Nothing will work, short of complete overthrow of the gubmint or (if we’re lucky) a complete systemic collapse, brought about by the idiotic policies now being pursued.

Crimes are involved, either of ommision – or intentional deception. Any product, or service that is too complex to comprehend – should and must automatically be relegated to the realms of thievery and/or illusion. Numbers are funny things, easily manipulated, and if polluted, rendered useless by one false calculation.

The besmirching of Volker reaks of the wingnut redneck Amerika message-force multiplying of fictions and myths as truths, and sliming any and every opponent as anti-Amerikan, givingaidandcomforttotheenemy, spawnofthedevil.

Volker, warts and all is dead on in his poignant criticism of the finance oligarchs, and the necessity of dismantling the socalled TBTF malignancies.

Until society is rid of these malignant bloodsucking squidlike cancers, there will be more pain and suffering, and atrophy, and eventually death. In the end, after all the feeble medicines and remedies are haphazzardly applied, – the cancer wins and destroys the host. These evils must be excoriated completely and permantently.

TBTF, and tocomplextocomprehend institutions and models are malignancies sucking the blood and life out of vibrant societies in order to feed the predatorclass alone and exclusively.

These evil monsters must be defeated, dismantled, and destroyed, so that future generations will never again be forced to confront and surmount blatant evil, ruthless toxicity, and pervasive malignancy.

Welcome to Amerika!

But that is just a start. Unless we get the casino mentality under control, our capital markets may never again be the engine for industrial and economic growth. Is it a coincidence that the proliferation of financial products that enable and encourage betting–as distinguished from investing–accompanied the near collapse of our economic system? Finance for the sake of finance is a recipe for disaster and the more folks who say it the better.

If this administration doesn’t wake up to this reality, we will be paying taxes to tea-partiers in a couple of years and finance will be triumphant.

And since more than 50% of the top economies of the world are now Corporations (not Nations), the multinational corporations have us (the “We the People” citizens of nations) by the short and curlies. The US cannot regulate these Multinational giants any more than the US can regulate Iran, the multinationals just set up shop in a tax-free enclave such as Dubai, or Luxembourg or the Maldives. I fact, as a Nation, we should declare war on these huge multinational corporations, but, surprise, surprise, if you read any of the defense initiatives coming out of the Pentagon, you will quickly learn that our armed forces have been captured as well, since their mission is to defend our “economic interests at home and abroad.”

Oh, woe is us! We took a ride on the fascist alligator, and ended up inside. We are all just serfs now, living in a feudalistic corporate fascist police state. At least in feudalism you got to keep a little bit of food to feed your family. I made $45,000 last year and every penny gets spent on health insurance, rent for my office and my crappy apartment, for gas, for car repairs… I can’t afford to buy even flowers for my Mom for Christmas. I’m behind on my rent, behind on my electricity bill, my phone’s been shut off… Gotta go – I have to make some money to pay my 29.99% interest Chase credit card. God Bless America!

If the financial crisis is past but the economy is in the doldrums, the politics of the situation will be the driver. And increasingly, the politics will require that the financial services sector be positioned as renegades who’ve sold their country down the river and require corralling and punishment rather than as partners in regulatory reform. All the lobbyists and all the political contributions and all the career path strategies in the world won’t change that.

Volcker has always been the Administration’s Plan B. Not a relief pitcher to spell the starters in the late innings, but the replacement to the inherited approach when it either failed economically or became politically untenable. Perhaps there was no alternative to working with the established system at the outset. But the price of being seen toadying to Wall Street is getting too high.

My holiday forecast–the shifts in Washington this winter will be interesting, but opaque.

Given that trading is zero sum, who are they trading against? At who’s expense are their profits being derived?

Guess what… it’s you and me, and our pension funds, and 401Ks. Anybody without inside market information, and the ability to manipulate the market.

I found his clarity quite shocking.