Courtesy of Pam Martens
By James A. Kidney
(Editor’s Note: James Kidney was a trial attorney at the SEC for 25 years until his retirement in 2014.)
James A. Kidney
As the nation approaches the 10th anniversary of the demise of Lehman Brothers, which is popularly pegged as the beginning of the Great Recession, one is struck by the current events that tie back to the world-wide financial crisis of a decade ago.
John McCain again is in the headlines, this time more sadly, as he was when he made a Hail Mary move by temporarily “suspending” his presidential campaign to address the financial crisis — an ill-considered action he came to regret.
Big Wall Street banks are as up to their necks in risky derivatives, as in 2008.
Once again, the political powers are reveling in a long bull market and listening to wealthy bankers proclaim a pressing need to be relieved of minimal regulation.
In the view of some, current threats to the market economy are reminiscent of 2008, along with pollyannaish predictions from lawmakers and regulators from the White House on down that all is sound.
To one who was a bit player trying to enforce the securities law against these same banks and bankers after the crash, the most jarring developments relate to the law enforcement and media interest in conspiracy theories involving President Trump and his cronies.
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