The American Pie in Hands of the Few

Victor Davis Hanson wrote this: "Refined Americans became more concerned over questions of gender, race and class justice in our universities and courtrooms, as if the chief problem were only dividing the American pie equitability, rather than expanding it."

I would argue that establishing equitability would expand the pie. When the regulations, laws and education don't favor the richest of the rich, then it would inspire and enable more people to expand the pie, so to speak. 

Power and money in the hands of the few leads to subprime mortgage meltdown, banks and rich folks hiding their money overseas and not paying their share of taxes (can you imagine the average person getting away with that?), corruption in government, the ever increasing divide between the richest and the poorest, greater social problems. Need I go on? 

I'm sure everyone of us can look to our own communities to find people who have unfairly reached the top of the heap only to tumble down and splat on the bottom. Then who picks up the pieces? Who pays for their mess? 

What we've set ourselves up for is a nation where the rest of us will have to depend on the goodwill of those who are controlling the money. 

But often, those who rise to the top do so because they are highly competitive and they don't mind stepping on heads on the way up, not because they're generous. Of course, you can be both and rise to the top, financially speaking, and often folks come to the realization that they can be both once they've amassed wealth. Bill Gates is a prime example.

But wouldn't it be great if laws and regulations were more equitable, and a solid education was available for all, not just those who could afford it. Then, more people would have more opportunities and that would expand the pie. 

Fairness, a level playing field, inspires expansion.
Today's bank raid:

Securities regulators from several U.S. states on Thursday raided the St. Louis headquarters of Wachovia Securities, seeking documents and records on the company's sales practices.

The move is part of a broad investigation into questionable practices involving auction rate securities, Missouri officials said.

Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's office said the "special inspection" at the Wachovia division, the former A.G. Edwards, concerned the $330 billion auction-rate securities crisis. Wachovia Securities is part of the Charlotte-based bank, Wachovia Corp.

Did anyone catch ABC's investigation on the super rich hiding their money? I'd like to hide my money but the best place I can think of is under the mattress and with the stock market down considerably and interests rates in the toilet, the mattress seems to be a good option.

Hundreds of super-rich American tax cheats have, in effect, turned themselves in to the IRS after a bank computer technician in the tiny European country of Liechtenstein came forward with the names of US citizens who had set up secret accounts there, according to Washington lawyers investigating the scheme.

The bank clerk, Heinrich Kieber, has been branded a thief by the government of Liechtenstein for violating the country's bank secrecy laws.

He is now in hiding but scheduled to testify to the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Thursday via a video statement from a secret location, according to Congressional investigators.

Aides for committee chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) are scheduled to provide reporters with a background briefing later this morning in Washington on the committee's investigation of tax haven banks in Liechtenstein and Switzerland.

Aides say the hearing will also focus on the role of the giant Swiss bank UBS and its alleged efforts to help wealthy Americans hide their money from the IRS through shell companies in Liechtenstein.

Liechtenstein's veil of secrecy was pierced five years ago when the disgruntled technician, Kieber, downloaded the names of foreign citizens connected to the secret accounts.