The last time the wolves of Wall Street were allowed to greedily run around unregulated, they were directly responsible for creating a massive speculation bubble that was destined to explode with devastating shockwaves.
The result, as we all well know, was the financial collapse of 2008-09 that became dubbed the Great Recession. The crisis sent crippling reverberations around the world that continue to be felt to this day with many people who would be hard pressed to claim their situation has improved since the alleged recovery, during which time the wealthiest elite have seen record gains.
Adding insult to injury, when millions of Americans lost their homes, those responsible for creating the financial crisis not only were bailed out by taxpayers but also in many instances were even rewarded with astronomical severances.
Although not a single person responsible for the financial crash in the U.S. went to jail or faced any remotely serious punitive ramifications for their disastrous and unscrupulous actions, the Obama administration at least introduced regulations known as Dodd-Frank to protect consumers and investors from excessive risks and abusive Wall Street practices.
And now, the new U.S. president Donald Trump seems intent on once again deregulating Wall Street because his buddies can't borrow money to engage in risky behaviours they'll never be held accountable for in the event of another financial collapse.
"I have so many people ó friends of mine ó that have nice businesses, they can't borrow money," Trump recently told the media when he announced his administration's intention to gut regulations in favour of rolling out the red carpet for Wall Street.
"They just can't get any money because the banks just won't let them borrow because of the rules and regulations in Dodd-Frank."
Flanked on all sides by former bankers and Wall Street insiders eager to line their pockets at the public's expense, the man who carefully crafted an image of himself as a so-called workers' champion seems to finally be showing his true colours.
Besides, although lending did indeed decline following the Great Recession when America's entire banking industry was devastated by the collapse of the U.S. housing market, it has actually grown steadily since then. Lending expanded by six per cent a year since 2013 ó a faster growth than the economy ó and banks in the U.S. now have a record $9.1 trillion of loans outstanding, reports Bloomberg.com.
In other words, stricter financial regulations imposed on Wall Street that were designed to protect the interests of the many from the unfettered greed of the few have not suffocated or stifled growth in the U.S. Nevertheless, Trump wishes to undermine efforts to prevent another financial catastrophe so his close pals can get anything and everything they want.
Because that sure sounds like a flawless description of a selfless, virtuous leader who is more concerned about the average person than he is about his close ties with the wealthy elite.
Perhaps Trump's philosophy on the issue of risky financial speculation was inspired by the famous Shakespeare quote, "Cry havoc, and let slip the dogs of war!"
Of course his revised and personalized version might sound more like something along the lines of, "Cry greed, and let slip the wolves of Wall Street!"
