Economic conspiracy?

Quote of the day: “‘What Goldman Sachs does is bad for America’, and yet America (the federal government and the Federal Reserve) has helped, is helping and will continue to help Goldman Sachs by its money policies,” writes Marcoloreno in Italy.
(exert from the New York Times online edition, July 17)

What has become of the great US of A? Our great corporate banks are at the heart of this economic crisis, and yet already many of them are pocketing large gains in recent weeks and months. They are emerging as profiteers from one of the worst economic meltdowns since the 1930s.

Many of us "normal folk" will continue to suffer, possibly for years, after more than 15 states reported reaching an unemployment mark higher than 10 per cent today (July 17). Michigan is one of the biggest losers, with an unemployment rate exceeding 15 per cent and the highest of any state since 1984. It will be a very long time before this catastrophe can be fixed.

We must remember this all came about as a result of large corporate banks' irresponsible policies. And yet it is the corporate elite who will emerge first from the financial horrors of the Great Recession, unscathed and possibly even stronger... not us. At first I rejoiced at news that Goldman Sachs had reported such hefty gains so unexpectedly. This was followed quickly by news that JP Morgan had also experienced a major financial profit, and then Citigroup and BofA.

But on reflection, I wondered is it joy I should be experiencing - or anger. It was these banks that got us into this very mess. Now, the banks fortunate enough to have gobbled up [other] failing banks have, as a result, consolidated an already concentrated market, even further and in their favour. They are already raking in record profits even while about one in seven stand on a bread line in Michigan. Do you really think we should be pitying the top one per cent earners, who are poised to take on a huge chunk of costs for a Healthcare bill and other reform bills currently being pushed through Congress with the backing of Pres Obama?

I sure as hell do not.