If you want to engage in a serious effort to reform Wall Street, buy two copies of economist and financial writer John Kay’s book coming out in the U. S. on Tuesday. Keep one copy of the book for yourself (share it with family and friends) and send the other copy to a member of theSenate Banking committee. That committee is highly likely to be looking at reforming Wall Streetagain in the near future, given the convulsions in equity, credit and commodity markets of late and an endless stream of ongoing charges of corruption against the mega banks.
In his book, Other People’s Money: The Real Business of Finance, Kay demonstrates not only a sagacious understanding of the grotesque underpinnings of financial markets but he maps out a series of common sense, structural reforms to bring the financial industry back to its key mandates: efficient allocation of capital and honest handling of other people’s money.
From beginning to end, Kay peels back the crass hypocrisy of the market overseers, writing that much of what the financial sector does ‘contributes little, if anything, to the betterment of lives and the efficiency of business. And yet many things that finance could do to advance these social and economic goals are not done well – or in some cases at all.’
This post was published at Wall Street On Parade By Pam Martens and Russ Marte.
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