Wallstreet, Have You Lost Your Ever-Lovin' Mind!?

I hope the people who received bonuses go to sleep every night knowing that they not only contributed to the greatest recession since the 80s but that they are continuing to do so even now that they know the danger of their ways and can see the results they have reaped. They have no shame in the fact that the taxpayers that are currently losing their jobs and life-savings are paying their bailout while they continue to ass-rape society. There should be a law against this, right?

Why the Financial System Should Take a Cue from the Dog Whisperer

It seems a gross over-simplification to compare Wall Street to a pack of feral or neurotic dogs, however there are some basic truths about Wall Street's problems that parallel the cause of massive behavioral problems in our pets.

PROBLEM: Rewarding bad behavior - this is the biggest and most obvious problem in the system. Bankers and Financiers are paid to play with people's money. In more moral times this meant that they did so with the best interests of their clients in mind. Now we find that the bottom line is (and always has been but has been better concealed in times past)lining the agent's pocket and manipulating the client into engaging in dangerous trade practices or fraudulent investing with the promise of big returns and the guise of something above-board. By bringing in more money through fraudulent or less-than-respectable means, these agents are able to meet quotas and obtain massive bonuses - their reward for acting unethically.

SOLUTION: Cut off all bonuses related to or resulting from profits made from poor or shady investment practices. Do NOT give them any more money because it reinforces the greed that lead us to this poor place in our economy.

Also, set up quarterly reviews of financial transactions for each employee - this has to be done from within the company, but business and investment ethics should ALWAYS apply - you shouldn't be able to keep doing it because the regulatory agency is too busy to monitor everyone. Managers and higher-ups should be responsible for reinforcing ethical business practices. What we are seeing is a trend of turning a blind eye until someone gets caught and then ostracizing that individual and claiming the problem is solved. Don't think for a second that there aren't a thousand Bernie Madoffs out there who haven't been caught yet and won't be unless people take it upon themselves to make this behavior unacceptable.

PROBLEM: Rampant Greed - Ever noticed how once you get a raise it's almost impossible to go back to living on what you used to earn? Well imagine the thrill and self satisfaction of obtaining millions of dollars with little to no hard work (read: Fraud). This rampant greed is spinning out of control. People are more concerned with what they can get for themselves and are not interested in who they step on to get it.

SOLUTION: Cap earnings or regulate traders or more oversight? I don't know. This seems to me to be a PERSONAL problem which America fosters with its "Its All About Me" attitude. Until we can change that to "It's All About Us" there is no curtailing the greed and corruption. it's sad to me that there can't be a higher level of personal accountability when holding a public office, a position of trust or dealing with a persons finances. It seems to me that these are the areas of business that call for the highest integrity and yet, no one enforces it or encourages it.

By rewarding bad behavior we are setting ourselves up for failure. We cannot expect change to happen on its own. We need to be corrected when we are at fault so that we can learn not to repeat our mistakes in the future. We cannot simply continue this cycle of corruption and blame. Who can lead us? Who can show us how it is done? How will we learn? Well, as Cesar Milan would say - Calm, assertive energy and hard work.

Spinning My Wheels

I am in a funk of discontent. I cannot seem to reconcile my age with my current earnings and cannot find anything with longevity in this valley. I feel like I am on a ship that is slowly taking on water and I have no land in sight. The current state of the economy does nothing to assuage my concern that this valley has become too hard to live in. It was nice for a while to forget the outside world and put careers and dreams aside but now it is getting a little disconcerting as I have no plan B at this time. While working in Advertising/Marketing and PR has been rewarding to some extent, there isn't enough business in the valley for a firm to really stay busy - thus I have but my business licensing on hold until the economy turns and it makes sense to do so again. It seems like every frustration is magnified by 1000 here in the bubble - lack of job growth, lack of affordable real estate, lack of stability, lack of OPTIONS. I guess if I wanted to be a snowboard bum this would be the place to do it, but I have put my career and any real plans for the future on hold to make this work and now I have no clue where to go from here? How do you rejoin the REAL world? Will I be competitive in the REAL job market? Who knows, maybe this is just another by-product of turning 31 this month. I need a life.

The Dim Ages

In a Bushism-riddled, brain-addled last appearance before the press, ole George Junior has confirmed what some of us have already known - his 8 year tenure as President of this great nation has been what I can only dub the "Dim Age". Marked by pointed moments of stupidity and hubris, George's time in office has only served to highlight all of his shortcomings. For instance, is it any wonder that a grown man who cannot formulate an intelligent sentence is the proponent of one of the most destructive and anti-intellectual programs in the history of the American public school system - the infamous "No Child Left Behind" act? Glibly rubbing elbows and making off color remarks to foreign dignitaries has only served to heighten our awareness of his complete lack of common sense and poise hearkening back to what was I am sure a lackluster upbringing and exacerbated by a lifetime of failures bearing no consequences (thank you Daddy). I am embarrassed just watching him - it makes me cringe and I can only imagine the frustration and ire felt by the team of brilliant speechwriters who are assigned to try to make him look intelligent. Even sticking to the script has had very little success, although not being able to read and speak at the same time is certainly a hindrance to public speaking, is it excusable in a President whose simple task it is to inform and inspire trust in the American people? I think not. While we, the American people, have been forced to stand by and watch the fate of our nation decline exponentially in academics, world-standing, faith, trust and moral fortitude, George has been diligently hacking brush out on his ranch. I could literally go on forever citing all of the appalling and stupid things that have occurred due to Bush's presidency and so-called leadership, however I am so looking forward to an end to this madness that I refuse to dwell on it. I will simply thank the stars and stripes above that this is the end of the Dim Age and so begins the Age of Enlightenment - Yaaay.

Thirty One

Coming to terms with yourself at age 30 is a challenging and eye-opening experience. Now, on the verge of 31 I am hoping for even more clarity and think that this may be the year that brings about a greater understanding of myself and others. For instance, I have finally accepted that I will never truly know my parents and they will never truly know me. We will continue to exist within the notion of who we think each other to be as the foundation of our relationship with one another - strange. Also, the elusive happiness that we once wished for so fervently in the form of a bigger apartment, nicer car, better clothes, etc. doesn't come to fruition when you attain these things leading one to believe that either a. there is no such thing as happiness, or b. that happiness is more elusive than acquiring stuff. I'll go with b. I'm about to turn 31 and realize that all the things that I thought would lead to my happiness are simply milestones that mark my consumption. Things that I never thought of in terms of my happiness, although always having been there, are coming to the forefront in new ways. I no longer will take the highest paying job to make my own self worth more tangible or accept a job that may enhance my social life and take me farther away from those that I truly love. It becomes a balancing act between acknowledging your shallow, immediate-gratification-loving side and nurturing the side that doesn't always get to be heard - the side that thinks of others first. I can't claim to have reached any sort of conclusion as to how this balancing act can be maintained but I feel like in my thirties I am getting closer to understanding the integral part this balance plays in all aspects of my life and my interactions with others. Wow. I used to think I was a fairly introspective person, but I am realizing that this introspection was done in terms of how I relate to other people, not really about me at all and not really about others. The things I notice now make my past decisions and judgments seem frivolous even though at the time they seemed to hold the weight of the world as I knew it. Will I see todays decisions in the same light in another ten or twenty years? Everyone has always told me that you only truly find clarity when you hit your thirties - what does that mean for the 40s and beyond? I hope that it means a continuation of self-introspection and growth, not a decline. This has been a totally self-serving little piece brought to you by the number 31.