Recently, the Attorney General of New York, Eric Schneiderman, has taken a stand against these special interest groups, starting with JPMorgan Chase. The article explains in more detail the specific reasons behind his case, however there is no doubt that it will be a tough battle against such a powerful and rich company. Does it make you feel good that someone is finally stepping up to these powerful companies and holding them accountable to the same laws as everyone else? As we move forward, is it realistic that Attorney General Schneiderman, and others who are fighting for fariness, can win these cases against companies?
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Money, Power and the Rule of Law
This article (link) talks about the ever present differences between broad social interests (for the greater good), and smaller special interests (big business & the rich). In the past, special interest groups have always seemed to find ways around the law and use their money and political power to position themselves in any manner that they please. The article describes it as, "powerful people want one set of rules for themselves and different, less advantageous rules for everyone else."
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Hard to argue that it is not a good thing. It is refreshing to know that not all politicians go along with the norm and don't even try to fight against this trend. The tough part about it is that you can curb a lot of the issues we have now with a strong fight, but ultimately you can never eliminate it all. The fight is against human nature itself. It takes a rare will and moral foundation not to give into the temptation to advantage yourself in you one day find yourself among the rich and powerful. We see this sort of thing play out on the small scale all around us. A manager may show up at work at his convince because he believes he has earned that right and can adhere to rules of the workplace as he sees fit. Those with power will always bend the rules. It's not always that they break them on purpose, but at the top laws become blurred. To quote the powerful Pirates of the Caribbean Captain, Barbossa "They are more like guidelines than actual rules."
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