Great news. I love your comment “but after reading the transcripts I realized the key theme was a culture of entitlement that is pervasive in corporate America.”
The arrogance and greed of wealth is demonstrated by rich assuming that their money is power and peons are powerless.
It is time for America to take control of our economy for the benefit of society.
I feel like you're burying the lede here. The RealPage story -- and the existence of other similar cases -- seems earth-shatteringly important. You're telling me we have multiple cases in which judges are starting to pierce the barrier of corporate owners' limited liability? Wow!
I'd hope everyone that reads here understands this point, but to go over the fundamentals: The whole deal with incorporation is that a group of owners creates a company, passes some assets into the company (often just cash, with which the company then buys operational assets, but not necessarily) and then if stuff goes sideways and the company becomes insolvent, those to whom the company owes _cannot collect from the owners_. They can only collect out of the _company's_ remaining assets.
This deal obviously helps encourage "capital formation", i.e. starting up productive businesses. But in the absence of some mechanism to pierce the limited liability barrier, it also would encourage scam artistry. Intentionally creating a bad business, and extracting all the value before people realize it's bad. (This is more or less the story told in the old movie Wall Street -- a vulture capitalist takes a company that has somewhat fallen on hard times, but still has a lot of potential value, and engineers a takeover where he can cash that value out to the new private equity owners and kill it as a going concern. And yet a lot of actual Wall Street bros treat Gordon Gekko as a role model.)
So the corporate form only has positive social value as long as you have government standing on the side enforcing that pro-social role, and calling foul when corporate owners become pure rentier extractors.
It seems like the American judiciary is shifting (back) towards taking that responsibility seriously. And the division between judges who believe in the old Bork model of "efficiency über alles", versus the new Lina Khan consensus, doesn't cleanly line up with partisanship. (At least, not yet. I wouldn't be surprised if the pro-monoploy Neo-Feudalism advocates make a play to get Trump on their side. Certainly his son-in-law is sympathetic to their position.)
Very very good news can’t wait to read more and to actually see how these monopolizers are finally being held accountable. A hopeful sign for the new year. Ty Matt for this incredible work! HNY!🎉🎊
Damn, Matt, this is great news. And all the more reason why Biden needs four more years. Two or three more years of Lisa Kahn at the FTC and then maybe he will put her on the Supreme Court! Or at least the DC court of appeals.
Matt I thought I was going to faint when I saw the opening line 'the rent is too damn high, private equity edition'. I thought something was going down on the move to make private equity disgorge the multi-family housing they've piled into their portfolios post-pandemic (nice alliteration, huh). Rep Smith (R CA) and Sen Markley (D OR) co-sponsored the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act and it's getting a bit of press. Any chance this will blow up? What do you think? Happy 2024!
Very good! All the usual blablah about american capitalism promoting competition (good for the consumers) in a real world where everything is in fact just biaised and cheated. Screw it! Ban the crypto! Not only a scam. Money laudering as well. No rule no transparency. Good for gansters, fraudsters and drugs barons. Consume too much energy. Out with that. Always a pleasure to read you. Happy new year!
Question unrelated to the post but need HALP! What is the judge's name whom Matt has mentioned on Twitter now and again who has a big ol conflict of interest in re the oil industry and once shamelessly ruled for them despite the conflict? Democrat, Hispanic name. Asking because iirc has a role in an upcoming important case. A Matt-Twitter search for the word "judge" is unavailing so far and I can't remember his name.
I wrote the following, closer to the time this article was published --
Great news!!!!!!!
Good for judge Ramos, who is piercing even private equity firms, once presumed above the law. In fact, you nailed it, when you exposed the culture of arrogant entitlement. What's amazing, is just how obvious and brazen, their lies are. They've gotten away with lying for so long, they clearly feared no consequences. Kudos to judge Ramos, for putting a stop, to that, in this case.
It's also good to see the trend, in other judges understanding the danger of these private equity firms.
And deciding to rule against them, as well they should.
And good for Lina Khan! I had no idea of the hostility she was facing, from deep pockets. It's always good to see the FTC - or any governmental body -doing its job: Protecting us from monopolies, in these cases. Since I can’t get my own health records in general, and what records I have acquired, have typically had inaccuracies which, when I present correct info to clinics and insurers, they ignore, it’s alarming that a lying data exploiter such as IQVIA likely has this false data on me. This may have something to do with the suspected prescription (Rx) Fraud, in which 2 local healthcare employees appear to be engaged. For an example incident of fraudulently keeping paper Rx’s out of my hands, see:
This may also have something to do with the, “Don’t prove what we’re up to (don’t video our conduct)” stance of at least 2 local people in the healthcare industry. One has gone so far as to refuse my right to see my PCP, if I videotape what she's up to. Again: There's that misplaced arrogance sense of entitlement. It wouldn't surprise me in the least, if they are feeding knowingly bad data, into firms such as IQVIA.
And good for you, Matt!!! Despite no one else interested in covering this, I believe your exposure of it, helped in some way. You are heralding a Happy New Year, for us all!
As for RealPages? I reported them years ago, for getting an apartment complex to deny me rent, based on their fictitious internal data, on me. Natch, they slithered around, HIDING who, exactly, their sources were. Nope: They absolutely, positively, would not accept accurate info, if it came directly from me, the one person who was in a position to know, my own data. From thence onward, I could not get HUD or state housing assistance, for which I qualify, and have repeatedly applied. So someone is stealing my housing assistance funds.
This has gone on for years of time.
At any rate, I'm glad to see you and ProPublica, exposing these monopolies.
And the FTC winning, against them.
And judges stepping up to the plate, putting a stop to their atrocities.
Thanks so much, for this good news you've shared, and your efforts in effecting it.
Great news. I love your comment “but after reading the transcripts I realized the key theme was a culture of entitlement that is pervasive in corporate America.”
The arrogance and greed of wealth is demonstrated by rich assuming that their money is power and peons are powerless.
It is time for America to take control of our economy for the benefit of society.
I feel like you're burying the lede here. The RealPage story -- and the existence of other similar cases -- seems earth-shatteringly important. You're telling me we have multiple cases in which judges are starting to pierce the barrier of corporate owners' limited liability? Wow!
I'd hope everyone that reads here understands this point, but to go over the fundamentals: The whole deal with incorporation is that a group of owners creates a company, passes some assets into the company (often just cash, with which the company then buys operational assets, but not necessarily) and then if stuff goes sideways and the company becomes insolvent, those to whom the company owes _cannot collect from the owners_. They can only collect out of the _company's_ remaining assets.
This deal obviously helps encourage "capital formation", i.e. starting up productive businesses. But in the absence of some mechanism to pierce the limited liability barrier, it also would encourage scam artistry. Intentionally creating a bad business, and extracting all the value before people realize it's bad. (This is more or less the story told in the old movie Wall Street -- a vulture capitalist takes a company that has somewhat fallen on hard times, but still has a lot of potential value, and engineers a takeover where he can cash that value out to the new private equity owners and kill it as a going concern. And yet a lot of actual Wall Street bros treat Gordon Gekko as a role model.)
So the corporate form only has positive social value as long as you have government standing on the side enforcing that pro-social role, and calling foul when corporate owners become pure rentier extractors.
It seems like the American judiciary is shifting (back) towards taking that responsibility seriously. And the division between judges who believe in the old Bork model of "efficiency über alles", versus the new Lina Khan consensus, doesn't cleanly line up with partisanship. (At least, not yet. I wouldn't be surprised if the pro-monoploy Neo-Feudalism advocates make a play to get Trump on their side. Certainly his son-in-law is sympathetic to their position.)
Very very good news can’t wait to read more and to actually see how these monopolizers are finally being held accountable. A hopeful sign for the new year. Ty Matt for this incredible work! HNY!🎉🎊
Damn, Matt, this is great news. And all the more reason why Biden needs four more years. Two or three more years of Lisa Kahn at the FTC and then maybe he will put her on the Supreme Court! Or at least the DC court of appeals.
I share your enthusiasm, Matt
happy new year and thank you
Matt I thought I was going to faint when I saw the opening line 'the rent is too damn high, private equity edition'. I thought something was going down on the move to make private equity disgorge the multi-family housing they've piled into their portfolios post-pandemic (nice alliteration, huh). Rep Smith (R CA) and Sen Markley (D OR) co-sponsored the End Hedge Fund Control of American Homes Act and it's getting a bit of press. Any chance this will blow up? What do you think? Happy 2024!
Happy new year Matt and keep up the great work.
Yaaaaaaaaaayyy...no doubt your work has helped with this
Always great to hear about an anti-trust win for The People - thanks!
Very good! All the usual blablah about american capitalism promoting competition (good for the consumers) in a real world where everything is in fact just biaised and cheated. Screw it! Ban the crypto! Not only a scam. Money laudering as well. No rule no transparency. Good for gansters, fraudsters and drugs barons. Consume too much energy. Out with that. Always a pleasure to read you. Happy new year!
Question unrelated to the post but need HALP! What is the judge's name whom Matt has mentioned on Twitter now and again who has a big ol conflict of interest in re the oil industry and once shamelessly ruled for them despite the conflict? Democrat, Hispanic name. Asking because iirc has a role in an upcoming important case. A Matt-Twitter search for the word "judge" is unavailing so far and I can't remember his name.
I wrote the following, closer to the time this article was published --
Great news!!!!!!!
Good for judge Ramos, who is piercing even private equity firms, once presumed above the law. In fact, you nailed it, when you exposed the culture of arrogant entitlement. What's amazing, is just how obvious and brazen, their lies are. They've gotten away with lying for so long, they clearly feared no consequences. Kudos to judge Ramos, for putting a stop, to that, in this case.
It's also good to see the trend, in other judges understanding the danger of these private equity firms.
And deciding to rule against them, as well they should.
And good for Lina Khan! I had no idea of the hostility she was facing, from deep pockets. It's always good to see the FTC - or any governmental body -doing its job: Protecting us from monopolies, in these cases. Since I can’t get my own health records in general, and what records I have acquired, have typically had inaccuracies which, when I present correct info to clinics and insurers, they ignore, it’s alarming that a lying data exploiter such as IQVIA likely has this false data on me. This may have something to do with the suspected prescription (Rx) Fraud, in which 2 local healthcare employees appear to be engaged. For an example incident of fraudulently keeping paper Rx’s out of my hands, see:
Rx Frd & IDT:
https://66a15c69-7119-4b1b-9da1-64f21ac565f3.usrfiles.com/ugd/
66a15c_aaae02ed629d4895ae0f92aa2de33096.pdf
This may also have something to do with the, “Don’t prove what we’re up to (don’t video our conduct)” stance of at least 2 local people in the healthcare industry. One has gone so far as to refuse my right to see my PCP, if I videotape what she's up to. Again: There's that misplaced arrogance sense of entitlement. It wouldn't surprise me in the least, if they are feeding knowingly bad data, into firms such as IQVIA.
And good for you, Matt!!! Despite no one else interested in covering this, I believe your exposure of it, helped in some way. You are heralding a Happy New Year, for us all!
As for RealPages? I reported them years ago, for getting an apartment complex to deny me rent, based on their fictitious internal data, on me. Natch, they slithered around, HIDING who, exactly, their sources were. Nope: They absolutely, positively, would not accept accurate info, if it came directly from me, the one person who was in a position to know, my own data. From thence onward, I could not get HUD or state housing assistance, for which I qualify, and have repeatedly applied. So someone is stealing my housing assistance funds.
This has gone on for years of time.
At any rate, I'm glad to see you and ProPublica, exposing these monopolies.
And the FTC winning, against them.
And judges stepping up to the plate, putting a stop to their atrocities.
Thanks so much, for this good news you've shared, and your efforts in effecting it.
Have a Happy New Year!
I call the current court: The Imperial Supreme Court and Part-time Legislature Above the Law??? Kinda catchy eh? Rolls Right off the tongue.
Monopolization of car dealers...
https://archive.ph/eJeKm