In the merchant republic of Venice, where modern banking was essentially born during the Renaissance, if the leading moneylenders had ended up ruining the economy of the republic, theyâd have been put to death, either via a public execution at the hands of the state or a private one at the hands of a band of Condottieri.
Today they get away clean, the richest men in the world, beholden to no one, too big to fail. A sure sign that we live in far more enlightened times.
Surprising that a woman known for sensibly frugal housekeeping tips would wind up at the Plaza.
Youâre talking about highly qualified individuals with unique skills. If they arenât compensated at competitive industry rates theyâll take their talents to some other endeavor that can use them, like slaughtering pigs or making animal-stomp porn.
You just gotta wonder if it crosses their minds once in a while that, if the justice system came down upon them, there are a great many otherwise peaceful citizens that would gladly throw the switch themselves. That hundreds of thousands, if not millions, wish a pox on them and their families.
I actually imagine theyâre almost all entirely oblivious to that notion - that theyâre just too slick and got away too cleanly, that they couldnât possibly be held accountable, or worse still, that they didnât actually do anything wrong.
one wonders why what they did is still legal.
As much as Iâd like to read the series, Iâd rather not waste a delightful dinner on the rage vomit, and sacrifice a good nightâs sleep and digestion. Perhaps Iâll read it tomorrow and take it easy on solids and posting on the web.
âŚor why it ever was legal?
I think youâre sadly mistaken if you think they care about the proles at all, as long as theyâre pacified.
It was most certainly not legal. Thats just a part of the big lie. The laws are simply not being enforced. Just look at the drug cartel money laundering that was âdiscoveredâ to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars over the past year. No one prosecuted. No one jailed. The massive securities and mortgage fraud at the heart of the housing disaster: no one prosecuted or jailed. No law enforcement if you are powerful.
Does anyone else see the resemblance of these guysâ career paths and the shell game of Tarquinâs Empires of Blood, of Sweat, and of Tears in The Order of the Stick webcomic? Rule one corrupted mercantile empire, then move on to the next one? A pity that Narrative Causality doesnât have as much sway in this universe.
Since these people will never be punished in real life I (somewhat pathetically) wish that somehow, someone, somewhere would make a well budgeted film about a modern proletarian uprising with majestic, awe-inspiring scenes of these people being hunted down and dragged into the streets. I envision the lot of them hiding Saddam Hussein style in their wine cellars and pleading Qadafi style âwhat did I ever do to you??â as peopleâs justice is meted out upon them. I would laugh, I would cry tears of joy. I would leap out of my seat sending popcorn everywhere. Then after the credits roll Iâd crawl home through the stinking filth of the plutocracy momentarily entertained.
If the average investor decided to not put their money into companies run by people who extract compensation many orders of magnitude above the average worker despite running the company into the ground, then this wouldnât happen so easily. But that doesnât seem likely to happen in this lifetime.
They will not live forever and, because they canât take the money with them it will go somewhere. It is funny how this could end up meaning a flood of money for worthy charity at some extended point in the future as aged criminals or their heirs work out their fear of hell. A twisted and accidental re-distribution of wealth at the expense of the middle-class.
I doubt it. There will be heirs and some form of fuckery that persists after their demise.
Hereâs a prime example:
Fractional Reserve lending is ridiculous, and must end. Itâs a literal licence to print money.
The âaverage investorâ hardly exists anymore. Big funds and automated buyers are chasing only the dollars, not the sense.
One big driver of this silliness is the âpensionâ funds - our money that we must invest in the Market to survive. However we have no control over where that flood of money goes or who sucks from it. This is now the major food source for our financial parasites.
Whaddayagonnado, eh? Fix the system, not the people. If itâs more profitable to do good, companies and parasites will do good. Design the downhill path; the sheep will follow.
Dang, Drabula! That was down right poetic. Maybe you should write that script!
The âaverage investorâ was drummed out in part by the SEC making rules that accounts had to be largerâŚto protect us from ourselves.
As to the rest? Yes. You DO have a choice. You donât âhaveâ to be someoneâs employee and submit to their idea f how to invest. Iâm sorry that you are, as are many, many millions. But itâs not one of lifeâs inevitabilities.
I had one problem with the article though. B of A? âBelovedâ? Really? Ever?
