Thought I'd start a part deux.

I agree with Bobert's last post in the previous thread. The "let's repeal Social Security" ploy isn't even the case here. Republicans know they can't outright repeal Social Security. But now they have an even better idea--use free government money to make obscene profits investing on Wall Street.

Frontline on PBS just ran a program on how the big investment bankers made obscene single day profits taking Internet companies public and "flipping" their shares when the IPO hit the trading floor. Not a one of them was involved in long-term investing, or gave one whit about the technology sector. To them, it was a case where clients were promised set-aside shares of huge blocks of company stocks at $13 at opening bell, which were then "flipped" and sold off within hours or days at $100+ per share.

Of course, Joe and Jane Everyperson investors lost their shirts, savings, etc on these deals because by the time there were any shares available to buy, they were advised (by the Wall Street analysts) to buy them at the top price per share when the corporate investors had already flipped their shares and taken all the profit that was going to be taken out of these corporations before they went belly up.

The stock analysts acting as cheerleaders worked for the investment bankers (Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, et al--all the "good" Wall Street houses), and when a former director of the SEC was asked about this, his response was "no comment." What a surprise.

The Social Security Fund for Investors the Bush administration is pushing would be nothing more than another scam for Dubya's wealthy buddies. Can you imagine, with the amount of money that goes into Social Security, how much scandal that kind of money would end up buying?

The answer isn't just campaign finance reform. We need sweeping reforms and strict regulations of Wall Street trading and investing. The SEC is a joke. It ain't even a case of the fox guarding the henhouse. It is a question of the henhouse guard being fired by corporate government, who then through open the door to the country's foxes, who just go on in and help themselves to the eggs, the hens, and anything that crawls.

That is what happened under Shrub 1's watch with the savings and loan and HUD scandals. The good ole boys made a pile of money "legally". Of course, we all know what they did was immoral, indefensible greed and graft. But hey! They wrote the laws just so's they could get away with robbing us legally!

Nothing wrong with taking profits, now is there sez the hear no evil, see no evil, do nothing Bush administration?