Bankers Gone Wild

This week the stock market experienced some of its largest percentage drops and gains since the first day it opened after September 11th, 2001. Lehman Brothers, a 150+ year-old brokerage firm filed for bankruptcy. Iconic Merrill Lynch, whose symbol is the bull, got mauled in a bear market, and Bank of America bought the bedraggled firm. AIG Insurance was one of the largest insurance companies in the world, according to its literature. Now, we the taxpayers own almost 80% of that private company. Just weeks ago, the public/private hybrids, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, needed government assistance to keep from failing.

So what did the parties to this meltdown have in common? Greed. Greed enabled, enhanced and encouraged by insufficient government regulation. Banking, investment and insurance institutions took relatively safe products, over-leverage them, and repackaged them and claimed were safe. Imprudent home buyers and mortgage brokers share the blame. When the real estate boom faltered, the house of cards collapsed.

The deregulated, "free" market culture of the Bush II and the Clinton administrations led to a scenario of Bankers Gone Wild. Now, as one headline read, "Fed Socializes Losses and Privatizes Profits."

The "free" market has become very expensive for the taxpayers. If our government regulators had protected us, we, the taxpayers, would not be bailing out those who got us into this mess.

I expect the stock market and the economy to be very volatile during the next few months, so I will try to update my website commentary more often than usual. Check in regularly if you want to see what I'm ranting about.