Time to hold those people accountable

How dare they!!!

09/15/08 10:09 AM

There is nothing but red ink on Wall Street today as the news is not good. One major investment house will be liquidated, another will be sold and still another is asking for billions in cash or it could also fold. This house of cards was caused by greed pure and simple and because of greedy bankers and investment people the American public is going to pay the price.

Isn't it bad enough that millions of us have seen our nest eggs, which was the equity in our homes, go down the toilet? Now it looks like our 401K's are going to take a major hit as well. What does this mean for ordinary people? It means that any thought of retirement is out the window and that a LOT more of us are going to be working a LOT longer. It also gives companies an opportunity to treat employees like garbage as employees become expendable.

What really pisses me off about this whole situation is that the executives who led us ALL down these paths are still going to get golden parachutes and probably never have to work another day in their lives. They should all be called in front of Congress and have to explain their actions and why they chose to leverage their companies with such risky investments. You see it wasn't just their firms money they were gambling with: they were gambling with main street America's money and they had no right to do this.

There are lot of people who purchased homes that should not have been allowed to purchase homes. They were lured with shady deals and just sign and go mentality. Can you blame them? I mean the American dream has always been about owning a home and someday using the equity in the home to fund retirement. Wall Street asked for more loans that could be bundled and more and more mortgages were approved as financial institutions saw a major opportunity to make money. Then the bubble started to burst and people started to walk away from their homes. Banks and financial institutions which has sold off the loans could not re-negotiate the loans and they were left holding properties that were not worth what they said on the paper. It didn't matter..more loans meant more business and we gotta get in to make money. Greed my friends plain and simple.

So I have watched my 401K decline significantly and I have no equity in my home anymore. Millions of Gen X and Y are never going to be able to retire in their 60's unless they hit the Lotto or come into a windfall. Yes it's the economy stupid but it's also time to start holding some of those responsible with criminal charges. Read More...