In a recent Financial Times Op-Ed, Greenspan writes that regulators are incapable of forecasting market risks and preventing "undesirable repercussions." He claims defensively, "No one has such skills." In his case this was most certainly true, but isn't that their job ? Greenspan collected checks for two decades to do precisely that: anticipate and regulate risks .
His solution? "The Invisible Hand." No, I mean it. It's true. After all the chaos we have been through these past few years, Greenspan reverted back to his 2006 claims that Adam Smith's 18th century version of a free market regulator was the next best thing to being there. "With notably rare exceptions ["the once-in-a-century-economic-tsunami"], the global "invisible hand" has created relatively stable exchange rates, interest rates, prices and wage rates."
I once heard that the definition of insanity is "repeating the same behavior over and over expecting different results." I am not picking on poor Alan, I'm just saying"
In an intense conversation with a couple of brilliant and innovative financial execs the other day, one man was the former head of equity derivatives for a giant global securities division. He called the current culture on Wall Street of irresponsibility and indifference "sociopathic." I was struck by the fierceness of the term and its power.
I had never attached this concept to the lack of integrity and honor in finance before so I looked up the word to see how it applied. The definition read, "A person"whose behavior is antisocial and who lacks a moral responsibility or social conscience." I was astounded. He had hit it on the head. Lacking a social and moral conscience is how we got here"
It has not been revealed yet if Dodd-Frank is "too much" or "too little," but it is clear we have to do something profound. Those like DeMint say we should do "less" and get out of the way of market makers. Others like Greenspan refuse to acknowledge mistakes and continue to insist the greatest financial crisis of our time is a "rare exception" to otherwise market perfection. As irrationally exuberant as this may seem, these men insist we go back to business as usual.
Our usual business through 2008 was to "transfer risk" from those who should never been allowed to handle it to that degree to those who were unwilling and unable to handle it at all: ordinary homeowners and the unsuspecting public . The risk was transferred successfully and rears its ugly head in record foreclosures, defaulting loans, joblessness and a growing national debt.
The financial crisis is a wake-up call for the sane among us to refuse to repeat the same mistakes that brought us here. In an enlightened society, our job is not to destroy financial markets--but to preserve them through a sustainable future.
Which brings me back to John Gotti Jr.
Junior explained that he authorized the movie about his hero father "to rewrite history -- the right way." He called his mobster father who was convicted of 13 murders, and considered by the legal psychiatric community to be a homicidal maniac, an "icon" whom he truly admired. "A man's man" with the courage of his convictions. The film's producer Nick Cassavetes called Gotti Sr. a "victim" of the system. Former heartthrob, John Travolta called the mob boss "glamorous" and "charming."
Gotti Jr. ended his brief missive with, " In the end, when he had an opportunity to say "uncle,' he believed he was right, he stood his course and he suffered greatly. "
What do we as Americans believe is right? In the wake of the financial crisis, we have turned criminals into victims and victims into criminals. Helpless homeowners are punished further and banks that entrapped borrowers into unconscionable loans are rewarded.
As a culture, we have allowed distorted and disturbing sentiments to rewrite history and convince us that crimes like murder and economic indifference are acceptable. It is okay to torture and kill dozens of your enemies. After all they deserved it. It is okay to render millions of unsuspecting homeowners bankrupt to enrich ourselves. After all they should have known better.
This brainwashing calls us to abandon our social conscience and moral responsibility as we fail to create a system where we help others not harm them. We experienced a global economic meltdown precisely because there were no rules or regulations to rein in risk. A few years later, a smear campaign reignites to tell us that what we know is true is not true. Economic rape and pillage is not a moral code to defend.
As a society, we need to redefine honor. "A man's man" is not a cold-blooded killer who destroys people's lives with abandon--nor is he a cold-blooded money man who destroys people's economic lives with glee. Instead our heroes should be men and women with a sense of honor and social conscience for the world they leave behind. Righting the wrongs of the past means we do not rewrite history. Instead we examine our mistakes and learn from them.
Don't let Hollywood or Washington convince you that murder is justice and unrestrained greed is morally sound.
Uncle.
His solution? "The Invisible Hand." No, I mean it. It's true. After all the chaos we have been through these past few years, Greenspan reverted back to his 2006 claims that Adam Smith's 18th century version of a free market regulator was the next best thing to being there. "With notably rare exceptions ["the once-in-a-century-economic-tsunami"], the global "invisible hand" has created relatively stable exchange rates, interest rates, prices and wage rates."
I once heard that the definition of insanity is "repeating the same behavior over and over expecting different results." I am not picking on poor Alan, I'm just saying"
In an intense conversation with a couple of brilliant and innovative financial execs the other day, one man was the former head of equity derivatives for a giant global securities division. He called the current culture on Wall Street of irresponsibility and indifference "sociopathic." I was struck by the fierceness of the term and its power.
It has not been revealed yet if Dodd-Frank is "too much" or "too little," but it is clear we have to do something profound. Those like DeMint say we should do "less" and get out of the way of market makers. Others like Greenspan refuse to acknowledge mistakes and continue to insist the greatest financial crisis of our time is a "rare exception" to otherwise market perfection. As irrationally exuberant as this may seem, these men insist we go back to business as usual.
Our usual business through 2008 was to "transfer risk" from those who should never been allowed to handle it to that degree to those who were unwilling and unable to handle it at all: ordinary homeowners and the unsuspecting public . The risk was transferred successfully and rears its ugly head in record foreclosures, defaulting loans, joblessness and a growing national debt.
The financial crisis is a wake-up call for the sane among us to refuse to repeat the same mistakes that brought us here. In an enlightened society, our job is not to destroy financial markets--but to preserve them through a sustainable future.
Which brings me back to John Gotti Jr.
Junior explained that he authorized the movie about his hero father "to rewrite history -- the right way." He called his mobster father who was convicted of 13 murders, and considered by the legal psychiatric community to be a homicidal maniac, an "icon" whom he truly admired. "A man's man" with the courage of his convictions. The film's producer Nick Cassavetes called Gotti Sr. a "victim" of the system. Former heartthrob, John Travolta called the mob boss "glamorous" and "charming."
Gotti Jr. ended his brief missive with, " In the end, when he had an opportunity to say "uncle,' he believed he was right, he stood his course and he suffered greatly. "
What do we as Americans believe is right? In the wake of the financial crisis, we have turned criminals into victims and victims into criminals. Helpless homeowners are punished further and banks that entrapped borrowers into unconscionable loans are rewarded.
As a culture, we have allowed distorted and disturbing sentiments to rewrite history and convince us that crimes like murder and economic indifference are acceptable. It is okay to torture and kill dozens of your enemies. After all they deserved it. It is okay to render millions of unsuspecting homeowners bankrupt to enrich ourselves. After all they should have known better.
This brainwashing calls us to abandon our social conscience and moral responsibility as we fail to create a system where we help others not harm them. We experienced a global economic meltdown precisely because there were no rules or regulations to rein in risk. A few years later, a smear campaign reignites to tell us that what we know is true is not true. Economic rape and pillage is not a moral code to defend.
As a society, we need to redefine honor. "A man's man" is not a cold-blooded killer who destroys people's lives with abandon--nor is he a cold-blooded money man who destroys people's economic lives with glee. Instead our heroes should be men and women with a sense of honor and social conscience for the world they leave behind. Righting the wrongs of the past means we do not rewrite history. Instead we examine our mistakes and learn from them.
Don't let Hollywood or Washington convince you that murder is justice and unrestrained greed is morally sound.
Uncle.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
3
3
3
