Eugene Grygo, Chief Content Editor, FTF News
We are past the midway point for this year and I think we have all had enough of the surprises, shocks and downright tragedies. Yet there is every reason to worry that they will continue. The hard part is figuring out how to keep moving ahead despite the undertows of deep sorrow and anger that can paralyze us.
On a strictly practical level, I’m sure that financial services firms have been thinking and rethinking their disaster recovery and business continuity plans in light of the domestic and international terrorist attacks that are on the rise. They also have to think about staff overseas — especially in hotspots — that might be at risk.
But the thinking can no longer be conventional.
Banks and other securities firms have unfortunately become the focus of wrath from politicians on the left and right. And we know all too well that terrorists view financial centers as targets; I’m not equating them in any way with politicians and protesters. What lone-wolf terrorists and others have done is reprehensible and in no way justified. The problem is that the violence that has occurred blurs so many lines and causes great confusion.
So, to be clear, what I’m suggesting is that in this Presidential election year we have to seriously reconsider the finer points of the system we are living under.
While it’s hard to argue that the big banks and trading firms have learned their lessons from the Great Recession, it’s also fair to say that many politicians and protesters from Occupy Wall Street onward have projected onto “Wall Street” much that it isn’t responsible for.
For the most part, the financial markets react to the current economy, society and opportunities; they prefer stability and open markets; and they have to adhere to regulations and strict laws. Ultimately, the markets do not set policy — voters do.
A case in point is our current, excessively stratified American class system that favors heavily those at the top. This did not happen overnight. It is the result of a long-term design begun under the Reagan years. Regardless of how you feel about him, President Ronald Reagan has cast the longest shadow of any of our recent presidents. He set in motion a rigid hierarchy that many are now railing against. Of course, at one time, many were in favor of and voted for Reagonmics and trickle-down theories — as long as everyone could have equal access to opportunity.
While Americans like to think that such a class system doesn’t exist, they are wrong. The Great Recession exposed the idiocy, corruption and multiple layers of damage caused by a fire sale of inscrutable derivatives built upon worthless mortgages. The Great Recession also revealed that in our now rigidly class-based society those at the top will survive and prosper while innocent victims down market will be wiped out with little chance to recover. They may have even been bypassed when the economy was doing well.
Many Americans have learned the hard way that they cannot depend upon the kindness of wealthy strangers who turn their backs on those who need mercy, compassion and understanding. Those at the top don’t want the system to change for the better. And, to say the least, this rigid class system endures when racism, sexism, homophobia and rampant hatred prevail.
But there is another truth. Change for the better can happen.
We can have fairer markets via intelligent regulation that is not ruined by special interests. If banks and other firms are too big to fail, then they should be broken apart, which would add some much needed free market relief to financial services.
We can begin to reset the balance by asking those that have done so very well to pay their fair share in taxes so that much in this country can be fixed from our roads to our schools. In fact, we should all be willing to pay more in taxes if we want the government to help retrain those who need new skills, help those with horrific student loan burdens and help those who fall through the safety net through no fault of their own.
And we should all be more vigilante if we want to see these reforms and more to become reality.
We are at a turning point in this country.
So, the big question is: Do we continue with an old school system that serves some but is rapidly crumbling or do we embrace a new future that will be closer to the American ideals that we hold so dear?
Need a Reprint?
