Science coverage-- Rats develop new skills

After thirty years of "Reaganomics," it has been shown that scum sucking pond rats have evolved a new way of existing, by stealing and digesting the savings of an entire generation of America's retired people. I chanced to find and read a lot of the Victim Impact statement that was gathered and released ahead of the sentencing of Bernie Madoff this week. The stories, mostly one page emails or letters, are profoundly sad and upsetting. And they made me think about how, over the course of the last couple of decades, the Reagan-era mantra of de-regulation (of banks and financial institutions) has allowed the evolution of a new species of rat that targets the life savings of hard-working middle class-- and working class-- Americans. Look at the recent bank collapse to see how working Americans' 401K's were decimated-- by as much as 50% and more. And the Madoff Ponzi scheme which grew and thrived right under the noses of the SEC who investigated the operation several times-- atrocious.

It's important to know these victims aren't Hollywood celebrities and fast-talking high-rollers who lost their easy bucks to a shyster. These are parents and grand parents and retired doctors, and even a school teacher married to a retired prison guard-- who lost their $200,000-300,000 retirement fund. And all those billlions of dollars went to finance the lifestyles of several generations of Madoffs, with mansions, palatial New York apartments, private schools, nannies, massage parlors, and all. The bank and insurance CEO's have their own disgusting lifestyles. These captains of finance managed to identify one of the largest American asset pools-- the savings of the baby boomers and their children-- and harvested as much of it as they could, leaving the victims destitute and too old and sick to fight back.

Deregulation is the tool of the princes of kleptocracy. Anyone who says different is expecting to enrich himself by the lack of regulation. I'd love to see the SEC and the FED empowered to effectively regulate the markets they're supposed to. And Bernie Madoff will likely evade the punishement he deserves-- to have his entrails run up the flag pole at the New York stock exchange, preferably while he watches.