I have linked an article dated from September 17, 2011 from the Daily Caller which speaks about the group protesting around Wall Street. The group is dubbed "Occupy Wall Street". They've been camping around New York's Zuccoti Park for over a month now. Their stated purpose for protesting Wall Street is to call attention to the corporate greed and abuse from Wall Street. This particular group has accomplished nothing. I believe their efforts are misguided. I don't deny the fact that there's greed and corruption on Wall Street. There are some corporations that are corrupt. America witnessed the excesses of greed in September 2008 with the revelation of the mortgage scandal involving Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac. A result of this was the TARP bailout of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, and other banks using taxpayer dollars to supposedly keep these businesses afloat or the nation would "sink" into a deep depression. I was very appalled at what took place. I was very perturbed over the fact that former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson under former president George W. Bush administered the bailouts and these investment banks in turn squandered the bailout money that was supposed to keep them afloat. What really troubled me was the cozy relationship the federal government has with these major businesses. We can blame Wall Street all we want for the corruption that takes place, but anytime you see corruption on Wall Street, you will find the federal government propping them up.
When one studies the events that caused the housing crisis, we find that the federal government is the guilty culprit. They forced banks to make loans to minorities and other people who couldn't afford to take out a loan on a house. That's what placed us into a bind. I will repeat the statement I made yesterday. Anytime you have government and business in alliance with one another, you're going to find high levels of corruption. Government does have a cozy relationship with huge corporations and investment banks. For the last few administrations from Clinton to Obama, there have been cronies in the executive branch and in Congress that have represented investment bank Goldman Sachs in various levels of government. Former Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Henry Paulson once worked for Goldman Sachs. Former New Jersey Senator Jon Corzine also worked for Godlman Sachs. There are numerous examples of the federal government having a cozy relationship with huge businesses.
Even though there are negative aspects to capitalism, the answer isn't to dismantle capitalism. Capitalism has allowed America to experienced unprecedented prosperity throughout its 235 years of existence. It allows for entrepreneurs to use their God-given talents to create a product that will best serve our country. I do know there has to be limited regulations placed upon business to prevent monopolies from forming or for businesses that engage in fraud and abuse. The government does have a role to protect the American people, but it has no role to micromanage America's economy.
Instead of protesting Wall Street in general, the protesters need to zero in on those major corporations and investment banks that have violated federal and state laws. First of all, the federal government has no business using taxpayer dollars to bail out failing businesses and banks. If a corporation can't balance its books, then they deserve to collapse. It's not healthy to allow those assets to remain in a failing business. Capitalism allows not only for business to succeed, but it also allows for business to fail. If a business doesn't produce a product that satisfies its customers, then it deserve to fail. Just because a business is huge doesn't mean that the government should be propping them up. Instead, those huge corporations need to be broken up through the anti-trust laws. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG should've been allowed to fail and broken up. A business that's too big to fail needs to fail. That's good for the free market. It will allow for a freer market when these corporate monopolies fail. The government has no business in choosing winners and losers in the private sector. Failing businesses shouldn't be awarded tax dollars to keep them afloat.
The problem isn't capitalism in general--it's those corporations that have violated the law. The guilty culprits should be brought to trial and prosecuted for their crimes. All Congressmen and Senators that are involved in corporate corruption such as the housing crisis should be impeached and thrown out of office. Barney Frank shouldn't be in Congress after what took place three years ago. The voters in Massachusetts don't have any sense in re-electing him. The problem isn't capitalism. Don't blame capitalism in general for America's economic woes. It's those that have violated the law and have taken advantage of the consumer that should be prosecuted. The capitalistic system is good. It's those that use capitalism for their own greedy purposes that need to be prosecuted. This should be common sense. However, in today's society there's not much common sense remaining.
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