"Gangster for Capitalism"
In 1941, Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandise said: “We can have a democratic society, or we can have the concentration of great wealth in the hands of the few. We cannot have both”.
It was a very happy holiday for some Wall Street executives, who are enjoying record bonuses this year. Reportedly, Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfine is getting a bonus of more than $53 million. Blankfine’s bonus broke the record set the week before of a $40 million bonus given to Morgan Stanley's CEO John Mack. It is estimated that Wall Street is dolling out 24 billion this year, which equals the Gross Domestic Product of countries like Qatar and Panama.
Gostavo Dolfino of the Whiterock group runs a recruiting firm that places mid to top level people in the financial industry. He says the average bonus for his clients is between $4 and $7 million. These investment bankers are millionaires already, but Dolfino claims that it’s not excessive and feels that the bonuses are well-deserved.
Many on Wall Street say profits are fueled by a strong market, mergers and acquisitions and growth in places like Asia. Nevertheless, these bonuses call into question whether we want a society in which the very top people make so much more than everybody else.
The attack on 9/11, and the invasion of Iraq were the result of unfettered capitalism’s relationship with the military industrial complex.
I’m again reminded of Major General Smedley Butlers 1933 speech entitled: “War is a Racket”, in which he points out: “I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.”
It was a very happy holiday for some Wall Street executives, who are enjoying record bonuses this year. Reportedly, Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfine is getting a bonus of more than $53 million. Blankfine’s bonus broke the record set the week before of a $40 million bonus given to Morgan Stanley's CEO John Mack. It is estimated that Wall Street is dolling out 24 billion this year, which equals the Gross Domestic Product of countries like Qatar and Panama.
Gostavo Dolfino of the Whiterock group runs a recruiting firm that places mid to top level people in the financial industry. He says the average bonus for his clients is between $4 and $7 million. These investment bankers are millionaires already, but Dolfino claims that it’s not excessive and feels that the bonuses are well-deserved.
Many on Wall Street say profits are fueled by a strong market, mergers and acquisitions and growth in places like Asia. Nevertheless, these bonuses call into question whether we want a society in which the very top people make so much more than everybody else.
The attack on 9/11, and the invasion of Iraq were the result of unfettered capitalism’s relationship with the military industrial complex.
I’m again reminded of Major General Smedley Butlers 1933 speech entitled: “War is a Racket”, in which he points out: “I spent thirty-three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.”
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