In “Short arm of the law” I addressed the failure of federal prosecutors to go after financial criminals with the same zeal they show in pursuing political insiders. “Why do not our protectors seek to return us to the day when businesspeople made and traded things rather than stealing what others made?” I asked. “The […]
Wall Street
Posted inOpinion
Let us commence toward the common good
Ironically, June is both the month of the summer solstice and of America’s biggest annual blizzard. I don’t mean a weather event blowing in from the Arctic, but a merciless storm of words blowing from commencement speakers at high school and college graduation events. This year, I was one of the blowhards, the chief speechifyer […]
Posted inOpinion
Wall Street hogs still running wild
Wall Street is a beast. And proud of it! In fact, a pair of animals are the stock market’s longtime symbols: One is a snorting bull, the other is a bear. But I recently received a letter saying that we need a third animal to depict the true nature of the Wall Street beast: a […]
Posted inOpinion
‘The Dow’ versus ‘The Doug’
“It’s a sign,” exclaims a February Associated Press story – a sign that our economy is “healing.” “It signals that things are getting back to normal,” added a delighted market analyst. And a March 4 New York Times report heralded it as “a golden age.” The “it” they’re hailing is the Dow, that mystical force […]
Posted inOpinion
Jamie gets punished
If you are sensitive to stories of human suffering and economic hardship, let me warn you that the following report contains material that could be upsetting, so discretion is advised. It’s about a fellow named Jamie. He lives in New York City, and he has recently had a very rough go with a large financial […]
Posted inOpinion
Who’s behind “Fix the Debt”?
Top corporate chieftains and Wall Street gamblers want to tell Washington how to fix our national debt, so they’ve created a front group called “Fix the Debt” to push their agenda. Unfortunately, they’re using “fix” in the same way your veterinarian uses it – their core demand is for Washington to spay Social Security, castrate […]
Posted inOpinion
Wall Street’s new Halloween trick
Halloween is still a month away, but ghouls, ghosts and other grotesque creatures are already roaming America’s streets, possibly preparing to knock at your door. What makes them so scream-out-loud horrifying is that they are the newly issued spawn of — shriek! — Wall Street. The very same greed-fueled bankers who brought us the disaster […]
