What is even worse is that these same psychopathic corporatists serve as the primary advisors to the President and elected officials. At the state level, the GOP aligns readily with the Koch Brothers, perhaps two of the most ideologically fanatical individuals in the US’s billionaire club. The same can be said for many of the advisors who revolve through the circular door between Washington and Wall Street.
Several years ago I interviewed and filmed Jordan Belfort, the former stock trader portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Belfort spoke about the insanity behind the lack of ethical decisions rampant throughout the financial industry and the instant gratification of a select elite who are willing to destroy everything for short term profits in order to accumulate massive amounts of wealth. Belfort shared one noteworthy example: the former Treasury Secretary Robert Ruben who “lobbied to ease limits on derivatives and was instrumental in getting derivatives traded on Wall Street in an aggressive way.” What does Ruben do after completing his stint as a politician in Clinton’s administration? “When no longer Secretary of Treasury,” Belfort continues, “he goes down to Wall Street, gets on the board of Citibank, convinces them to plunge head first into these derivatives that he just deregulated and makes $500 million by most accounts. And then he bankrupts what was once the largest bank in the world.” To this day government officials have not made any effort to investigate and indict Ruben for reckless, unconscionable behavior. His foolhardy acts have devastated the livelihoods of countless people. A common psychopathic criminal would be placed behind bars immediately for far less misconducts than Ruben and his Wall Street cronies.

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