Banks

[Burke]

Is it really this bad? I think so, maybe worse.

http://www.sovereignman.com/finance/...worried-10938/

"As a senior executive of a large international bank, he is the ultimate insider. And I was floored by what he told me.

"He openly acknowledged, for example, that banks are frauds. Most banks, particularly in the developed west, only hold a tiny fraction of their customer’s deposits in cash. The rest is gambled away on whatever the popular toxic security du jour happens to be.

"This entire system rests upon a very thin layer of confidence, reinforced by the occasional taxpayer bailout. Yet it struck him as incredible that people still had confidence in banks, especially given that most of the investment products promoted to their customers are “crap”."

This is what happens when govts run the banking system instead of the free market. But capitalism gets the blame.

[Burke]

Btt, because I think it's more important than people realize.

But you have to keep in mind that the govt, through the Federal Reserve, has been running the banking system for nearly a hundred years.

As far as I can tell, most big banks have effectively failed and are being propped up by the govt/Fed right now.

[channingcrowderhungry]

I loathe banks and realize the way they use fractional reserve banking and it's ills. The issue with banks for me is, as a retail business owner, I have no choice if I want to accept credit and debit cards. It's automatically deposited, and to decline plastic currency is retail suicide.

From a personal standpoint it is much easier to avoid the banking conglomerate.

[wgbgator]

If you're trying to say banking is under-regulated, that's absolutely true.

[Burke]

As far as I can tell, the banking and financial sectors are the most heavily regulated of all.

Which is exactly why they are driving us to ruin.