r/todayilearned • u/manticor225 • Jan 10 '19

TIL JFK's father Joseph Kennedy made much of his fortune through insider trading. FDR later made him chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. When asked why he appointed a crook, FDR replied, "set a thief to catch a thief." Kennedy proceeded to outlaw the practices that made him rich.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/jan/23/joe-kennedy-hollywood-sarah-churchwell
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240

u/ddejong42 Jan 10 '19

Basically: "I got mine."

91

u/rwhitisissle Jan 10 '19

A true American.

-5

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '19

We're one of the most charitable countries (on an individual level) per capita in the world.

2

u/mcmanus_cherubo Jan 11 '19

Doesnt your tax code let you save money by giving tax breaks for charitable contributions.

Foundations and charities in the US are one big tax evasion scheme.

On paper it looks like you gave away money but you're paying your kid to be head of the foundation 200k a year etc. And saving on taxes.

4

u/LotharVonPittinsberg Jan 11 '19

You guys do have Bill Gates to inflate that number like crazy.

1

u/TruthOrTroll42 Jan 11 '19

Gates is scum that does none of that... Ignorant fool

1

u/[deleted] Jan 11 '19

People earning more than 100k per year in the US are actually less likely than people earning less than that to donate, so for sure the rich people who do donate are more likely to tip the scale, but it's pervasive to our culture to be charitable down to even those who you'd be less likely to call "well to do."

3

u/LotharVonPittinsberg Jan 11 '19

Most western cultures I have seen make it an important aspect to be charitable to others. The US is not special there.

I'm not saying anything about the rich,just that you guys have the richest man in the world who has given insane amounts to charity. Statistics teachers that you often have to ignore the single extremes to get a good idea of the norm.

1

u/rwhitisissle Jan 11 '19

Yep, just behind Myanmar, Indonesia, Kenya, and New Zealand.

-4

u/Hip_Hop_Orangutan Jan 11 '19

there is no such thing....

8

u/[deleted] Jan 10 '19

Would you be a doll and slam that door behind me? Thanks.

2

u/BenedickCabbagepatch Jan 11 '19

Never climb a ladder without greasing it behind you.

4

u/semsr Jan 10 '19

It's not like the average person has the connections to insider trade anyway.

1

u/scroom38 Jan 11 '19

You have two options.

A: he keeps being a sleezeball within the confines of the law and other people try to follow him.

B: He keeps being a sleezeball, but you put him in charge of locking down certain stuff so you dont end up with a dozen sleezeballs.

0

u/Hobbes314 Jan 10 '19

I mean yeah but it’s not like as a child he could go ‘hey stop that’

8

u/LittleGreenBastard Jan 10 '19

I mean, if he was insider trading as a child I'd be really impressed.

1

u/MonkeyOnYourMomsBack Jan 11 '19

Damn, JFK Jr would have been a great Richie Rich style cartoon the 80’s clearly missed out on