Wall St. Got Theirs. What About Us?

If you want to know why the stock market rebounded so vigorously on Monday, look no further than good old Uncle Sam. The three headed hydra of the Federal Reserve, FDIC, and Treasury threw everything but the kitchen sink at the financial markets. You need money? No problem. Expanded deposit insurance? You got it. Guarantees on bank debt? Here it is. Capital for healthy banks? Just say the word. And all those investors on the street breathed a collective sigh of relief.

This begs the question of whether we as taxpayers ought to share in their joy. As Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post puts it, now that the nation has done so much for Wall St., what is Wall St. ready to do for the nation? Pearlstein says, not much. He then chronicles some of the things these titans of industry could do to repair the damage their greed has wrought. It's an interesting list, to say the least. That the banks in particular haven't seen fit to adopt one of these promises speaks volumes as to their absolute moral bankruptcy.

As America bails out the banks, why can't they pledge to keep lines of credit open to good customers? Why can't they pledge not to foreclose on homeowners who are able to refinance into government guaranteed fixed rate mortgages? How about volunteering some of their number to help administer the distribution of all this money? Ooops, maybe not. They'd only mess that part up like they've messed up the American economy.

All this taxpayer money is going to people who act like their doing someone a favor by taking it. That's why people like Howard Zinn and John Nichols may be right when they say the bailout should have gone to the American people rather than these clueless, self absorbed, financial geniuses who seem to be most adept at keeping their own heads above water.

Hey fellas! Don't miss your tee times!