Friday, December 02, 2011

Attack on the Banks Continues ...

The backlash against our biggest (remaining) bank's unpunished malfeasance continued with a lawsuit brought by the attorney general of Massachusetts against Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others for their housing foreclosure policies: Slate. With the continued unwillingness to take any responsibility for the 2008 financial crisis they caused or to stop lobbying to undermine any attempt at regulating them, it is imperative that the media, federal government and legal system continue to challenge their largely unchecked power. It reminded me of the HBO film Too Big to Fail that captured the hubris and miscalculations that almost brought down the global economy. While it might have offered too large a heroes role to Henry Paulson (the ex-Goldman CEO and billionaire), it did highlight the lack of accountability that plagues our financial sector today. Really it is a question of moral hazard. Not only the moral hazard of allowing the banks and insurance giant AIG to get bailed out for their irresponsible, and in many minds illegal, activity -- thus sending the message that they can act irresponsibly again in the future (as they are currently doing). But really the moral hazard of allowing neoliberal morality to reign supreme: essentially reinforcing the 80s mantra that greed is good. If we do not hold people accountable for their behavior, we allow the darkness that lurks in all our minds to bubble to the surface and take over. And that darkness has the power to overwhelm all the light that surrounds it.

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