'Pretty Boy' Paulson and the Goldman Gang

Paul B. Farrell in MarketWatch, 6/28/09:


'Public Enemies' run, not rob, our banks today

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (MarketWatch) -- Yes, two Great Depressions linked in a mysterious time-warp: Bank robbers and robber banks. Back in the dark days of the first Great Depression John Dillinger was admired, a dapper Robin Hood. Banks were the real villains.

Dillinger, Bonnie and Clyde, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, and "Machine Gun" Kelly were the "American Idols" of their day -- "Public Enemies" to the FBI. But folk heroes to an angry public who cheered when Dillinger destroyed bank records during holdups.

Yes, good ol' John cared for the little guy, our "stand-in," a secret way of getting back at the crooks running America's banks. Imagine him storming into a bank in a three-piece suit sporting a Tommy gun. In broad daylight! A real man. He leaps over a counter confronting a scared teller, gently taps a stack of bills with his gun barrel: "That's your money, mister?" He nods. "We're here for the bank's money, not yours. Put it away."

Banks were easy pickings for Dillinger, strategies he picked up in the slammer: "They ain't tough enough, smart enough, or fast enough. I can hit any bank I want, any time. They got to be at every bank, all the time." And he cleaned up, till a friend ratted on him.

Today it's far worse. Back in the 1930s we got a flood of new laws and regulations protecting small investors and consumers. Today we just got Obama's proposed new legislation that's already being watered down by Wall Street lobbyists. How? Easy.

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