Legalized Grift

My Bangladeshi co-worker doesn't hold our banking system here in the U.S. in high regard. Indeed, he's borderline paranoid regarding the whole system, coming from a country whose financial institutions would never loan money for thirty years for a housal unit. Of course, this stems from a lack of political (and thus economic) stability to engage in such long term contracts.

I'm not quite so paranoid, yet I'm not shy in folding my hand by saying I think our FIRE economy (finance, insurance, and real estate) should drop from its current 11% of the workforce down to 5%.

One out of ten of us are employed in managing the financials of the productive affairs of the remainder, presuming that those other 90% are engaged in productive affairs. Each day that goes by an increasing number of Americans are turning to services, becoming wards of the service sector, becoming car rental salesmen, hotel managers, human resources analysts, and yes, legalized grifters through our large financial system:


I most certainly do sleep good at night knowing that we've the finest cadre of investment professionals and bond raters taking care of my CalPERS investments, my 401(k), my self directed IRA, my world growth mutual fund, my future social security benefits, my money market account, my checking account, and my 457. I understand how I need these people to direct my monies and investments and how they each deserve a piece of it for all these valuable services they provide.

I most certainly slept well over the last decade knowing that if I sold my housal unit the 6% commissions paid would be well spent, knowing how difficult it was to match buyer with seller during the boom times, knowing how housal unit prices went up 20% per year ad infinitium while the same 6% commission applied. I felt good knowing that real estate professionals (former flower arrangers who took the California RE exam and suddenly were experts in VA loan processing) driving white Mercedes sedans were there to help me if I needed them.

And as I snored soundly, knowing that even before I woke up here on the west coast those financial wizards out in the east were already hard at work securing my future, I dreamed good dreams.

If I don't like it, I could always move to Bangladesh, eh?