Greed makes people stupid. Greed makes people take ridiculous risks.

First the economic meltdown and now the oil spill in the gulf. Huge risks taken insanely greedy individuals who left us regular people to take the brunt of the consequences and don't seem to even comprehend what that entails. Or care. I grew up during the Reagan years hearing endlessly about the genius of the free market, about its self-correcting perfection. I never really believed it, but seeing the economic train wreck of the past few years, fueled by greedy individuals running rampant in unregulated markets and now the oil spill in the Gulf, also fueled by greed and a total disregard for potential consequences, I am completely disgusted. It has just been awful people looking for a way to justify their character defects all along. What is crazy is how many people believed them. Drill, baby, drill! Yeah, whatever. I am so tired of paying the price for these people's avarice. They need to be held accountable.

even without greed

Greed is the base of all of it. Not just for money, but for attention, for people, position, glory....greed to make a snarky comment even when you got nothing. Lots of kinds of greed. Lots. It is possible to have and want no more money and still be greedy to the core.

Reagan got in I thought it would be a disaster... his trickle down economics, give to the rich so they will give to the less fortunate, the moral majority for religious freaks, his stupid contract with America, on and on... I had at one time thought it would self correct, but no such luck. He fueled greed and ignorance. And frankly IMO was instrumental in destroying the America I grew up with that while not perfect had some consideration for the majority of the people.

it is capitalism which sanctions and rewards greed. That is the source of our problem.

You know, in the same way that a corporation can't "die" like we mere mortals.