not analogous since one is senior elected official and the other is not. Deal with the topic about Cantor at hand or please exit the thread Doondock.

I should also note, by your not-too-rational logic, not only does Obama work for Soros, but so does Cantor.

What moral qualms is there with shorting?

The moral qualm regarding Cantor is that he is THE guy that can prevent or ensure said default. It's the conflict of interest. It would be like a coach betting that his own team would lose a game. Cantor's investment would only earn him money if the US defaults. Did he invest the money expecting to lose it? And how hard can we expect the guy to work at stopping any default, if he knows it would cost him his investment?