We all need to remember that the original purpose of Wall Street, to bring together entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, has been largely subverted by the actual workings of the Street. Only in an initial public offering, or the sale of a new bond issue, does the Street actually fulfill that older function of funneling capital to those who need it and can utilize it effectively. After that, all Wall Street transactions serve only the purposes of the speculators, who flimflam the rest of us into paying an inflated price for something that is only a certificate. That sale does nothing to improve the manufacture or the product.
Given the above, the Wall Street culture that Karen Ho *03 illuminates (cover story, Sept. 23) is almost inevitable. Her analysis shows exactly why Wall Street cannot be expected to police itself, and why it will fight tooth and nail and lobby viciously to keep the federal government from establishing and enforcing the regulations that are necessary to prevent a repeat of the 2008 meltdown.