A Ponzi scheme, as we traditionally know it, is usually conducted by a rogue person who goes to the public and says he can pay you 12%, so you'll invest your $50,000, and then he'll go out and find other investors. He doesn't have the means to produce the 12% himself. Perhaps he has it in the bank at 4%. He'll get the extra 8% by collecting it from a new investor and paying it out to you.
It is our view that a substantial proportion of the business income trusts, and to a degree the energy trusts as well, have such a scheme. The only difference is that it has been orchestrated by the investment banks and the industry executives in a more reputable way.