In light of MLK day, I’ve decided to blog a more serious, reflective post. I will try to explain in layman’s terms, to the best of my abilities, exactly what happened on wall street over the last few years.
Basically, the Street worked like a giant game of blackjack (Ben Bernanke was the dealer). Some days you won, some days you lost, some days you just played the slots (private equity). But in the long run, if your firm had enough rainmans, you made money. Well, starting in December 2007, let’s just say the rainmans got Street smart. They realized how indispensable they were to the game and went on strike. Simultaneously, for unexplained reasons, Bernanke decided to play with a 100 deck shoe and make deuces wild. As a result, Bear Stearns went bankrupt and the remaining firms dashed to the cashier to redeem their chips. Along the way, J.P. Morgan charlie-horsed Lehman, and AIG married a stripper. WaMu is buried in the desert outside Carson City. After the dust settled, Bernanke changed the game to Keno, and the remaining players are just senior citizens and William H. Macy.
