May 23, 2011
I’m writing because I and my sister were affected by the economic collapse of 2008, and we don’t want it to happen again.
This week, I will be 69 years old. Due to the economic collapse, my income has been cut by 2/3. My sister lost all her savings due to a Madoff copy-cat who posed as an investment advisor/broker. My sister and I don't have enough time to recoup what was lost. A comfortable retirement previously assured from many years of hard work and savings is now gone for good. There MUST be reforms that make those responsible for the collapse, accountable to those who suffered from the consequences of their misdeeds, mis-judgments, greed, and blatant lack of ethics!
Wall Street greed and outrageous pay practices were a major cause of the collapse. One way to change the incentives so they don’t collapse our economy again would be to delay the bonuses for three, five or more years. That way, we’ll know if the loans they made in year one remain good. In the bad days, bankers paid themselves on the volume of loans (mortgages) they generated, not on their quality.
Thank you for considering my comment,
Gerry Williams