What (Some) Wall Street People Really Think

Apparently this email spent much of the summer pinging from one Wall Street firm to another. I suspect the author’s views are pretty widely shared. Sure, there are plenty of smart people in the financial world but it’s also true that many of them ain’t smart enough to know when to lie low. As a man said recently, the public rather thinks that the banks and all the rest of them have missed an excellent opportunity to shut up.

We are Wall Street. It’s our job to make money. Whether it’s a commodity, stock, bond, or some hypothetical piece of fake paper, it doesn’t matter. We would trade baseball cards if it were profitable. I didn’t hear America complaining when the market was roaring to 14,000 and everyone’s 401k doubled every 3 years. Just like gambling, its not a problem until you lose. I’ve never heard of anyone going to Gamblers Anonymous because they won too much in Vegas.