Your reservations relating to points made by wgsalter were forcibly compelling from an objective viewpoint.

But apparently, wgsalter is one of the defenders of the rights of GS and other immensely influential lobbies to get exactly what they want from the government. To him/her, paying off congress for favors in order to make money is just doing business. It is a game played by very smart people and whoever wins, well it is just because they played the game better. Being a Harvard grad certainly helps with connections as does coming from wealth.

The establishment elite created the financial game, wrote the rules in their favor, and pay off the government so that there isn't any regulation over what they do.

It is just getting results for doing the incredibly hard work that they do. The government needs to make sure, that when these dedicated megalomaniacs get carried away by their greed, that they get bailed out. After all, they are the best and the brightest.

He feels that it is just a game of making money as mommy and daddy taught him to do. He is, just like the DOJ torturer enablers, a product of American "exceptionalism."

You make it sound like banking is an honorable profession, just like being a lawyer, or a politician, or a journalist, or a doctor .

You defend banking like I would imagine John Yoo would defend the profession of law.

You defend banking like I would imagine Dick Cheney would defend the profession of politics.

You defend banking like I would imagine David Broder would defend the profession of journalism.

You defend banking like I would imagine a physician monitoring CIA torture would defend the medical profession.

Banking over the last 8 years was a gimmick devised by the the greedy elite to screw the masses of people who depended upon them, They screwed up because of their excesses in the use of derivatives and CDOs and CDFs and then got a free ride from the government because they had Paulson embedded there.

Totally repulsive and now AIG the biggest offender, is asking for even more bonus money. What a screw job! They have no concept of shame!

I expect that I am a bit irrational. But over the last 8 years, it just seems to me this country of mine is plumbing the depths of slime and coming up with a complete and absolute sense of greed and the disgusting ability to rationalize everything that I I think is horrid in this world.

Like torture. Every self-absorption of indulgence is acceptable. Make as much money as you can make with no holds barred. Screw anybody who gets in your way. You deserve it. If you screw up do everything required to hide it. It's OK! Never admit that you did anything wrong and if you get caught minimize it. Blame somebody else.

Just look at what the politicians do day in and day out. Lies, lies and lies! And it is all perfectly acceptable.

The politicians lie, invade countries and kill and torture innocents and they are defended as honorable and defending the country.

The greedy elite destroy the world's economy and are rewarded with bailouts and positions in government to keep up their contrivances, with impunity.

wgsalter wants to cover up this whole economic mess with rationalizations that make no sense. A few bad apples! My ass! We got screwed!

"But the profession is necessary and provides the benefits I describe,"

I know that logically I can't go from a particular to universal. But this anecdote I think relates to the discussion.

I had a Citibank MasterCard. Almost immediately after they received the bail-out money they raised my rate to 16.9% as I recall. Also newly imposed fees and the missed payment penalty resulted in an interest rate of around 29%. That's my recollection!

I immediately terminated the card and the rep and I got into an argument. I told her I couldn't believe that they were raising the rates right after getting the bail-out money. She then tried to convince me that I was misinterpreting the purpose of the bail out money. She had obviouly been rehearsed. I read later a justification for the rate rise in a magazine article.

I think Citibank said it was due to the "cost of capital."

"Walk to where?"

AIG keeps saying that the retention bonuses are needed to retain the "best and brightest."

Where are these guys and girls going to go after screwing up the whole fucking world. If the government didn't bail them out they'd be like the rest of us. Utterly screwed!

Perhaps wgsalter knows where these clowns are needed?

Good night!