This morning I reached a breaking point. More accurately, yet another breaking point, the likes of which have been occurring with increased frequency and increased fury over the past...I dunno...six years! With our global society in shambles, (thanks and a tip o' the hat to George and the crew), the powerful and mighty have done it again. At what point will the greed and exploitation of the humble and voiceless come to an end...with the "haves" taking more and the "have nots" being crushed and discarded. Every minute of every fucking day.  The death, the destruction, the deceit and the stealth. Here we go again folks, so you might as well just bend over, and ya damn well better smile while you're at it. Please don't forget, those surveillance cameras are always on.

My point, you ask? The big boys need some more protection against the little folks, it seems.

Courtesy of the NYT:

The Securities and Exchange Commission has begun to take steps on two fronts to protect corporations, executives and accounting firms from investor lawsuits that accuse them of fraud. Last Friday, the commission filed a little-noticed brief in the Supreme Court urging the adoption of a legal standard that would make it harder for shareholders to prevail in fraud lawsuits against publicly traded companies and their executives.

Among so many other things, this hits me where it hurts. I represent some of those shareholders who have been mistreated and violated.  The elderly, the voiceless, the people who don't understand the simplest terms in that almighty investment prospectus that serves to cover the asses of those large "corporations, executives, and accounting firms".  Ya know, those big guys who need the extra protection. My work in that area sure as hell ain't a profit maker, but I'm compelled to stand up for the "others", the ones who can't afford an attorney and have nowhere else to turn when acts of fraud have been committed against them.

Back to the NYT:

Critics said that the moves signaled a major retrenchment from the post-Enron changes and showed that a lobbying push by big companies, Wall Street firms and the accounting industry was gaining traction as they seek to roll back what they see as onerous regulation and excessive investor litigation.

Regulations? Can't have none of them pesky regulations. Does the legal system get abused through class actions? Damn right. But, not by the humble masses, dear readers. The system is abused by the big boys at the litigation firms. Gee, notice any trends in this equation? (Rhetorical)  The little people out there, who have worked hard and saved their pennies, dreaming of just a little peace and comfort during retirement (should they be so lucky to see that day)...what do they get when their trust has been violated through investment fraud? Apparently, squat.

Return to the NYT:

Institutional investors and some analysts expressed alarm at the developments, noting that the number of shareholder lawsuits was declining significantly. "It is clear from these actions that this is a commission intent on reversing seven decades of rule making, by Democrats and Republicans, that have protected investors and opposed shielding auditors," said Lynn E. Turner, a former chief accountant at the commission and the managing director of research at Glass Lewis, an adviser to large shareholders. "This administration and this agency are very pro-business and anti-investor."

It isn't the victims of fraud who rake in the big bucks at the end of the day. They get pennies on their hard earned dollars after they've been taken out for a night on the town of fraud and deception.  But, hey! Gotta protect the big boys. The humble, voiceless folks?  Screw `em and dump them in a gutter to fend for themselves after they've lost all their savings. The big boys? I can only imagine them sitting in dimly lit back rooms, stogeys and brandy snifters in hand, getting another hearty laugh and planning their next venture to exploit the powerless. I'm sure you're all too familiar with those schemes yourself, with credit card billing dates altered without notice, and fine print that gets smaller each day, seeming to change on an hourly basis.

This is not to say that there aren't top-notch financial professionals out there - the good ones who keep the best interests of the little people in mind. I've had the privilege of meeting and working with hundreds of them over the years. In fact, I've even happened upon some financial institutions that continue to be driven by ethical standards and integrity toward their consumers.

Sadly, the great divide continues to increase between the "haves" and the "have nots"...and now, it seems, there is no longer a federal agency willing to support and defend the most vulnerable among us.

*Update*: After the BT hosted conversation with Senator Dodd on Wednesday, I felt compelled to review his stance on financial issues. While this is not an endorsement of any candidate in the upcoming election, I found it interesting to read that Senator Dodd seems to speak for me (at least during this interview) on the subject matter of this diary, as referenced in the following link from a PBS interview: (Sorry, but I don't know how to make a "pretty link", folks) http://tinyurl.com/2h3zlb

As a sampling of Senator Dodd's opening commentary:

Well, the industry is substantially deregulated. There is no cap on interest rates.

That's right. Well, we wrote the OCC, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and basically, [they are] far more interested in getting new bank charters than they are in protecting consumers or protecting people from the abuses that occur. And that's what they ought to be doing. The OCC tried to preempt consumer laws -- federal, state consumer laws -- that would protect consumers. Every one of us Democrats on the Banking Committee several months ago, in fact, wrote the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and asked them not to do it, to back off that effort. But that gives you an idea of where the regulators are.