Robert, the difference between Social Security and a Ponzi scheme is that you are REQUIRED by law to throw your money away into SS.

I guess being from Arkansas I a little simple, but could someone explain to me the difference between Social Security and a Ponzu scheme?

Maybe the April Fool's joke is that it IS true

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/04/guest-post-fdics-insurance-commitments.html

The strength of the Treasury has been that people trusted its strength. Over-extending itself now can change that.

Brilliant. I was tipped off by the preamble in which Logsdon described Lopate as 'sexy in real life'. The mangled metaphors were the next clue. But I have to admit, I nearly fell for it. Well done everyone.

This guy is like a grain of sand crying in the ocean. P^on^zi = pwned!

Andy B was an inspired April 1 guest, and perfect for the Lopate show. Well done, Leonard and Andy!

to all those who can't enjoy a good laugh...
may you be banished to a place where the hand of man has never set foot....

in the old english phrase the professor is a real "boar o' wits" andhe should have a web page where he can report his thoughts.

Someone should recommend Andy Borowitz for New York University's Marshall McLuhan Media Award.

This is brilliant--how did the moderator not break up? 800 lb. gorilla hanging over the conference. This is pure Borowitz and just great.

I'm Davis Logsden's teaching assistant. Right on, Davis!!

To all of those who are indignant and did not recognize this as satire: (1) you need to spend more time listening to NPR to enhance your sophistication and sense of humor, and (2) you need to lighten up.

Thanks Mr. Borowicz, excellent satire as always, but probably too true!

As soon as I heard "Davis Logsden of the University of Minnesota" I knew it was Andy. I get his "Shockers" automatically by email, heard him in person, and have 2 of his books. (One is "The Republican Play Book" and it's a scream!)

Got it: 1/3 Ponzi treasury bills, 1/3 OTB, 1/3 state lottery. I love it!

“Economist Logsdon” starts out by telling Leonard he’s sexier in person-no way! This gave it away from the start. Can you image Paul Krugman making a statement like that? And, omg Lenny, you’re the "straight" man alright-lol!

the mangled metaphor was intentional - this is an April Fools' joke - this is the comedian Andy Borowitz impersonating an economist.

c'mon people -it's only money!!

Well done, Andy.

WNYC, feel free to contact me about replacing any member who actually quits for lack of a working sense of humor.

In case nobody commented on this before, this is an April Fools prank. It's Andy Borowitz. You can find the link on The Borowitz Report.

glekapolis from brookie Re#65 -- you listed all EIGHT 21st-century stages. LOL

Mathematical formula, "P to the ON to the ZI"??? LOL!!! LOVE Borowitz.

Why doesn't Andy have his own show on NPR? This is pure genius.

Gosh, Davis Logsdon must be the world's smartest man! Where did Andy meet him? In Andy's columns, David has held so many positions of importance at the University of Minnesota.

He is brilliant. I get his newsletter.

borowitzreport.com

This was wonderful! Thanks for putting it on the air. I am quite a fan of Andy Borowitz.

Where's the mp3? Please?

The Lopate Show responds:
The audio is now available. We apologize for the delay.

"he tipped off the FBI about the Treasury Department’s scam of selling worthless "Treasury bills" to unsuspecting investors."
\ This is a joke ?
did you go to the theater last night and shout fire?
I would think this kind of a joke would threaten your fcc certification leonard
extreme dose'nt mean clever
you are not orson welles and that was'nt war of the worlds
signed ,a fan

LOVE the segment. I think we all went through the 7 stages of grief.

Shock
Denial
Bargaining
Guilt
Anger
Depression
Acceptance and Hope

Can you all post it online?

Has the show acknowledged that it is a joke yet?

i neeeeeeeeeeeed the mp3...

Can we can an audio? I turned off the segment before the end.

Really enjoyed the education financing segment a year ago on 4/1/08. Looking forward to hearing the MP3.

how come this audio is not available for streaming like the other segments of the day's show? (I really wanna hear this again)!

Very good indeed, it got me really going, almost in horror started thinking of moving to another country asap!!
But I'd like to suggest something to the educated listeners of WNYC to see Zeitgeist the Movie at zeitgeistmovie dot com and share your thoughts because unfortunately the prank today may be way too close to reality..
And another small fact - what about the baby boomers who will be turning 60 every 16 minutes for the next 15 years or so (citing WNYC)? Who will take care of them and their retirement plans!? 401K? Markets? We? Fresh investors? I wonder..

Will audio of this segment be posted? Classic. Very funny. Either some of your posters have no sense of humor or they're attempting to tack on a bad joke to a good one.

OMG - com'n peeps... In this day and age, to find a good joke is a treasure (treasury?) indeed! Hilarious, and made me LOL on the street.

Absolutely brilliant and hilarious, although not as funny as comment #55. Thank you Leonard and Andy Borowitz!

You, Leonard Lopate and his producer/director ought to be ashamed of yourselves. if this is what my contributions are being used for, count me out. Mr. Lopate and all those responsible should be disciplined. I suggest two months off without pay.

Leonard,

What poor judgment and lack of common sense. Where is your sensitivity for the many who are vulnerable financially?

This is hard to forgive.

With all the nasty financial stuff being revealed right now, this was not funny. Humor should ease any national paranoia, not feed into it. I am sure a lot of listeners, like me, are half-listeners, in-and-out while negotiating a busy workday. No, I did not hear all or register the 'enormity' of the metaphors. This got me off-track for a bit, for sure. Not fun! This segment was more suited to the Daily Show.

I was the first to start to get on to this a little....(see post #2). I was, however, fooled! I think it is hilarious!! That's despite what the few cranks above have written. (Everybody knows there will always be those who condescendingly disapprove....no mattter what show you do!)

If we don't have laughter as part of our arsenal, then we are really losing a lot.

Keep up the great work on all aspects of the show!!!
George

Regarding the T-bill ponzi scheme. I was working on a spreadsheet and listening with half an ear... you had me going for awhile... totally taken in until the recommendation to invest in the Lottery. I was beginning to hyperventilate! Brilliant but a bit risky!

In the 18th century ther was an allocation of monies to NYS to build a water system to bring clean water to NYC? A small in adequate system was built.

The remaining money was to be used as wished. It was used to start the Bank Of New York, in 1784 by Alexander Hamilton. If he was responsible for the Treasury Bills...? Maybe it should be called the "Hamilton Scheme"

I didn't think this was funny at all. Clearly the listeners who have commented are not as worried as I am about ending up on the street. Sure, I figured out it was a joke, but only after my chest had already started to hurt, and my heart had begun to pound.

Just a harmless prank? Such reckless use of mixed metaphors leaves scars that no copy of Strunk & White can erase. What about the children? PTSD kills you grammatical bastards. Have you no shame?

not to diminish mr. borowitz's considerable pranking abilities, but my favorite part of this is definitely comment 16.

A nerd's idea of humor. Borowitz is a prime example of humorists who aren't humorous. Like Brian Lehrer's little April Fools piece-lame. Stick to the punditry and news as humor is not your strong suit. That goes for those lame memebership commercials too. Like that very tired Dragnet piece.

I really believed it!!

Sadly, the April Fools conversation about the US Treasury perpetrated Ponzi scheme is not really very far from the truth. Madoff used money from today's investors to pay off yesterday's investors. The US Government (our society and it's values, actually) is promising to find tomorrow's investors to pay off today's investors.

Both will result in the same outcome. At some point, the music will stop (for reasons we can't even imagine today) and there simply won't be enough chairs in the room for everyone to sit on.

Borowitz is a gas!

I can't believe I fell for this. Great April Fool's prank!

SHAME ON YOU! When people are losing their homes and jobs, their health care, the topic is too serious for humor.

Faith in financial markets is key to our recovery. Any part of the media that fails to understand that and to act accordingly is just as guilty as the commission addicted Wall Street Execs or the bankers and borrowers that wrote bogus mortgages or the idiots at S&P and Moody's that drank the kool-aide.

SHAME SHAME SHAME. It's not funny!

Very amusing April Fool's joke.

I hope your listeners recognized it as the spoof it was intended to be.

once i heard skimming the cream off the pot of gold, i knew it was a prank!

According to the description above, the treasury department attempted to sell phony certficates. Where is this written up exactly?
Please provide a url or else Happy April's Fools! No matter who Davis Logsdon is!!

Much better than Brian's indeed. Took me WAY longer to figure it out.

Very amusing April Foll's joke.

I just hope most your listener's recognized it as the spoof it was intended to be.

This whole segment sounds like a wonderful April Fools segment.

I want a copy of the book. Does it exist?

Good April Fool's bit. Loved the last bit about the president's "package".

Ditto

The calender says April 1st. Though the person of interest statement might be cause for pause.

Very funny. Well done!

I just had my banker sell all my treasuries!

Fabulous! You both did a great job. I love Andy Borowitz.

Off track betting... I'd love to see how they can keep a straight face happy april fools

I love Leonard's April Fools stuff but part of me wonders if this is borderline reckless given the state of the world. Don't get me wrong, I think this is funny. However, part of me can't help but draw comparisons to War of the Worlds.

Leonard, you having trouble playing the straight man?

April Fool's indeed! Just Google Davis Logsdon

bwahaha.

OTB!

April Fool's!!!

April Fools. I am beginning to feel as though I am listening to "The War of The Worlds".

Brother Please! Give your listeners a challenge on this day, way too easy.

Andy Borowitz -- very funny! But just a little too close to the truth, don't you think?!

this tbill thing has to be april fool's doesn't it?

I thought most April Fools weren't supposed to be so true.

HAHA

Leonard -- FABULOUS APRIL FOOL'S GIFT!!!

THANK YOU!!!

:)

April Fool

Please stop turning this interesting piece into an April fool's prank. It's a disservice to your own credibility and to us listener/members.

this April Fool's gag is a bit disturbing.

this is MUCH better than brian's prank

April Fools!

OK, at first I thought this was the world's most hilarious economist, with all of the mixed metaphors... so funny! Thanks and Happy April Fool's Day!

This guy has mixed four metaphors already.

Where can we find an article about this online?

APRIL FOOLS!....?

Stop turning this interesting piece into an April Fool's prank, it is a disservice to your own credibility and to the listeners, I mean members.

COME ON......
4/1?

classic

Seriously, these mixed metaphors are out of control. How, exactly, does a crack form in the ocean?

I mean, I know we're close to passover, but come on...

I'm quite enjoying his mixed metaphors. 'Cracks in the ocean'? 'Skeletons in the closet coming home to roost?'

Excellent!

Skeletons in the closet coming home to roost?

Cracks in the Ocean?

How many metaphors can this guy break??

omigod....did this gentleman just use a triple mixed metaphor. And I quote, "Sometimes you must pay the pay the piper when the skeletons come home to roost." What a hoot!

He is still an interesting guest as he discovered the villain Madoff.
George

difference betwn aig and madoff?