May 26, 2011
I’m writing because I was affected by the economic collapse of 2008, and don’t want it to happen again. Like many in the legal field, I was downsized due to the collapse. Work has been hard to come by given being mid-way through my career, but I am doing my best and know that others are even worse off. As an attorney, I see all too well how the financial system has been rigged to benefit Wall Street at the expense of the rest of America. The Casino Mentality perpetuated by the existing system simply must end! It's bad and dangerous for the economy, and unfair because Wall Street fat cats and big business just roll on and on while causing incredible dislocation throughout society. In that respect it's immoral.
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,
Philip DeMaertelaere
Chicago, IL