Wall Street’s Protection Racket: Still Rolling

from Too Much: A Commentary on Excess and Inequality:



Wall Street’s Protection Racket: Still Rolling
February 27, 2010

To really reform big bank behavior, we need to scuttle the pay system that ‘entitles’ Wall Streeters to however much loot they can grab.

By Sam Pizzigati


Too many Americans, conservative ideologues often lament, feel entitled to the good life, even if they haven’t worked to achieve it. Conservatives typically go on to blame this sorry state of affairs on government, all that taxing of the “successful” to bankroll handouts to the “undeserving.”

In fact, we do indeed have a “culture of entitlement” here in the United States — and a dangerous one at that. But you won’t find this dangerous entitlement culture in poor neighborhoods. To witness the entitlement culture that actually threatens our social order, you have to look up the economic ladder — into the executive suites of our biggest banks and corporations.


The power suits who sit in these plush offices have come to feel absolutely entitled to the multi millions that get stuffed into their pockets. And to keep that stuffing going, they feel entitled to our money, too. And they keep grabbing at it, with the single-minded desperation of addicts racing for their next fix.

We saw that desperation last week. On Monday, the new credit card reform law enacted last year — legislation designed to protect consumers from excessive credit card fees and penalties — went into effect. ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://toomuchonline.org/wall-streets-protection-racket-still-rolling/