http://dougroberts.com/2009/01/the-wall-street-freepasser-problem-accountability-is-still-the-answer/ Mon, 06 Sep 2010 05:11:45 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7.1 hourly 1 http://dougroberts.com/2009/01/the-wall-street-freepasser-problem-accountability-is-still-the-answer/comment-page-1/#comment-10 Doug Roberts Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:22:40 +0000 http://dougroberts.com/?p=6#comment-10 John, The Board of Directors problem is closely linked to the ownership. This definitely will be the subject of a future entry. Thanks for the suggestion. John,
The Board of Directors problem is closely linked to the ownership. This definitely will be the subject of a future entry. Thanks for the suggestion.

]]> http://dougroberts.com/2009/01/the-wall-street-freepasser-problem-accountability-is-still-the-answer/comment-page-1/#comment-9 john parikhal Tue, 20 Jan 2009 02:34:44 +0000 http://dougroberts.com/?p=6#comment-9 Hi Doug, I'm glad you're continuing the dialogue - and I enjoy your suggestion about putting partners at personal risk. However, it's not likely to happen. You might want to examine the role of the Board of Directors of many of these banks. Very few of them have been called out - or held accountable. Yet, they are supposed to be an important part of the oversight. You might write about the cozy relationships in thousands of companies where boards rubber-stamp egregious behavior (remember Tyco?). You could probably name half a dozen major banks and financial institutions right now where the Board doesn't really know what's going on - and doesn't really care as long as they have their connections to power. That's the essence of free passers - they are connected financially and socially and they use these connections to create systems that support them and protect them from consequences. Even though this behavior has been around for thousands of years, we still need to check it and balance it. In Lord Acton's memorable phrase - power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In her brilliant book, Political Fictions, Joan Didion articulated how there is now a 'political ruling class' in America that transcends party lines and basically runs the country - free from elections, regulation, or challenge. Worth reading. Because it shows how difficult it will be to root out Free Passers who make the rules. I look forward to your next installment. Hi Doug,
I’m glad you’re continuing the dialogue - and I enjoy your suggestion about putting partners at personal risk. However, it’s not likely to happen. You might want to examine the role of the Board of Directors of many of these banks. Very few of them have been called out - or held accountable. Yet, they are supposed to be an important part of the oversight. You might write about the cozy relationships in thousands of companies where boards rubber-stamp egregious behavior (remember Tyco?). You could probably name half a dozen major banks and financial institutions right now where the Board doesn’t really know what’s going on - and doesn’t really care as long as they have their connections to power. That’s the essence of free passers - they are connected financially and socially and they use these connections to create systems that support them and protect them from consequences. Even though this behavior has been around for thousands of years, we still need to check it and balance it. In Lord Acton’s memorable phrase - power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. In her brilliant book, Political Fictions, Joan Didion articulated how there is now a ‘political ruling class’ in America that transcends party lines and basically runs the country - free from elections, regulation, or challenge. Worth reading. Because it shows how difficult it will be to root out Free Passers who make the rules. I look forward to your next installment.

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