What have we learned…?
Let’s see – economic depression caused by unbridled greed on Wall Street – ecologic disaster caused by unbridled greed for oil – what have we learned from it? Not a damn thing!
Wall Street gave us years of roller-coaster stock returns, devastating home-prices devaluation, 401K funds turned insolvent, obscene pay and bonuses for those who gambled away fortunes of other people’s hard-earned money (but that’s still open for debate as to if it really was hard earned or just more ill-gotten gains), and an unbridled lust and greed to have more money than God.
BP gave us an unprecedented ecological disaster that continues to spread through the Gulf of Mexico, unstoppable, uncontainable, and promising to made worse by the fact that hurricane season will start in two days. As described in a recent news article, “think Katrina with oil’, a push into an area of diminishing returns where the desire for oil costs more, returns less (even though they claim that these are the largest fields of oil ever discovered), and an unbridled lust and greed to have more money that God.
In both cases we are hindered by ineffectual government bodies that failed to do their duty and regulate the industries as they should have. The agencies in charge of Wall Street turned a blind eye so they could download and watch porn all day long. Not to mention the fact that a Republican lead government spear-headed the dismantlement of the Glass-Stegall act because it “hindered” the market and kept financial firms from “getting their game on.” On the other hand, the agencies in charge of regulating the oil companies were actually producing the porn that the other were probably watching and receiving kick-backs, bribes, and other “goodies” to let the oil companies have their way.
Unfortunately the chickens came home to roost under Obama’s watch and he is unjustly shouldering the burden of blame for it all and having to cope with the cleanup and increasingly bad publicity which is only instilling more distrust in an agency that is supposed to look after the well being if it citizens.
What have we learned? Hire more people with scruples and ethics. Provide more oversight of the regulatory agencies that are supposed to be protecting us from this sort of stupidity and risk. Greed is bad, as is Ayn Randian free-market economics. If a company is too big to fail, it’s a dinosaur and needs to fail.
Powered by FireStats
I’ve often thought the same myself. Why is it that such businesses are allowed to continue, especially when they are so blatantly at fault and doing less than what is morally right to correct the damage they cause?
I’m coming to the realisation that it’s because there is no greater power. Sure you have governments and their armies but they are undermined by their very nature. It’s supposed to be a group of people working towards a goal but no one can decide what that goal is, in which direction it lies and how to traverse the terrain. Hence I think it would be true to say that no matter what the litigation, no matter how awkward the rules make it these companies will always survive. They survive because they have a unity of purpose (profit) and the body which makes the rules with such fervour is not the body of people who carries the rules out. Those who implement the rules are much more likely to be swayed by argument or bribes or simply disagree with the ruling and turn a blind eye.
Until you can form a body which takes cohesive action, especially against multinational companies, there is little that can be done which is greater than a slap on the wrists.
The best deterrent? Well do you really think those great oil barrens in charge are getting peace? I would expect the media and protesters hound their every step. This public, indirect, unlicensed, non official power has the capacity to push where no rule is allowed to go. It doesn’t matter if they resign, go into hiding or pay off officials… the people can always find them and make them miserable.
I do hope Obama survives this trial by fire though. Seems like a good man from what I’ve heard.
1