As I read about how the money-and-power addicts of Wall Street (fueled of course by investor's fear and greed), and read about how the government, and thus our tax money, has to come in and save the day, particular for a slimeball company like Bear Stearns, it is very frustrating. And it reminds me of what I know about addiction.
The pattern of addiction is complex, but one aspect of it goes like this. The addict splurges, indulging in whatever it is he or she indulges in. It feels great. It feels like nothing can go wrong. And then at some point the bottom falls out. The addict gets caught in a scandal, or loses his job, and/or the spouse or partner says they've had enough and threaten to leave.
The addict begs, pleads, says it will never happen again. They promise to reform themselves. And the enabling partner decides to give it another shot, and stands firm with the addict.
One would hope that the inflictors of this disaster upon our economy pay the price, or at least don't walk away with bills in suitcases, and that financial regulation is put in place to prevent this sort of thing in the future.
And we'll hope the addict has reformed themselves and won't do it again. I mean they promised, right?
No comments:
Post a Comment