payback time

Is anyone surprised that Goldman Sachs made another fortune? First the government bails them out and then they let them get away with business as usual. No regulation for bankers! A virtual slap on the wrist and some nice rhetoric from Obama was punishment enough for the financial tycoons.

That is what you get when you pay big money for election campaigns and inauguration ceremonies. In the meantime the country is suffering, people are losing their jobs, homes are being foreclosed, while the bankers are churning through whatever excess wealth is left to generate commissions and profits.

Expect another round of excessive bonuses. That is what bankers get when they bring in the goods. And as long as the regulators let them get away with it, they will succeed in bringing in more. This charade will only end when there is no more wealth to be shifted. Since the bankers do not produce anything, and since they don't even finance productive companies, the country will eventually run out of resources to pay their fees. But that will be someone else's problem. We have some "useful" time left before that happens.

What we are seeing is a new financial crisis in the making. But for now, that is something the bankers won't worry about too much. Now they will concentrate on how to spend their lavish bonuses. Why would anyone worry with a safety net like bankers have? The tax payers will foot the bills so Wall Street can extend the party for another couple of years.