ok. i am no economist, nor am i a political scientist, an historian, an accountant, a hedge fund manager, investment banker, a lawyer, or even a journalist.

however, this 'financial crisis' is driving me absolutely insane. not just because of the damage it has done, and will continue to do, but because this is the most idiotic thing that could have happened. i mean, hello? do we have to go through a crisis of corporate greed and wrongdoing every 5-10 years? is anyone ever going to grasp the really not so difficult concept that some people, when given the opportunity, will crush everyone in their path in the name of greed?

i mean, i know this is different. it is not the same as before. well, duh. but greed is greed. taking advantage of unsuspecting or ill-informed people can take many forms, but at its core, it is still poor behavior. sometimes the repurcussions of poor behavior are hurt feelings on the playground, and sometimes it is the collapse of an entire economy (or the destruction of an entire race, if you want to take the fundamental lesson here a bit further).

people do not have to be academics--they do not have to study psychology or history or philosophy or anthropology to get this. really, a passing familiarity with pbs or the history channel or discovery should suffice to familiarize themselves with the basic fundamental fact: some people are mean. some people do not give a shit about other people.

not everyone, of course, and i am not about to get into the philosophical debate about whether this is innate or not--i have no intention of drawing a "lord of the flies" conclusion about human nature here--however, the very obvious fact remains that, given the opportunity for personal gain, some people will not abide by the social norms that define morality. period.

assuming that almost everyone will abide by rational behavior, and that the censure of others will keep the few outliers in line might be a plausible theory of economics/human nature/psychology/politics if it had not been proven to be wrong time and time again.

why is this so hard to grasp, accept, and deal with? why is it so hard to put a system in place that prevents the most egregious of errors? have we not aptly demonstrated, many many many times that without a basic frameword of regulations, we are basically saying "here's a blank check, please don't screw your fellow humans? pretty please? with a cherry on top?"

i just don't get it. i do not understand how a pro-deregulation person can look anyone in the eye and defend his or her position. all the social theories and arguments in the world mean nothing if they don't take human nature and empirical observation into account.

but please, let's go through all this drama, bandage the wounds, and in 5 or 10 years, when they are just healing, lets do it again!