Children in Very Expensive Clothes

Greed and the pursuit of power have been very much in the news recently. I've read and heard reports, false I hope, of the expense account extravagances of a major bank president and a legendary short seller in the mortgage market. My conclusion is that they are really children in very expensive clothing. Why, for instance would a titan of industry, well into his career, want a $350 glass of wine at lunch? Of course, it's to show off, to establish himself as extraordinarily special, an Alpha dog, and that's hard for me to understand. The same goes for partying with $500 bottles of champagne, unless perhaps the celebrant has just made it into the mega buck world, which is not the case in this instance. I've known many bank presidents, but only one major New York bank president on a social basis. A mature leader type, he wouldn't have dreamed of such ludicrous posturing and nouveau riche behavior. Up on a dinner dias with other big shots, he would describe himself as a "spear carrier." There's something for Wall Streeters to learn here.

I've never made it to anywhere near what today's big bankers make, but because of my own privilege and work, I've observed and known many powerful business leaders and super wealthy types, some quite well. They are predominantly normal people who do not show off and wouldn't dream of lighting a cigar with a Benjamin. They may live in big houses or have a Rolls or a jet on hand, but they are rarely gauche and seldom wasteful. So what is going on with these guys in the news? They are simply today's royal monarchs and they want to be recognized accordingly.

Leaders like the bank president and Wall St pro referenced above aren't worthy of the name. They have little sense of professional responsibility and no more regard for the public than those 17th century monarchs they resemble in so many ways. It is the public that they are out to bilk with some new credit card gimmicks that will entrap them. The public will also buy the securitized mortgages that have been designed to fail. Frankly, I think I prefer the old robber barons to the new breed which I have come to see as a threat to national, if not international, security. After the financial sector is broken up and/or reformed, these people need new, less expensive clothing. Orange jumpsuits would be fine. And hold the wine.