I watched The Big Short again last night. It's absurd how we seem to be going through the exact same steps as the subprime crisis did, not even 20 years later.
this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2026
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Big brain tech dude got yet another clueless take over at HackerNews etc? Here's the place to vent. Orange site, VC foolishness, all welcome.
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and the other wild part is now this whole mess is only the one part mirroring it, there’s a whole other debt market thing that’s also replaying CDOs too. this one is more likely to be the fuse tho
Charles Ponzi, looking up from hell
“Jesus Christ, they’ve perfected the art!”
He walked so they could run
If anything, he is pissed that he wasn't born now that there's no consequences for this shit
knock knock
Wallet Inspector!
Simple. When it comes time to repay that investment, they'll just get the money from new investors, offering them even higher returns!
The subtext sounds like "we guarantee your returns, then go public. If we go bankrupt you get the retail investors' money, if we become the next Google you get your own private island." All you have to do is trust Sam Altman and (breaks out in hysterical laughter).
Do they mean 17.5% a year? My balanced bond-equity portfolio made 14-15% annual returns over the past three years by the radical method of buying "shares of companies that make profits" and "bonds backed by my local and national government." (Update: I made about 12% a year because I backed out of American stocks years ago, but the blandest 60% stock, 40% bond index fund in my country returned that 14-15% a year after expenses).
the radical method of buying "shares of companies that make profits"
That's OpenAI out then
This kind of ROI to me stinks of late-stages Ponzi scheme—the smart money has made its pile, but they need to keep pulling in the rubes to keep the illusion of growth running.
Yes, promising "returns like a good year on the stock market, but no risk" usually says Ponzi.
When the forensic accountants go through OpenAI's books in 2027 or 2028 I would like to see whether anyone but staff and suppliers made money from it.
Private equity will find a way to make people use AI, they will likely force cities into contracts to use it for whatever stupid reason they dream up.
They know private equity is almost tapped out, and whoever is first in this latest round will grab the largest portion of what's left. I don't know if it's the end game, but all but the most delusional investors are starting to ask where the returns are after years of the same promises
"Trust me, bro. Just a few more hundreds of billions, and then we'll be able to replace all your employees forever."
to invest, put your money in that hole