It's all about the Benjamins, Baby!!

It is most definitely all about the benjamins this week for America's leading financial institutions. Only one year after being on the brink of collapse, these companies are back and with a vengeance. It was reported this past week that America's financial corporations posted record profits in the billions of dollars. To a certain extent this is great news, the banks that many Americans depend on to purchase homes, attend school, and in some cases make payroll are out of the red. Surely, we should begin the discussion on how people are going to save their homes and go back to work and school, right? Wrong. It appears that these companies are deciding how they will dole out bonuses to the top executives. Now, there is nothing wrong with bonuses being given for a job well done. However, in this scenario, the government gave a bail out to a number of these corporations. Therefore, "we the people" gave money to help save the bank's butts so I would like to know where exactly our bonus is? It still amazes me that the top 1-2% of people in this country hold the vast majority of wealth. I definitely believe that those who work hard should be rewarded, but there has to be a limit to the greed at some point, and there are plenty of people who work extremely hard everyday who make a pittance for a living.

Therefore, the question becomes how do we distribute the wealth in America more equitably? I don't have a concrete answer for this question. However, it seems to me that we have to start with stricter regulations on companies when it comes to lending. These companies have made billions of dollars. Yet, it is still hard for the average American citizen who may actually have a good credit standing to receive a loan much less someone who is on shaky ground. If banks aren't lending the money, where exactly are all these profits going outside of employee salaries and benefits? These financial institutions should be required to start lending again or suffer the consequences, and this time they should be forced to be responsible in their lending practices. Banks were major players in creating this economic crisis, and all of sudden, it seems like they will be able to just walk off into the sunset billions of dollars richer. Meanwhile, Americans are losing their homes and jobs every single minute of every single day.

Another solution to this problem of unequal wealth distribution would be to change America's current tax system. I will not focus much on this topic since it is a blog unto itself, but it is time for Washington to take a long, hard look at how taxes are being paid in this country. The next president who proposes a revolutionary idea in changing the current tax code could possibly find him or herself residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Currently as voters, all we can do is prepare ourselves for a tax hike in the not to distant future. Finally, we have to also take responsibility for holding Wall Street's feet to the fire. Ultimately, if we wanted to bring Wall Street to it's knees, we could. As a collective group, Americans could simply refuse to utilize credit cards, pay off existing loans, and refuse to apply for any new loans. Can you imagine an America where everyone saves and pays out right for things such as cars, furniture,etc? Oh wait, there is no need to imagine this world, you only need to take a trip back in history.