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Originally Posted by 1centaur
When Spanish house prices were inflated to the moon before the credit crisis, was it the fault of the Dick Fulds of the world? Massive global liquidity sought outlets and demand for returns conflicted with that; leverage ensued and then crumbled. Yes indeed there was plenty of greed over character in business, finance, governments, and even individuals and unions. Standards get lax over time when people have not lived through the consequences of their lack. Finger pointing at one or two bad actors out of many is ultimately counterproductive and naive. Call it the system if you want, call it culture and character too, but it's not inherent in Wall Street or Main Street as institutions, it's very widespread.
Speaking of culture, I'm scratching my head at the thought that the Goldman he thought existed when he joined actually did exist. I think he heard the PR from higher ups and bought it, and then he grew up. Sell side culture has not been that refined or thoughtful in the last 30 years (I'll withhold judgment on prior periods). We on the buy side EXPECT the sell side to do what they can to sell their stuff to us and make money; we know they're there for them, not us. Not just Goldman but every sell side firm. It's our job to protect client money from our sell side coverage as best we can. Would it be nicer if everybody was in it together in a profit sharing kind of way? I suppose, but let's be realistic, the culture of the country and the world is not much that way. There are individuals on the sell side who through their own upbringing are more helpful and less naked in their ambition (thanks Mom & Dad) but a lot of people are not brought up that way. If our culture gets more cooperative, Goldman will too, but until then, Goldman is Citi is B of A is JPM is Fred the guy selling a car and Tony the guy buying a car. Regulation has to adapt to the change in culture as far less is implicit than perhaps it was 60 years ago.
Shared values - it's not just an issue for a firm but for all of us. Let's hear a politician try that out without being laughed at by mainstream media.
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You my friend are a rare bird. A person from Massachussetts with an honestly open perspective when it comes to politics, capable of easily displaying three-dimensional thought. I do not by any means intend here to insult the state of MA, it is a nice place. I do mean to compliment you.
My interaction with many of those in Mass is hearing and seeing just one side, one view and the sound emiting from one horn when it comes to off-topic (aka p*litics).
That said, when it comes to the crash, Recession/Depression, it's not merely the banks to point the finger at. Many politicians were the salesmen and saleswomen with their mantras, "A home for every American and an American for every home." President Clinton pushed along this line hard (there are YouTube videos of the Clintons at the pulpit of Baptist Churches in the South telling the folks in 1995, "Ya'll should own houses!" while they ran for re-election) Bush echoed it and folks like ACORN, Obama, Senator Dodd and Barney Frank helped make it happen. Dodd was a dudd who lost his job because of this crisis and Frank is now stepping down (I believe he should have at the same time Dodd walked away). Amazing how folks on one side of the aisle never look at Dodd/Frank as major blunders and failures.
Moreoever, I never blame a bank for a loan I signed on the dotted line. I don't blame a politician for that same loan, selling me an idea or the ink. I am an adult. My mistakes are always my own and my accomplishments are there for me to look around and thank family and friends.
Compelling and telling:
http://bostonherald.com/news/politic...ge_giant_in_91
http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/econ...-says-lie.html
http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2...the-recession/
The most recent issue that intrigues me is 'Student Loan Debt Forgiveness'.
When will adults accept accountability for their actions including the purchase of homes, cars and debt? While I do see a very strong case that education is overpriced, I struggle with the concept debt should be erradicated. Perhaps as the D0E has offered, Student Debt can be cut down slightly with certain criteria (some criteria like having to teach to poor or underprivileged seems somewhat odd to me, shouldn't a teacher simply teach well?):
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebA...ancelstaff.jsp
This article offers deeper perspective:
http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/09/...rst-idea-ever/
