Surowiecki:  Wall Street Excess Due to Regulatory Failure

“We need an attitudinal shift on the part of regulators, who need to recognize that their gentleman’s-club ethos is ill-suited to today’s financial world, and who need to be aggressive not just in punishing malfeasance but in preventing it from happening.”

–James Surowiecki, “Bankers Gone Wild“; The New Yorker (7/30/2012)

Twenty years ago, I might have agreed with Surowiecki.

Today, his prescription for combating Wall Street excess comes across as naive and willfully oblivious.

That’s because rank-and-file regulators get paid a pittance relative to their Wall Street brethren, their future employers in many cases; regulators’ budgets have been whacked thanks to the lobbying efforts of you-know-who; and the senior leaders of would-be watchdogs like the Securities and Exchange Commission are now drawn from the ranks of Wall Street investment banks and law firms — and return to same.

Oh — and legislation aimed at curbing Wall Street (Dodd-Frank, anyone?) is essentially drafted and implemented by Wall Street.

Make that, watered down and not implemented.

Care to try again, Mr. Surowiecki??

See also, “Wall Street – Washington Revolving Door:  Spinning Faster Than Ever“; “Time for a ‘Do-Over’ on The Crash of ’08’.”

About the author

Ross Kaplan has 19+ years experience selling real estate all over the Twin Cities. He is also a 12-time consecutive "Super Real Estate Agent," as determined by Mpls. - St. Paul Magazine and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Prior to becoming a Realtor, Ross was an attorney (corporate law), CPA, and entrepreneur. He holds an economics degree from Stanford.

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