September 23, 2008
by Steve Hammons

As an average American citizen, I don't pretend to be an economic or financial expert.

But I do have a "macro" perception of the situation from the viewpoint of an average American.

Reading and hearing the latest news about the plan for a $1 trillion bailout of Wall Street seems to confirm my gut instincts over the years.

My perceptions have been that Wall Street and the financial services sector are part of a culture of very greedy and perhaps crooked people.

Are they greedy, crooked and smart? Or, are they greedy, crooked and dumb?

Maybe they are stupid like a fox.

When you can create a system where people on the inside are making hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions, or tens of millions, or hundreds of millions on Wall Street, and then ask for upward of a $1 trillion bailout from the government and taxpayers, that seems fairly smart.

PLENTY OF SUCKERS

Over the years, the culture of Wall Street has been smart enough to convince many average Americans to put their money in stocks, mutual funds and other "investments."

On TV, we see frequent ads by investment firms telling us that if we just give them our money, we will have a safe retirement and protect our children. TV and movie personalities get paid big money for these commercials that try to convince us to hand over our money to these investment firms.

We also see investment industry representatives on TV legitimizing schemes to get our money. Giving our money to Wall Street is very smart, they tell us.

The internet has further expanded the range of Wall Street so that anyone can bet their money on various kinds of stocks or other investment gambling.

The laws that launched the 401(k) and similar plans helped channel retirement savings into the Wall Street system. This was also part of the situation surrounding the disintegration of conventional employer pension plans.

There have even been proposals to change the Social Security program so that people can give that money to Wall Street too.

So, Wall Street and the "investment experts" who want our money have been smart enough to convince many suckers to give them money.

Of course, for some people, it doesn't take much encouragement to bet their money. That is why gambling at casinos is so popular. People seem to have a natural desire to gamble. Maybe it is wired in our brains. It can be like an addiction.

In these ways, and in others, it seems that gambling at a casino and handing your money over to an "investment advisor" and Wall Street can sometimes have similarities.

(Article Continues Below)

As the U.S. financial services sector has grown, many people have become investment advisors. They convince gullible people to hand over money to the advisor. Of course, the advisor always takes a cut. And maybe there is compensation that is unseen by the person handing over their money.

WALL STREET AND WASHINGTON

The Wall Street system exists hand-in-hand with the culture of Washington lobbyists and politicians. No surprise there. Wall Street passes out "contributions" to politicians of all stripes, although officials who support Wall Street positions are, of course, especially favored.

Some politicians eagerly go along with the theory of minimal "government interference" in the free market. Until, that is, the system has been looted by greed and apparent incompetence. Then, government involvement is pleaded for. Not involvement actually ... just a $1 trillion dollar bailout.

It seems as though the looting of the U.S. Treasury must have some limits. How long can we keep printing money and borrowing from China before there are more serious problems?

First, the war profiteers looted the U.S. Treasury as part of the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The homeland security industry was also in line to make big bucks in government contracts and spending.

Now, Wall Street is lining up at the Treasury hog trough to get their share.

Maybe, like individual and group investors now, there is a "run on the (U.S. Treasury) bank" by Wall Street. Get what money you can now from Uncle Sam before the money dries up.

Maybe Wall Street is making a run on the U.S. Treasury to get while the gettin' is good and before the U.S. Government is in such a dire financial situation that $1 billion bailouts might be more difficult to obtain.

After all, the current administration is due to leave office soon. The gravy train of hundreds of billions of dollars in hand-outs to war profiteers and cronies may be at an end.

This may be the last chance to line up for the big bucks that have been so freely distributed by the U.S. Government in recent years.

Maybe we American citizens have truly been made to be the suckers in many ways. The question now could be: What are we going to do about it?