“I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit,” said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol. The banker had told this friend of mine that senior Goldman people have loaded up on firearms and are now equipped to defend themselves if there is a populist uprising against the bank.
I have a couple of decades' worth of experience with firearms. Buying a handgun offers little protection without the willingness to use it at the moment of truth. Then again, pulling the trigger won't be difficult at all if Goldman Sachs' heavy hitters are really as amoral as they're often depicted.
I'll offer some free advice for preppies who're serious about enhancing their chances for survival against an angry mob. Forget the firearms, as they will only delay the inevitable if the plebes are at the gates with guns of their own. There are concrete steps you can take right now that are far less aggressive. Do the following. Unwind your firm's credit default swaps, interest rate hedges, and other derivative positions. Shut down your TARP-supported firms and allow the U.S. Treasury to assign their assets to local banks and credit unions. Deploy the bulk of your net worth to build resilient communities in your local area. In other words, taking highly visible steps now to distance yourself from Wall Street's greed is a better insurance policy in desperate times than arming yourself against your destitute neighbors.
Don't even think about fighting an angry mob all by your spoiled, arrogant self. The global guerrillas can easily defeat you.
