Oh, what a tangled web…

Oh, you know the rest. Click here for a look at the latest Wall Street Follies, involving Martha Stewart, ImClone, Enron, Global Crossing, WorldCom, Adelphia… have I left anyone out? Oh, Merrill Lynch. (I briefly dated a woman there. She was very nice, but it didn’t work out. I hope she’s covering her ass.)

At any rate, American Capitalism at its finest! Who says the America lacks a class system? This diagram is a fine, fine example of the back-slappin’, back-scratchin’ good ol boy (and gal–Hi, Martha!) system that’s made this country great. Any of the numerous people would know each other on sight, even if they’ve never met, since money knows its own. With relationships this tight and tangled, can anyone in the mix really be considered “self-made.”

Hell, no! That’s why I say there’s a class system that’s alive and well. They’re even exploiting Africans (note the “Nigerian Barges” in between Enron and Merrill Lynch.) I swear, I wish I could get all old fart-ish and say, “this country is going to hell in a handbasket,” but I suspect this is how business has always been done. (Not that that’s an excuse, but it does illustrate the up-mountain battle go-gos and other reformers have before them.)