The Continental

Invest in misery. And then advocate for charity.

At the end of the revolutionary war, many US residents were stuck with dollars issued by the Continental Congress. Prominent investors bought this currency for pennies on the dollar.

Then they advocated for charity from the new Federal Government. They successfully lobbied the government to buy these continental dollars at face value ... of course claiming that such a buy-back would be charitable to all the holders of these dollars.

This is a devious, yet somewhat cooperative attempt to help people and speculators. But today, the Treasury is only offering to cover the losses of speculators. They will buy millions of mortgages for pennies on the dollar, but not offer to pass those savings to the actual mortgagees ... only the mortgage banks.