I was in the courthouse 20 years ago when Michael Milken was in the courthouse 20 years ago for one of his court appearances. Just so we are clear, Milken dealt with Ivan Boesky and Drexel Burnham went down the tubes as a result. Good old Mike also paid about 1.1 billion in fines and went to jail for a couple years. This "harsh" sentence was greeted by gasps of dismay on Wall Street and the rest of us were wondering how someone could make that kind of money and then pay that kind of fine. Anyway, Mike faired well after and is now one of the 500 richest persons on earth.
What brings this to mind is the crap that goes on and went on during the last couple years. I have a friend who is middle income and about to loose his home and of course, his car just died. He has a job but things are really tough and his home is underwater. Faced with real deal problems, he can't get a car loan to get transportation to use on his job. It isn't a "I just want a new car"..it is "I have to have a car that works". This is the trickle down ... the banks get all the free money they need and my friend can't borrow it when he needs it. We are also being asked to "trust wall street" to regulate themselves - to know what is right and wrong and like kids in a room full of candy, they will have the grit to behave.
I point out that it is just about 20 years to the day when I had to sue a stockbroker for faking documents and Michael Milken got 10 years from Kimba Woods and Drexel went out of business costing thousands their jobs and billions in lawsuits. See how well the street has learned its business?