This past week the Dow hit 10,000, which is

seen by many as a milestone. It is good news…right?

Maybe. Big earning reports were due from a

few major banks. It was discovered that Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were doing quite well.

But, not by traditional banking ( e.g. like lending to people and businesses), but by taking risks in

trading securities and sophisticated market transactions. According to the New York Times, they

could take such risks because they had Bailout money buttressing them every step of the way. Banks,

like Bank of America, that do more consumer/business lending, reported bad numbers. This is a big uh

oh moment for the efficacy of the “Bailout.”

Finance, like any other business, is completely

self-interested. Using words like “greedy” are meaningless when describing corporations. Goldman et

al. have an incentive to do whatever brings in more profits…and if that’s shunning “good” lending

at the expense of society…well…so be it. This is no place to discuss the oxymoronic phrase

“business ethics,” but rather a time to remind ourselves what business (and finance) do…maximize

profits. period.