Matt Taibbi: Why Wall Street Should Stop Whining

Rolling Stone:

Everybody on Wall Street is talking about the new piece by New York magazine’s Gabriel Sherman, entitled "The End of Wall Street as They Knew It."

When I read things like this I’m simultaneously amazed by two things.

Read the whole story: Rolling Stone

Comments

[JoeMomma]

09:20 AM on 02/10/2012

One honest guy. Thanks Matt.

[KOSMOCITIZEN]

10:45 PM on 02/09/2012

thanks Matt
if Americans know the truth about Wall Street today is because your work

[rcwhite364]

04:50 PM on 02/09/2012

This has to be one of Taibbi's best columns ever.

[cassie reinara]

03:40 PM on 02/09/2012

Wall Street CEOs will never stop their whining. It's just how they get what they want and unfortunately our politicians only listen to whining coming from big dollar campaign dollars, otherwise you're SOL.

[humanbeing-rick]

02:19 PM on 02/09/2012

"The financial services industry went from having a 19 percent share of America’s corporate profits decades ago to having a 41 percent share in recent years. That doesn’t mean bankers ever represented anywhere near 41 percent of America’s labor value. It just means they’ve managed to make themselves horrifically overpaid relative to their counterparts in the rest of the economy." -- Well Said!!
It is little more than highway robbery, pompous and over paid, expecting even more. They are only hurting themselves in the end.

[massivesnow]

12:32 PM on 02/09/2012

The only way the complainers will know just how fragile individual financial security has become is to have them get wiped out of all their savings, get foreclosed on, and let them scrape by on unemployment then have that run out. Then get an appendicitis. I bet the girlfriend would drop that dude like a hot potato, but that would be the least of his worries. Like that is going to happen. Empathy is not a personality trait that is valued by Wall Street.

[humanbeing-rick]

02:20 PM on 02/09/2012

I must agree. All of their ill-gotten riches should be clawed back, and used to pay off our debts. Then they will learn the virtues of humility and modesty.

[BlogFans]

09:32 AM on 02/09/2012

I must commend you for an exceptional article Matt Taibbi, thanks so much.

Unfortunately humanity will always naturally succumb to inordinate greed, power and lies.

[Hiphopcrates]

09:30 AM on 02/09/2012

The more they whine, the sooner we come for their heads.

[HellBank]

09:09 AM on 02/09/2012

Would that we would castrate some bankers.

[Mac1000]

08:49 AM on 02/09/2012

Excellent article, Mr. Taibbi.

[ClarcKing]

08:30 AM on 02/09/2012

Hunger, homelessness, foreclosures, bankruptcies, loss of healthcare, unemployment, contraction of production go on unabated, as all out war upon the population. The world financial system is in disintegration. The trans-Atlantic region, under the desperate, bankrupt, Imperial, Wall St.-Inter Alpha Group cabal, led by President Obama, are busy disguising this Greatest Depression with the pretext that will unleash WWII, thermonuclear war.

Insanity in government and finance, our national security crisis must be confronted.

The stabilization of the United States is the only imperative, the only power on earth that can save humanity. The Wall St cabal, the recipient of $29 trillion dollars, that terrorizes and corrupts the Congress, must be indicted, prosecuted to reestablish justice, sanity and the stabilization of the United States. The President who signs martial law legislation, has done nothing to reverse our national collapse, who can only expand Perpetual War, must be legally removed from office, in defense of the nation, to protect the population.

Statecraft demands the immediate termination of the hyperinflating monetary financial system: Reenact the FDR Glass-Steagall standard in banking. Put the Fed into bankruptcy protection, recover the bailout trillions. Create the US National Bank that funds the 50 states, then fund the necessary economy platforms that enhance the population's physical economy. Stop Perpetual War. No other options exist.

[Ricch]

08:45 AM on 02/09/2012

Woody Allen to beautiful girl in art gallery: "what are you doing Saturday night?"
Girl: "killing myself"
Woody: "how about Friday?"

[ClarcKing]

09:11 AM on 02/09/2012

You think the United States is killing itself?

[Patriot86]

08:29 AM on 02/09/2012

"Certain products are gone forever," Dimon tells Sherman. "Fancy derivatives are mostly gone. Prop trading is gone. There’s less leverage everywhere." - Jaime Diamond.

Fancy derivatives, you mean the fraudulent ones you invented that were worthless and almost destroyed our economy? Well good. Propriety trading allowed criminal enterprises like Goldman Sachs to bet against their own customers...so good riddance...banking should be boring ....you want to gamble go to Las Vegas...they need the money after what you leeches did to our economy.

[pcflamingo]

08:15 AM on 02/09/2012

Love the way Matt distills it down to an understandable level. His books and blogs should be required reading for anyone wanting to know what the heck went wrong on Wall St. and what's going on there now.

[ken607]

08:14 AM on 02/09/2012

ANSWER: the top 1% profits up 300% while the average worker 16% the end!

[vidtrainer110]

07:35 AM on 02/09/2012

Thanks so much for this article Mr. Taibbi. As I was reading all this all I could say was right on. These guys are whining about the economic cycle affecting them in a minor way. They are not entitled to a complete pass at everyone else's expense.
It must be very exhilarating to make that much money by working a largely regular job. I worked on the Street in the 80's and early 90's (I didn't care much for it, but never once refused or even questioned the bonuses. I got them like everyone else) I made good money but not quite the kind of money people doing the same thing made in the last 10 years. I can see why they would never want that to end. That said, that should not be the way the world works. There has to be some consequence for purposely burning down a very big house. For them to be so blind as to not see that is amazing, especially when so many are paying for this industries' malfeasance.