Right now, all over America, there is a single perception. We, the people, live by one set of rules. The financial institutions of this nation live by another.

The one we live by requires that we obey the law and should we fail, there are many penalties which include fines, jail time and public disgrace.

The great investment firms live by laws that are flexible, that bend with circumstance and desire. When they commit crimes, the offenses are considered civil matters. When they are found liable in civil court, the amount of fines compared to their profits are laughably small. When they violate regulations, the violations are either ignored, minimized or papered over. And when finally they commit such acts as endanger the welfare of the nation and it people, even then the law is not applied to them and they receive money and not punishment.

And never, under any circumstances is the flow of their profits and in particular, their bonuses, to endangered at any time under any circumstances.

The nation is bleeding.

It bleeds every day.

It’s bleeding credibility.

It’s bleeding honor, morality and ethics.

To many in this society, these are all jokes, the subject of humor.

To the great financial houses, the flag means the convenient locale with the least regulations. They live here and obey the rules here only when it is convenient. They are Americans of convenience.

We have spawned a series of institutions in this country that exist to its financial and ethical detriment.

They do not build value. They take it.

They do not limit risk. They increase it.

Can this nation long survive with two standards?

I do not believe this nation can long survive, half held to rules and half not.

It will either become all of one or all of the other.

Which one?

James Pilant