Whose Rules??

Playing By Their Own Rules

As forecast earlier, the mother of all market melt-down's is likely to eventually to turn into the mother of all lawsuits.

Already, it is possible to glimpse what the heads of AIG, Lehman Bros., Washington Mutual, etc. are likely to say in their defense: "we complied with all applicable rules governing accounting, disclosures, etc." Translation: no laws were broken.

Even if that were true -- which is highly unlikely -- it simply begs the question, "who designed the rules?"

Specifically, who lobbied Congress to dissolve Glass-Steagall, the Depression-era law separating investment and commercial banks?

Who lobbied Congress to exempt what may end up being north of $100 trillion in credit derivatives -- Warren Buffett's "financial weapons of mass destruction" -- from any regulatory oversight whatsoever?

Perhaps most reckless and irresponsible of all, who lobbied Congress to allow lightly regulated investment banks to heap on leverage approaching ratio's of 30:1, 40:1, or even 50:1?

Sure, Wall Street firms played by the rules -- they made them!