What's wrong with the Economy?

This is too complex a question for me to answer, but any chance I can get to take a swipe at Wall Street, well I can't resist. As the political season heats up, and we get to choose between Burger King and MacDonalds, people around me keep asking questions as to how we got into this giant mess. Which candidate has the best "economic plan". First, let's start with who is to blame. That answer is simple enough. The Wall Street initiated and Federal Reserve enabled "service" (really finance sector) economy, run by the professional crooks and gamblers of Wall Street is what ruined our economy. There, let's get that straight. It wasn't the coal miners or the auto workers or the engineers or the farmers who destroyed us. It was a laundry list of characters including, but not limited to, guys like Rubin, Greenspan, Boskin, Weil and other elite financiers who have done us in. Until people in America understand this fact, it is impossible to move forward with any kind of debate as to how to solve our economic mess. I have yet to hear either candidate state this, probably because they saw what happened to Ron Paul when he touched on some of these issues. Even as I write this, news is coming out of another massive government bailout of Fannie and Freddie. Can't piss of the Chinese?! Anyway, I would like to post the amount that was paid in Wall Street bonuses over the last 20 years or so. This doesn't include the money the Hedgies or Private Equity boys made, or dividends paid out, but they earned it?! What's remarkable is that there has been a 10 fold increase in bonuses over the last 15 years or so. I know of no other profession with such income growth. Maybe before taxpayer funds are confiscated to bail out these institutions that are too big to fail, the wealth of these elites should be sold off to help offset the bill. I mean, if a company dumps toxic waste, they get a fine, why not Wall Street? I know I am just dreaming, but it will be everybody's nightmare. I believe that at this point, nobody really knows where this is heading, but it probably won't have a happy ending.

www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/dec06/bonuses1206.pdf