I hate it when people say this. A wise thinker once said "People make their own histories, but not in the conditions of their own choosing." People absolutely have free will, and there were plenty of people who did not make smart choices during this recession. But I just can't get behind the idea that so many individuals all did the same thing wrong all over the world. Have you ever read anything about the housing crisis and the toxic assets that were being sold? Banks were literally choosing the people who were the most likely to default on a loan to loan to. And then betting that they would default. Individuals were targeted to fail, and lo and behold...they did.


I can get behind the idea that so many people did the same thing all over the world. Especially when general culture makes it okay and even encourages such excess. There is a vast culture of "compete with your neighbor" and get that bigger better thing to show that you can one up them. Take a look at JJB - it's pretty rampant here. People are constantly trying to prove themselves through possessions. I am not saying that the banks weren't to blame. For sure any bank CEO that okay'ed or even promoted the allocation of money to those that were most likely to default should have been drummed straight out of their position. But how many people is that, total? Not many. On the other hand, how many people defaulted on loans and signed their names on the dotted line onto loans they NEVER should have gotten in the first place? Millions. And they need to take their part of it, too. It takes two to tango and there's a LOT of blame to go around. Own your share.

Re: 1%, this is a pretty contentious issue. I think there are a lot of people demonizing the 1% and I think a lot of people just kind of wonder what the point of that is. Be rich, that's fine. But people's wealth should not give them more power, and that's what we contest. Not that people are rich, but that their wealth makes them more important, somehow. The average person has a 1 in 22 chance of being a millionaire. A congressperson has a 1 in 2 chance of being a millionaire. The rich are overrepresented in politics and have more power and wealth than everybody else. Be rich. But for America, which is supposed to be the greatest country on Earth, this is just not okay:


I think we agree on this piece. I don't believe that having money should give you greater representation. I'm not sure what you're trying to prove with this. As I said, there are certainly those who get to the top with unscrupulous tactics but among the 1% this is the minority. A majority of congressmen are crooks who can be bought? Yep. I agree. But what percentage do these crooks make up of the 1%? Not much.