There is some satisfaction of knowing that Goldman Sachs and today JP Morgan Chase have had their hands slapped for defrauding investers. Sure the penalty is small and no one goes to jail for the crime, and voters will vote the same squad of politicians who take money from these criminals back into office. And party affiliation hasn't much to do with the politicians who took the money, Democratic Senator Chris Dodd, former chairman of the all important (to bankers) Senate Banking Committee is the obvious case in point. He took money for reelection from the people he was regulating, no problem. Laws to limit bankruptcy for the big banks were originally passed with Democratic votes. This is not to say that Republicans are more likely to regulate banks. Republicans believe in that wonderful market that got us where we are today.
I just feel somewhat of a personal satisfaction because of the public findings of wrongdoing. Some people will get their money back, I guess. Yet when it all comes down to it, life will not have changed. The primary motivating force in our country will still be greed. There is no changing this and greed will lead to more of the unfairness that is part of our country's being. Greed will be exhaulted by just enough deluded people who actually have no dog in the millionaires' race to sway the elections to the advantage of the top 1 percent.
Call me crazy, but at least I get the satisfaction of the public humiliation of the big boys..
