Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: elmatador who wrote (13984)	1/26/2002 10:45:25 AM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

Good point about J.P. Morgan. During the Civil War, he bought defective weapons from the US Army for almost nothing, then turned around and sold them back as new for full price. Prior to the 20th century, in the US and most other countries if you wanted to start a corporation you had to get the legislature to give permission via special legislation. Bribery was often involved - to get your own corporation, and to deny your competitors the right to a corporation. Political corruption was rampant during the latter half of the 20th century - one of the unfortunate results of universal suffrage. When only gentlemen voted, political corruption was confined to the class of gentlemen, who could be counted on to act with discretion. When every yahoo got the vote, political corruption became a public spectacle. That's when do-good politics got its start, from people who were trying to put in laws to rein in the greedy politicians and robber barons gobbling in the public trough. Muck-raking journalism got its start then, too - people wanted to read about the robber barons - to say tsk-tsk, tut-tut, and maybe do something about it. Unfortunately, some states only put on a veneer of civility, but retained a culture of political corruption. Texas, where Enron is situated, has a lot of corruption, as does Arkansas, where Clinton came from, and Louisiana, where I come from originally. The three states are physically contiguous - Louisiana and Texas share a border that runs north and south, Louisiana and Arkansas share a border that runs east and west, and the three meet in a corner called Texarkana, not too far from the town where Huey Long, a famously corrupt politician, got his start. The state of New York isn't all that corrupt, but as we all know, Wall Street has always been as crooked as it could get away with. These accounting firms got in trouble when they stopped being mere auditors and started selling financial products - and the lawyers want to partner up with the accountants, too. Human nature being what it is, people have a very hard time dealing with conflicts of interest. In my opinion, it ought to be illegal to even be in the situation where you have a conflict of interest in circumstances which involve a fiduciary duty to the public. Some people can resist temptation, some can't. Don't even let them be in the situation.