1257 Bygone Crazy

I read an article the other day in which the author actually mounted a defense for Goldman Sachs. His thesis was that although it may be true that Goldman Sachs screwed the public by packaging questionable mortgage securities, selling them to gullible investors who actually believed Goldman Sachs had an honest investment record, and then betting against the investors they just sold the securities to, we should let bygones be bygones.
“Let’s not get people upset with a witch hunt,” the guy said. “It could make the stock market go down and damage our fragile recovery.”
I believe the author didn’t understand the positive purgative value of a witch-hunt to the torch-wielding villagers. Especially the torch-wielding villagers who had their 401ks pillaged by the putative witch.
Notice how every time the poor suffering public wants to hold accountable a greedy corrupt investment banker or a slick pension-killing Wall Street vulture, we hear this new “fragile recovery” refrain?
“Oh yes, we were evil, but that’s all in the past now. Regulation that may prevent us from screwing you again will damage the, um, ‘fragile recovery.’ Let’s let bygones be bygones...”
Right...
Here’s the nut. Consumer confidence is the real and permanent engine that drives our economy. Today’s stock market has less to do with the capital needed to invest in companies who make goods to fuel consumer spending than it once did.
Consumers spend more when they see the crooks strung up. That spending has surged each time a Wall Street witch-hunt gets underway. If only because we need to buy more torches.
Not to mention how menacing the rest of us look with our economy-boosting recently purchased pitchforks.
It takes a village... to raise some hell.
Go villagers.
America, ya gotta love it.