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Dear Occupy Wall Street Demonstrators,
Let me start by saying that I applaud your initiative. Grassroots protests are the essence of democracy. And as we've seen with the Tea Party movement and the Arab Spring, nonviolent protests are a powerful way to effect meaningful change.
Yet even though I'm 100% behind you in spirit, I can't fully support your cause.
Don't get me wrong, I want to join you. But I can't - not yet, anyway.
And the reason why I can't support your ultimate goals is a simple one: I don't know what they are.
So how about this? I'm going to tell you what I stand for. I'm going to tell you what my goals are. And if you agree, then we can stand together. And i f you agree with me, I won't wait another minute before joining you whenever and wherever I'm needed.
So here it goes.
The reason I'm already leaning towards your side is that the fountainhead of your disgust seems to be "Wall Street."
Now, I don't know what Wall Street means to you. But to me, it means all the crony capitalists and market manipulators whose calculators and spreadsheets say the present value of their self-serving greed is worth discounting all of America's future.
But to me, the "Wall Street" we're fighting against is not synonymous with capitalists. The enemy we share doesn't include the entrepreneurs and self-starters that have built this country up brick by brick.
So if you think socialism is better than capitalism, you can count me out. If you think that redistributing earned income from hard working Americans to support lazy, self-indulgent, able-bodied crybabies is fair, count me out. If you think that making a lot of money, fairly and honestly, is un-American, count me out. And, if you're thinking about violence or destroying other people's property, count me out.
But if you're mad that Wall Street money has bought our Congress; if you're mad that there's an oligarchy of banker puppeteers pulling the strings of the U.S. Federal Reserve; if you're mad that Wall Street is hell-bent on toying with the stock market and turning the screws on fixed-income investors, parents, and retirees to expand their profit margins; and, if you are mad that "too-big-to-fail" banks can wreck the economy and get bailed out, only to become bigger bullies while tens of millions of Americans lose their homes, jobs, and retirement savings, then I am solidly with you.
And, if you're with me, we agree that we need to tear down Wall Street to rebuild Main Street!
That's where we stand, hopefully united.
Now let me offer up a list - a manifesto, if you will - that you may or may not choose to adopt. But remember, I'm not trying to hijack your movement. I just want to offer some vision and clarity.
So these are the goals I'd like for us all, as fed-up Americans, to undertake:
- Break up too-big-to-fail banks so they aren't threatening our financial system .
- Investigate failed banks for fraud, and indict and incarcerate guilty parties.
- Scale banker bonuses progressively with long-vesting stock options.
- Legislate pay claw-back provisions and criminal statutes for bad banker behavior.
- Eliminate volatility-inducing high-frequency-trading and ETF program arbitrage.
- Make all derivatives exchange traded, highly margined, and transparent.
- Limit credit default swaps to two times the value of at-risk underlying credits.
- Mandate exhaustive studies of the potential market impact of newly created financial products.
- Create simple, effective, light-touch regulations with heavy criminal penalties .
- Cap Wall Street's political contributions and make them transparent.
- Audit the Federal Reserve and limit its lending to domestic banking institutions.
- Give the Consumer Protection Finance Bureau (CPFB) criminal indictment powers, including over the Federal Reserve.
- Make Wall Street answer to the needs of Main Street, not the other way around.
Please don't get me wrong. It's not that there aren't plenty of other things in the United States that need fixing. I think we'd all agree we need to simplify and "fairify" the tax code, if not throw it out altogether. But, your movement is Occupy Wall Street, so let's stick to that.
There's one last thing. I'm certain that with thousands of supporters you'll find a broad spectrum of ideas and beliefs. That we may be united in belief does not necessarily mean we are all alike .
Take me, for example. In some ways, I am a "Wall Street" guy, and in other ways I am one of the 99% you claim to represent. I want an opportunity to make a good living, honestly and fairly. But, like all of you, like all of America, I am sick and tired of the powerful, moneyed oligarchy that runs America profiteering off the backs of hard working Americans.
That's why we need strong, transparent and fair capital markets and honest, smart leaders. The two aren't incompatible.
So what I'm saying is that I'm ready to join your revolution, if you're ready to accept a Wall Street insider who's determined to restore the system's integrity - not destroy it.
And that's why you're going to hear more from me every week, as I call Wall Street's biggest players onto the carpet. And I can promise you this: Some of the indictments I make are going to shock you.
Sincerely,
Shah Gilani
P.S. - Sign up now for Shah's Free Report "Blast Profits In the Eye of the Storm: 5 Ways To Trade the Coming EU Crisis - And Make A Killing" and join him on his new website Wallstreet Insights and Indictments
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About the Author
Shah Gilani boasts a financial pedigree unlike any other. He ran his first hedge fund in 1982 from his seat on the floor of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange. When options on the Standard & Poor's 100 began trading on March 11, 1983, Shah worked in "the pit" as a market maker.
The work he did laid the foundation for what would later become the VIX - to this day one of the most widely used indicators worldwide. After leaving Chicago to run the futures and options division of the British banking giant Lloyd's TSB, Shah moved up to Roosevelt & Cross Inc., an old-line New York boutique firm. There he originated and ran a packaged fixed-income trading desk, and established that company's "listed" and OTC trading desks.
Shah founded a second hedge fund in 1999, which he ran until 2003.
Shah's vast network of contacts includes the biggest players on Wall Street and in international finance. These contacts give him the real story - when others only get what the investment banks want them to see.
Today, as editor of Hyperdrive Portfolio, Shah presents his legion of subscribers with massive profit opportunities that result from paradigm shifts in the way we work, play, and live.
Shah is a frequent guest on CNBC, Forbes, and MarketWatch, and you can catch him every week on Fox Business's Varney & Co.
Only question is left then, is why the Unions are paying to have some of these protesters to showup
Unions don't pay workers to show up! They simply encourage the unemployed ones to show up in support of the cause. You know nothing of unions or union labor………
I'm not Mike but the way the unions are raping our country with outrageous demands from their employers while others could and would do the same job for much less, then I wouldn't want to know anything more about the unions or union labor. The union bosses rake in the bucks while the workers strike for no pay. What a racket. Why do teachers need a union? If they are any good at there job they wouldn't need a union. They served there usefulness in the past when employers would fire or let you go for an injury instead of helping you out till you could return to work, but they are no longer needed. Just my opinion.
Thanks for the exhaustive proof supporting your statement. Most people don't go through the trouble of proper research and annotation, so kudos to you Mike! Thanks, for adding to the discussion and not just flinging feces!
Um…yeah…lets wonder why unions would do anything that supports solidarity and the common good… are you still scratching your head Mike?
All who see the problem are welcome to come. There is no discrimination.
Why do the Occupiers condemn bailouts of the banks, but nothing about the GM and Chrysler bailouts that helped the unions? ALL government bailouts are wrong. Let the free market rule.
The fact that you responded with some ideas shows that you understand what the protesters want. It's a message to start the conversation about corporate greed. Just look at how long it took the media to start covering the protest. The mere fact that they were reluctant to cover it shows just how intertwined these corporations are. I doubt this movement will ever have solid "demands" because it's not that kind of protest. The conversation is starting, this is what they want. The vast majority of us who have relied on social media understand what they want.
John very precise,and insightful. Thank you
We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
It is a good start, but it should not stop here. We must throw out at the next election , all of the Corrupt Congressmans and Senators. Make the corrupt U.S. Supreme Court Justices to resign, too. Out law the Lobbyists and so on. The list is too long to mention all. Make the Elections MONEY FREE. Every single Current and Future elected Officials are bought and pay'd for by the Corrupt Corporations!!!!! Thanks to the Corrupt U.S. Supreme Court decision; of un-limited donations, and you don't have to disclose; who gave to whom, how much and why?????
Kudos Steve kudos!
Amen! I second the motion and vote "Aye!"
YES!!! But how do we throw them ALL out? Aren't they all corrupt to some degree. How can we start with a clean slat and who would be able to mandate that they all resign? (Without getting violent, of course. But, is that what it would take? A true revolt/revolution?)
I especially agree that it HAS to be MONEY FREE! I thought about Obama's camppaign war chest and thought how many people would be helped with that money. With foreclosures and unemployment on the rise, the homeless and jobless I am sure cannot appreciate any candidate spending millions to get elected in the face of their blight. How dare they. How arrogant. I don't wan to see anyone of them get elected if they can be so neglectful.
And, Mr. Gilani, I agree with what you are "for" and "not for." But, in your list, I would like to a goal that folks with underwater mortgages have their mortgage revalued to current market value and payments adjusted accordingly. That's the least the banks can do in return for receiving their bailout help. Folks need a bailout as well. This is NOT just about restructuring Wall St. Is is about keeping homes and jobs on Main Street for the 99%; because theat is what ultimately runs Wall St (Right? everything we buy/do, influences commercial stocks in some way or another). This is about the 99%! and whatever their goals and cause THEY bring to the table. As it was stated by Occupy Wall St, they don't just have one agenda. It is broad so that anyone who is fed up will support the cause of protesting in union and solidarity. Folks are fed up about a lot of things. It just seems that the tidalwave began on Wall St. Well, it also began in D.C. That's next on the list. Stay tuned. But, thank you for your support!
Please excuse my errors above: "slat" s/b slate; "theat" s/b that.
Right on, You hit the nail right on the head, get rid of the suprem court, get McConnaly,
Bounier and Canter out. stop the corperation money from going into politics.
We are not far right now from another depressin that will make the last one look like
a tea party, (get the drift) the one Dick Aromy heads up.
Run all these ex politicions off who metel in thangs to profit them selfs.
How do we get people to watch more propaganda, I mean news than Faux, I mean Fox. Every judge listens to all sides before determining guilt. NPR, Democracy Now, Link TV, PBS, OpEdNews.com. We must flip channels.
WE can start buy boycotting all companies like AT&T that gave huge sums of money to the Chamber of Commerce to defeat progressive congressional candidates. They only support bought and paid fore candidates of large corporations as per the Supreme Court decision!
I read your artilce and I am also one of the 99%. I agree with you. I also think that those who have done wrong need to be held responsible for their actions. I also think that the bankers who were responsible for the bad banking practices and received the huge monetry packages even after their banks failed should be required to give it back to the banking system.
the REAL problem is CONGRESS.. they have given Wall Stret the laws and the power to act the way they do!!
Geez, Gilani, I was so encouraged by the opening that I forgot who was writing this. So when you attacked crony-capitalism, were for protecting property rights, and praised value creators, I was thrilled. But then you launched into your typical the *right* regulators would set up the right system, completely misunderstanding the unintended consequences of your regulations, and squarely putting yourself into the hands of the very crony-capitalists you attack. Micro-managing wall street *your* way doesn't help anymore than Obamas way, than Volker's way, then Turbo-timmy's way, or than Helicopter Ben's way. Banks got too-big-to-fail through *your* model of regulation, capital ratio setting, rules of fair-play. It's really quite simple. Meet a market need, or go out of business at the hands of your customers (or lack thereor) or competitors. Manage whatever fractional reserve ratio you want, as long as you suffer the consequences if you get it wrong, including a bank run. In other words, bring back CAPITALISM, which means bring FREE BANKING, no fed, no regulators, no FDIC, and no elitists trying to prove that they can micromanage in everyone's best interest.
The lack of regulations is why this financial crisis occurred. Humans are social animals and government is inevitable. One function of government is to regulate to protect people and help ensure a functional society, regardless of what libertarians think. We are not perfect and even well intentioned regulations have negative unintended consequences, which should be corrected, not the least of which is the influence of special interests seeking to game the system for their benefit.
Wall Street needs proper regulation to control the worst in human nature. All financial crises prove this fact.
Paul, you don't get it. Neither did Alan Greenspan. He was baffled that the banks didn't "do the right thing" in their own self interests. That's naive and shows a lack of understanding human nature. Banks and businesses reflect the greed of the people who run them. They will do what they can get away with. People generally follow the path of least resistance. I've been in the business world for almost 40 years so I know.
Every organization has rules and controls. Without them, things go out of control. It's common sense and a basic tenet of business. They need a certain amount of rules and controls from the "outside" to keep them honest. Besides that, more regulations come when businesses and banks behave badly. Regulations generally don"t come from a compulsion to regulate. They come because of excessive abuses and a desire to prevent them so the little guy doesn't get hurt.
Many big banks have abused their power and millions of average citizens have gotten hurt, many in a devastating, life-changing manner. Unlike most businesses, the banks are necessary to serve the financial needs of the entire population. They are there to serve us, not be served by us. They need regulations to ensure that this happens because their impact on the people and economy is so important and pervasive. That's not true of most businesses, probably not any.
And you want no regulators and no FDIC. That's foolish. The abuses would grow beyond your wildest imagination. You and Alan need to come back to the real world.
That's right! You know there's always going to be one or two on the take, so what the heck? Let's just allow the corruption, the corrupted and the corruptible free reign to rape the planet and the people! That makes much more sense. And while we're at it, let's toss out all the rules, laws and regulations. After we do that, what do we need to pay police for? Kick them to the curb too. There's some extra cash! How 'bout we just let those airplane pilots fly where ever they want, whenever they want… Heck yeah! Now we're on to something!!! Not so much…
Paul, Your ideas are noble but the real crooks on Wall Street will still find a way to abuse the system if your ideas are put into place.
That's why there must be some basic regulations and severe penalties in place such as Shah Gilani suggests (which is similar to Canada's & Singapore's banking system).
severe penalties, if they are imposed. so far not one banker on wall street has been indited &
they are doing what they did before ,big profits & bonuses & sitting on trillions that should have been offered to borowers to help them grow.
also why have'nt they gone after the G.O.P.who took the oath of office to "HONOR ,PROTECT & DEFEND AGAINST ALL ENEMIES" how can they sign a pledge with Grover norcrest which goes against their oath????
also why has the Obama admiistration gone after the criminals who committed war crimes and are still boasting about it. In the eyes of the world they are war criminals.give the ones who did it amnestyso they can give you Chaney & Rumsfelt among others. That would be cleaning up a lot on garbage and wipe the smugness of their faces.
Amen!
I really appreciate your comment. Our whole society is so deficient on clear thinking and quality reasoning processes. Government schools have a lot to do with that, and slack parents, too overcommited to interact with their offspring. I am a Grandpa, are very concerned for the future.
Chuck you hit the nail on the head! Between inadequate education via public or private charter schools and unfortunatley parents who like the idea of home schooling there children but lack an adequate understanding or knowledge of how to do so effectively, or the lack of any parent involvement in the lives of their children this country is doomed. I do not understand why others can not or will not see or look at this a real problem.
These reform suggestions are very reasonable but little chance of getting the corrupt Congress to do the right thing.
Oh, come off it, Steve, and the rest of you Americans too; you have spent the last 200+ years shining in the reflected glory of a bunch of criminals who could feel the ground beneath their feet beginning to get too hot, so they wrapped their piracy up in idealistic blather about the "rights of man" and got rid of man King George – who had the temerity to take three whole percent in tax.
"We would rather be screwed by our own people than by a distant monarch." You got your wish.
You now have a pretty corrupt, pretty ancient regime, with lots of built in idiocies. Your system is ultra stable. So, you cannot change it. No one elss can change it. Not the Congressmans, nor the Congresswomans (is a Congresswoman the new name for a whore ? or is it the old one?) Nor the "corrupt U.S. Supreme Court Justices" – until you have proven that they are corrupt: don't ask me to contribute to your legal expenses – its difficult enough convicting a policeman who does murder (sorry, he took a plea of manslaughter: lucky him) – throwing a citizen down the stairs, thus inflicting fatal head wounds, and then walking away – nice. Have you ever heard of a judge going down ? (Oh yes, there was a high court judge in England, but he was caught by the customs with his private yacht stuffed with contraband liquor- and they had a field day!)
Kings who clipped the coinage used to be characterised as "Bad Kings"
Your Kings, (called Presidents, but what's in a name ?) are clipping the coinage more than any mediaeval monarch ever dared. They will be known (much later) as "Bad Presidents" But for now, they are wrapped in Royal eminence – above the law, above criticism, beyond justice. You Americans made this system. Enjoy it while it lasts.
Many Articles are written about the unemployment in the US and the UK but the news media and the politicians failed to identify the reason, there will be no recovery here are the reasons; most politicians never give the people the true answer, they respond in vague terms the core of the problem is hereby briefly outlined.
The principal reason the west has lost its monopoly in manufacturing that such loss has not been addressed to by politicians in the west.
The next reason it is detriment to western companies profit to employ western workers.
Another factor in the past western countries protected their Industrial base and employment of their National by tariff referred to as protectionist, such word now has become offensive by western corporate officers and those that support them, since when they were given the freedom to cut their labor cost by employing Chinese or Indian workers or Bangladesh workers at $35.00 per month they found their profits has zoomed up wards and it has also zoomed up wards as to corporate officers salaries and bonus.
Now you may ask why Washington or Whitehall in London does not take action to solve the unemployment, and revert to, as in the past to some form of protectionist policy. The politicians are unable to make any change since they are controlled by big money and business interest for it is that interest that feeds their political campaign with mega bucks and pounds.
92% of all UK new jobs created are taken by migrant workers most of these workers come from Eastern Europe, these countries are part of the EEC therefore their workers are entitled to move to any country such as UK, France, Germany etc. There is no recovery in the horizon the 1929-30 depression was cured by world war 11. America Democracy has failed the check and balance of a Government established no longer function, The supreme court is ruled by politics and the process of election is geared to those that can spend millions to get elected. By Joseph Foster, Author ‘’ Seeing Red ‘’How America is losing the Future. Release date February 2012
Agree! Ron Paul may be answer and not globalismus.
Ron Paul would through out the baby with the wash.
Sorry, silly error in my last. Line three, last word, for "man" read "mad"
Dear Mr. Gilani
Your article shows clearly why you are where you are and the occupiers are on Wall Street. They have told the world their purpose. It is not their fault if you do not have the facility to understand either their idiom or their language. They have clearly stated it in their name. Occupy Wall Street. i.e., We the people are now taking over. You wall streeters are no longer in charge. De Facto. The de jure will take some time as well it should. Because there is an important principle in the fact that they have not come with a 13 point manifesto program. They are not about imposing yet another model on top of a series of failed ones. They are not going to follow the Method. They are simply going to let the future unveil itself one small mutation at a time. Organically replacing this ghastly Cartesian world we have created. Doing it the way mother nature does it. Simple principles that ensure only one vision, the survival of the species. You will understand this only once you get out of the mental jail you are in. I welcome you to the other side.
I have listened to this bunch of Ivy League rubble try to explain what they're doing on Wall Street time and time again. They are simply anti-capitalists like you. They are the product produced by an overwhelming majority of uber-elitist liberals that compose a large majority of our college professors today. Truly, spoiled pinheads that want everything for nothing!
Their vision for this great nation is live by privilege and collect wealth at the expense of those whom actually EARN it! And in every interview I’ve watched; and there have been many, they simply babble on about they want more!
Well, screw them and their vision of America past, present and future. And yes; let’s vote our existing politicians OUT OF OFFICE! America needs to return to it’s roots. Period!
Well said. Many thanks for your bold writings.
The protesters are largely whiny leftists morons, with gigantic entiitlement complexes, who have no real clue what's going on. Without getting into details, suffice it to say they want more government intervention to implement a "social justice" agenda. It's farcical. I, too, am glad they're stirring the pot. Somebody has to, but they mostly have things backwards.
If they really understood how prosperity is created and who was behind the destruction of the capital markets (and the depredations of the welfare/warfare state), they'd encircle JP Morgan and Goldman headquarters and make the police beat them senseless on national TV. Maybe that would shift some things.
Doubtful. My thinking is that the "powerful, moneyed oligarchy that runs America profiteering off the backs of hard working Americans" has already prevailed. Simon Johnson's "silent coup" is effectively complete. We are already way on down the road to serfdom.
depradations…sorry for not proofing.
Put in place term limits for the senate and congress. And when leaving office no goverment benefits and no working as a lobbyist for 15 years.
Good place to start Shah!
Except for 11 and 12 with reservation, I am with you for Wall Street.
I would change the credit default change to be that as swaps are insurance then they are treated as insurance. So the same rules that cover all insurance companies would apply to swaps, such as mandating reserves. Although limiting them may be a good thing.
I also agree strongly with Steve, as wee need to remove all special interest money from politics and I'd go further with: a) publicly fund elections, (b) make it illegal for pols and their staff to accept jobs in businesses that they affected, (c) implement term limits, (d) make it illegal for a Senator or Congressman to EVER lobby for compensation, and (e) tax the wealthy enough to control their power (work should not be taxed at a higher rate than speculation and investment).
Steve you are absolutely correct. One place to start is to revise election laws and make them all publically funded. You can have a shortened election cycle with all eligle candidates having an equal venue to express their ideas. Our political system is still the best but has been severly corrupted. Capitalism and democracy work, what we now have is crony capitalism with a financiial oligarchy. The majority of americans feel this way but nothing constructive is being done. i wonder what it will take to bring about change.
Why did it take so long for an upheaval to take place?? It's easy to get on the train, but I look forward to seeing what you CAN share here, without getting backlash from the powers that be. How about talking about how the Hedgies don't have to follow the SEC rules that govern the mutual funds on their buys and sells. If you are an insider, why didn't you take a stand, or forgive me, if you have and I didn't see it. However, what you contribute going forward will be scrutinized. Thank you for speaking up for what is obvious and, so in your face now.
THIS IS GOOD, Just what we need, someone who knows and willing to spell it out. THANKS Chuck
Central Banking is the Hydra. Repeal the Federal Reserve Act and the tentacles wither and die.
Amen. Are the protesters demanding an End to the Fed or even a comprehensive audit? Haven't heard that they are.
If they don't get that the Fed is the "hydra," then they don't get anything…and nothing much will change.
hi Shah – thanks for writing about this and sharing your perspective as a Streeter. I used to work on Wall St too for Deustche (and before that Citi) before switching gears to freelance full-time as a financial and business writer. I think we are in the midst of major social/economic upheaval and am glad to see people from all sides joining in on the conversation. Let's see where this movement takes us as a country, and let's also hope the discussion stays civil and peaceful and gets more productive and articulate with time. I blogged this week about Occupy Boston — please take a look when you get a chance. Among other things, I found it interesting to see how many veterans are joining the movement here in Boston — I think there will be more in the days to come as more of these soldiers come home and have trouble finding work. Also found it interesting how they are working on a unifying message — although much of what the protesters are saying is obviously threatening to those interested in maintaining the status quo. Best wishes, Jennifer http://jenniferbruni.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/occupy-wall-street-comes-to-boston/
What about the Ivy League Business Schools? In France, where I live, there was a furore last year about a book titled "J'ai fait HEC; et je m'en excuse". HEC is the leading business school here, and the title translates "I did HEC, and I apologize".
The fundamental question raised in the book is ETHICS. Making money is OK, as long as it is within the law, and as long it is ETHICAL. The sub-prime practices were legal, they say, but THEY WERE DEFINITELY NOT ETHICAL!
So, what do leading Business Schools teach about ethical behaviour? Should top managers be obliged to take an annual refreshing course in ethics in order to remind them of their responsibilities beyond that of making money for themselves and their corporation?
I agree strongly with most of your points you have made Shai. I would also like to apologize to you for some of these replies left by some of the citizens left on this page. They are disgraceful and some just down right ignorant.
I am one of the many 99% in this once amazing country, and like I said yoyu have made many very valid points in your declaration that would help tremendously if implemented. How ever til this so called government we have been forced to accept for many generations now is ratified the goals and ideas you have will not be of any use!
The government on every level has become so corrupt that they can not and will not see past their own bank accounts. Until what is considered 'the feeble minded average citizen',as unfortunatley some have shown in there replies, stands up and takes the United States back we will continue down a spiraling path resembling something most like post Stalin Russia.
The actual goal of my fellow 'Protesters' should be to demand a correction in our government before we actually go after 'Wall Street' the lack of a proper government for the people by the people is where the root of the problem begins and ends.
Thank you again Shai for your valuable input. I do subscribe to your 'Money Morning' e report I have found it to be very informative and possibly as close to the truth as what you could possibly get from any money management source. I would love to hear your thoughts on my reply as you may not personally have my email I do know you can receive that information quickly from your data.
Sincere regards,
Samantha Riffe, Columbia City Indiana
I apologize sincerely for my typo on your name Shah.
Thank goodness you say you dont usually speak like this. If you are a fellow protestor I am ashamed Kevin that you would show such a lack of intelligence.
From the CEO's, to the board of directors, to upper management, to the Congress; everyone one of the 'good ole' boy (and some girls) networks give each other pay raises after pay raises and then ship jobs overseas to be able to pay for those raises. I believe a publically traded company should not be allowed to pay their top dogs any more than, pick a number 50x, 100x times more than the lowest paid on the totem pole. Too many times pay is increased beyond belief at the upper levels (if you vote for my raise I'll vote for yours) and nothing is givin to those that actually make the money in the first place, the workers along the bottom tiers. Privately held companies don't, won't count….that being said, I am a business owner and my sales people make more than I do….I know where my income comes from.
Shah, nice try but read history and the US Constitution. The USA is NOT a democracy, but a Limited Republic. This is not just semantics. The tyranny of the majority is just as dangerous as the the tyranny of a few, which is why the Founding Fathers worked so hard to design a whole NEW form of government! Socialism, communism and fascism work with any type or mixture of tyranny. They are tyranny. Ask Hugo Chavez or starving people in North Korea, or read Karl Marx and others who originated it. Tyranny is tyranny and always ultimately relies on the the use of Physical Force against individuals who do not accept the edicts of the dictator or collective. Again, read history.
You cannot compromise with Socialism or any other tyrannical system. Rush Limbaugh just did a great show on why you cannot compromise with Socialism. It boils down to the fact that tyranny in ANY form is anti-life, it is poison. Just as you eliminate poison from your diet because eventually it will kill you, Socialism needs to be eliminated from the USA. It is now killing both us and Europe. That is why the Tea Parties and the Occupy Wall Street people cannot compromise, ever. It is because their principles are contradictory, just like food and poison. Sound extreme? How much poison do you want in your next meal? Guess maybe you are an "extremist" then too, about your own life?
Socialism is a form of tyranny in principle and by definition that takes wealth from those earn it and redistributes it by force of the law to those in need. Capitalism (free of government cronyism) is just the opposite because it operates ONLY by the FREE PERSUASION of people with Individual Rights. Capitalism has been corrupted by government, not the other way around! Steve Jobs did NOT use government to force the world to buy and use his products (which the Occupy Wall Street people now all happily use).
What is needed to save the world is the separation of Economy and the State for the exact same reason we have separation of Church and State. That will end economic corruption and tyranny just as it ended religious tyranny (read history). That is the only way we will ever get rid of crony capitalism in order to protect Individual Rights. Then we can save our economy and our country.
(And by they way, Rights as defined by the Founding Fathers are the Freedom to ACT to gain and keep values. They are NOT guarantees of the actual values provided by the government. The idea the government should provide money, jobs, or and education by taking wealth from others is a Marxist idea injected into the American system by corrupt Progressive politicians.)
the economic paradigm we all live in is intrinsically flawed, it is in fact an anti-economy. the fractional reserve banking system allows banks to earn interest nine times on any initial deposit. they create money from nothing. the giant ponzi scheme that is money is collapsing and you still think it can just be patched up? did you even read the declaration of occupation before you wrote this article??
The problem here is that banks and other large institutions were already given billions of dollars in bail out money just for the purpose of allowing them to not fail. What was their response? Layoffs, cut the average workers benefits but increase it for the top executives and refuse to hire unemployed workers. Therefore when you refer to lazy, self-indulgent, able-bodied crybabies you must be referring to bank executives and other corporate executives who were rewarded by the bailouts. Since the corporate elite were handed billions of dollars for doing nothing except running their institutions into the ground then why shouldn't the average worker that is in a lot worse financial shape also be handed a chunk of money?
Shah,
Well thought out and well said. As a long-time business person who has seen an awful lot, including some of what goes on in the financial services industry, which includes banks, your suggestions are excellent. I don't see how anyone who really understands the business and financial world could disagree with them, at least in principal. Major disagreement with them shows ignorance of the real world. If people study what's been really going on with the financial system, they will understand the common sense in your comments. Can't wait to hear more. Keep up the good work!
What the protestors want, in one word, is fairness. FAIRNESS in how workers are compensated in comparison to owners, executives and stockholders. Without the workers there would be no profits to divide.
So why not require each company to set up a bonus pool with 50% of the profits that would be divided among all workers who are not executives. The other 50% would be shared by stockholders, owners and executives. This is not socialism or communism. It is simply a way to give workers a share of the fruits of their labors. If there are no profits to divide, everyone suffers!
This system would, I believe, satisfy most parties, including unions. It would help close the wage gap which has widened perceptibly since WWII.
Pay grades whould also be established so that there is a smooth curve upward from the lowest to the chief executives, not a virtually flat line until you get to a huge spike for the top executives.
i am 100% agree with you
You have a heck of a one sided argument.
You forget the guys in Washington who helped if not started the problem. Who set up regulations and forced banks to loan to unqualified borrowers?
Who forced Fannie and Freddy, who bought a large number of bad loans, to buy those loans and thus encourage the banks to issue more loans? If they hadn't bought them, the banks would not have issued them? The government entities are still buying up mortgages that they know will have problems so that us taxpayers have to fork out more money. That is a congress /political issue, not banks or Wall Street.
Who changed the regulations regarding the credit required to make bank loans and thus crippling the banks ability to make loans to the less qualified.
Why do our elected officials feel it necessary to raise so much money and become beholden to banks for their donations? Nobody is forcing them to take the money.
Maybe sports stars and Hollywood stars shouldn't be allowed to make so much money. Aren't they doing the same as the banks, satisfying the needs/demands of the market place and getting paid for that?
Wall Street didn't create the market for bad loans, Congress did that. Wall Street just enabled the congressional desire to be turned into a business.
O.K. everybody. I hear your protest, and I respect your right to protest.
I especially respect your ability to organize so effectively.
Now you can go home.
Here's a list of ten items that me and my Wall Street friends are going to get right on,
just as soon as you go home and let us get back to making money.
Your individual stories of disaster are interesting, but they don't present a coherent
enough narrative for us to stay interested.
Would you be interested in a narrative on how we as individuals could bail out the individuals behind the "stories of disaster"? Politics aside – can we get money to these people who are suffering under life threatening financial stress…can we help them and alievate their suffering? To me this is "interesting"
I remember when the stock market was about picking good companies, with good ideas and rewarding them by buying their stocks. That simple action created the means for companies to grow their businesses. Today, the stock market is one big gambling casino, where volitility is encouraged and played endlessly. Lost is the original intent of the market. I say, let the stock exchange be what it was originally, about buying stocks of successful companies and move all the rest of the gambling, options, etc to another exchange and let the gamblers loose on their own exchange. Get the gambling out of the "stock" market.
One of the most intelligent, thought provoking commentaries I have read all week.
It must be disheartening to see so many people miss the entire point of your article.
Indeed, as Napolitano titled his best seller, we are: "A Nation of Sheep".
I think 'the Big Boyz realize this and we just make it too darn easy to be 'Fleeced'
Thank you Kevin! I was wondering the same thing.
Well done.We need this!!! circulated to the other newsletters and outlets.Great job Shah!!
hi Shah……It's great to hear objective ways to address the issue…I believe more power to the voting stock holders to direct the directors that OK all the bonus' and inflated salaries to executives officers is a correction step to be added to your list…Stay the course Shah…We need somebody that has the knowledge, understanding, and the guts and media to address such a vital issue…
I agree with you Kevin, however what Gilani has stated is 1k correct. For those that don't have the time to view youtube these bullet points are right on.
I would only add one more thing. No more socializing the losses of private enterprises period and seek damages for the trillions that have already been absorbed by the taxpayers.
I don't think you understand. He obviously knows full well what their absurd demands are and this is a cohesive intelligent rebuttal.
I did not like the tern "Occupy." It has the ring of militarism and terrorism, and the organizers of the rallies seem to be very simplistic in their economic thinking. A lot of them wouldn't know an ETF from a hole in the ground, and they see results of economic forces only after the damage has been done. I will forward your message to MoveOn and all the other organizations I get mail from, and hope that it will turn them to more substance and a more mature consideration of the issues.
TOO MUCH MONEY AND POWER IN TOO FEW HANDS . AGREE WITH YOUR INITIATIVES , SOMETHING MUST BE DONE.
If you recognizes that in Wall Street corruption and manipulation predominates, what´s is the origin of these? Socialism or Capitalism?
Awesome Shah
Shah, I'll see you at the next Occupy :)
One thing you left out. NO MORE NAKED SHORTING! Also, eliminate hadge funds. WHY do the rich have to pool their money? Can't they make it on their own?
we not only need to occupy wall street but need to occupy COMEX,NYMEX and CMA for their price fixing of precious metals and all other commodities they control with thier raising of the cost of margin calls, they raise them at will whenever a commodity starts to go up in price too much to suit them and the little just might make a little bit of money