This seems to be one more example of the greed mentality that existed during the gilded age of our century-the period from about 1980 on.

America has always had a healthy respect for materialism and the desire for a better life but once memories of WWII and the depression faded many people who had never lived in those times (no, not all of them)went nuts.

I don't know if it was never having to worry where your next meal came from or the fact that the tech & advertising boom (courtesy of TV and madison ave) meant there was more "stuff" to want.

People seemed to have an "I got mine" attitude. Gordon Gekko spoke to a lot of people. Going to college and grad school to get an MBA and work on wall street seemed like the way to go.

We were all told regulations for the common good are bad because they keep some people from getting rich. We are told we need to give more $$ to millioniaires for toys (soccer games, condos) most of us will never be able to afford to enjoy.

We were told we need to make it hard for people down on their luck to file BK so banks can rake in more cash.

Now it has bitten us in the ass.

And we still don't seem to have learned our lesson. Health care for all is still dismissed as a pipe dream, the banks fight against better regulations.

Thanks

Mike H

Treasury says they're fakes - http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2009/06/speculation-about-the-italian-smuggling-case-involving-134-billion-in-purported-us-treasury-bonds-may-have-been-fun-while.html

(Of course they would!)

I blame the Republicans. Just saving The Regular Commentators the trouble.

'We were all told regulations for the common good are bad because they keep some people from getting rich. '

No, excessive regulations discourage EVERYONE from having a shot at opportunity for a better life.
The misconception is that wealth is finite. Capitalists want EVERYONE to be able to bake a better pie - not just demand someone elses.

Suitcase with papers? Bring it to Oregon and one of our Police/Fire agencies will blow it up, but only after they evacuate a few square blocks.

"No, excessive regulations discourage EVERYONE from having a shot at opportunity for a better life".

Guess we just disagree about what is excessive

I saw that the treasury just declared the bonds fake. I fully expect that the Treasury will declare most of the bonds in circulation to be counterfeits in the next decade. Beats defaulting on them.