Trust is what built relationships and relationship is what established corporations. When trust is being manipulated or misplaced by one party of the equation, the whole foundation collapses. That's what the global banking system and governments are "enforcing" on the majority of the world population now. Herein lies the uprising of the worldwide
Occupy Wall Street movement.
I was there as an observer (albeit bystander) on Saturday, October 15. In the Chinese saying, the bystander sees clearly (旁观者清). When one is able to remove one's interest (in more way than one) from the equation, one sees enlightenment and solutions.
To change a "corrupted" out of equilibrium world, there are 2 major considerations and components:
1) Affect - Who?
2) Effect - What?
How to bring about the desired outcome without toppling the entire human population and how to generate the sum greater than the whole of all its individual parts?
Most want a banking system to do what it was intended to do. The spirit of banking was good. What had changed over the last 2 decades or so (especially the last one) is the workings and reinforcement of the system. Financial engineering (mastering, according to the insiders) and leveraging by a few selected priveleged individuals have brought PAIN to the society at large, savers and investors alike.
The governments have "consequently" been pulled into the "Ponzi" scheme involuntarily (in some cases, claiming ignorance does not and should not leave them unpunished)! By hook or by crook, they are still in charge and to a larger extent, in daze. Trick or treat? You decide!
In the grand scheme of things, collective enlightenment only comes when the majority wakes up from this slumber. And, I'm glad to see some have! Not nearly enough though but is still comforting to see I'm not the only one in the world!
No, we do not want the banking system to fail. We want a new order, the Order of the Phoenix! Proctect HP (Harry Potter, Human Population at large) and eliminate the wicked Voldemort! There are clearly parasites in the tree of life and if they are not totally removed, it will destroy the entire eco system. Death will be imminent.
No, it's not a case of no clear solution but rather those in power, be it Politics & Finance do not want to really have a world where everyone is earning some US$100-500 millions of bonuses per year (regardless whether the corporation itself is making money! Think AIG ;-)).
Just a simple question to you, if your boss is earning US$10 million a year for bonuses, how do you feel working under him? Considering you're paid what you're paid right now. Unless, if you're telling me you're getting at least US$1 million for bonus, then I'd reckon you wouldn't support this movement at all!
The fact is, compared to majority of the people in the world, a tiny few oligopolies are in power where income discrepancies are concerned. They are in charge. That is a fact. How many in our world are earning less than US$100 a month? You tell me...
US$100 a month vs US$100 million a year as bonuses? It's no wonder we are where we are!
But again, the change needs to be universal.
How did they do it? Well, by creating cross holdings &/or leveraged financial instruments and selling the ideas to their investors and the population at large. Greed (in some form) is prevalent for capitalism to work. That is something of a human nature. No one is arguing against that. Excessive greed at the cost of entire society and the world at large is NOT the way to innovations nor prosperity!
No, I won't be so naive to think this can be solved in a blink or anyone can suggest solutions. Still, regulations have to be better and in the American cases more to make sure individuals will not have another go at what brought about 2008! Instead, we haven't really see anyone go unpunished or face legal actions. Top investment bankers haven't faced the music for what they did. What had the government bodies done really? Print more money?
Before you can find solutions, at the least you need to correct some past mistakes and make individuals responsible for those earlier follies! But if presidential elections were &/or are financed mostly by these individuals? I'd say their hands are tight! Again, I'm not arguing for no financing. Societies need the banking system to operate commercial transactions. However, when a country's (some in this world are) major revenue is from the investment sector, something is totally wrong. Arguments for "money makes more money" may seem logical to some, (it was to me at one time), but when you've a huge chunk of wealth (belonging to just a tiny fraction of world's population) believes in the notion of simply doing that and nothing else (ie. no need to set up factories or businesses, since they are too complicated and not necessarily more lucrative), then the society will peril at large.
If you asked me, the financial sector (in advanced countries) got too big for its own good. It also became too self-serving. The popular argument is too big to fail. So governments and tax payers have to bail out. Perhaps. But, what happened to those individuals who collected bonuses at a time when their very own organizations were losing big money? All they have to do is resigned and retire in Bermuda or Virgin Islands? Boo! That's total BS!
Incidentally, freedom at the expense of others (and the world at large) is NOT freedom. It is more appropriately termed EXPLOITATION!