ladies leather trousers – The Spoiled Brats on Wallstreet

Seriously, the spoiled brats on Wall Street might need a spanking!  I know, I know…”it’ll hurt us, more than it’ll hurt them, right?”  It’s only a short-term solution, not a long-term solution…blah, blah, blah.  Well, let’s think about it…

If our children were acting like spoiled brats, we’d dig deep and realize some how, some way we fell down on the job.  We did not clearly set expectations, outline boundaries and define consequences or follow through on them.  We let it get out of hand, right?  The mom’s of America would do something to immediately stop the bratty behavior (a look, a time out, grounding, whatever worked), and then we’d figure out how to solve the behavioral issue so it didn’t happen again in the future.  But, what would we do if our kid crossed the line again?  Bratty behavior with no regard for anyone but themselves?  If they pushed us too far, again and again, we might lose it…we all lose it once in a while…and we might scream or swat ‘em.  Uh huh.  Oh yes, we would!  And, that’s about how I feel about Wall Street right now.  I am about to lose it.

The banks are swimming in TARP money and Treasury money in order to keep responsible people solvent and able to participate in the recovery.  It’s a buyers market and interest rates are down.  So, why can’t the average American taxpayer get a loan?  The banks are failing, the taxpayer bails them out, but the banks won’t loan us back our own money?  That is a literal “redistribution of wealth” making the rich even richer.   Hmmm?

My parents have been trying to get a loan for months.  They have perfect credit scores, own property, have lived in the same home which is paid for, for 45 years.  They have plenty of money in the bank, lots of investments, even income properties.  They went for the loan because a friend encouraged them to do so.  Interest rates are low and they thought, what the heck?  Lower rate, fixed, easy.   Now it’s months later, and still no loan.  Lots and lots of paperwork, more fees, but no loan.  Hmmm?

I am selling my home and my buyers are applying for their home loan, for the second time.  My realtor says this happens all of the time these days, and I shouldn’t even THINK about calling the movers until the day escrow closes, because so many loans are falling through at the very last minute.  Hmmm?

What is going on?  First the banks are giving out money hand over fist, and now their fist can’t be pried open.  Where is the balance?  Why are they still too big to fail, but we are expendable?  Why aren’t we, “the government for the people and by the people,” breaking them down into smaller entities that can survive or fail on their own merits without taking down the entire economy with them?  The idea behind the stimulus package was to stimulate the economy, right?  To keep average folks buying homes, refinancing, spending what they can afford and generally keeping “in the game.”  To keep small businesses re-training, re-tooling, re-inventing the things the American people need and want.  Hmmm?

It’s been awhile, so I looked it up. “We the People” have loaned $134 billion dollars in bank capital, plus $45 billion specifically to Citibank and Bank of America.  So, where is the money we gave these banks to keep US solvent?  Not the scammers who try to cheat the system, not the unemployed or the partly employed, but the regular people who go to work every day and actually pay their bills and taxes?  I fear that the banks are more concerned with increasing our fees, so they can post profits and pay themselves big bonuses than they are with actually fixing what’s broken with our banking system.  They have not done what they were supposed to do.  They have been self-centered and disrespectful to the American tax payer.  And, for that, they need a swat in the ladies leather trousers!

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