In the months since I began this website, I have had some fairly
harsh things to say about economic policy in the U.S., the U.K. and
elsewhere. I have consistently condemned what I think is a captured
government promoting an unstable financial system and a bloated
financial sector. But, I have made a conscious effort to not use the
word ‘bankster' because I find it unfair and dehumanizing. Other
bloggers may disagree, but allow me to tell you why I have made the
choice I have.
I look more to government and its regulators as the problem than the banks. As an example, my post "Forget about Goldman"
is about why it is government at fault when Goldman Sachs gets
preferential treatment. I make much the same point in my post, "Why is Goldman allowed to game the system?"
Wall Street, indeed the financial services industry globally,
employees hundreds of thousands of people. These people do not
magically transform into ‘banksters' looking to steal grandma's pension
when they start working on the Street or the City. They are no
different than you or I.
The problem is government. Our policy makers are the ones who
allowed easy money and lax regulation to become the status quo. They
are also the ones who gain power through the political patronage of
special interests as we have seen not only in banking, but in
healthcare and oil and gas. Government has created a lawless
environment in which far too many individuals have committed fraud and
far too few have been prosecuted. But the vast majority of people in
the financial services industry are hard-working honest individuals who
do not deserve to be labeled banksters.
Take the recent Washington Mutual expose
that I linked to in an earlier post. There was a telling few lines
involving a veteran WaMu employee that goes to the heart of the
problem. It says regarding a predatory loan product at WaMu:
The White House is pushing for a new consumer regulatory
agency to end these sorts of abuses, but the banking lobby and even
federal banking regulators are opposed. Banks say more regulation would
kill innovation.
"I hated that loan," said Mary Kay Morse, a 20-year veteran at WaMu
whose job was to persuade independent brokers to make option ARM loans.
"It's just not a good loan. It wasn't good for the borrower."
That loan affected her opinion of WaMu.
"I always felt like I worked for a really honest industry that cared
for the borrowers they dealt with," she said.
