Despite all the accomplishments in financial innovation in the past several decades, buying and selling stocks remain a gamble. The only difference between today and crashes in the past is our reliance on stock investment for our economic stability. In years past only the risk-takers were susceptible to the crashes; now we all are.

If the banks were acting like banks, using their cash as a means of greasing the skids and driving the economy, this would be great for the economy. But the banks aren’t acting like banks. They are acting much more like casinos, and in a casino the house can only win if everyone on the floor is getting taken to the cleaners.

Mistrust of government is growing, reaching levels only seen twice in the last half-century, a phenomenon that could pay dividends for Republicans in November’s midterm elections, according to a Pew Research Center survey.

When a company is flailing in the wind, executives can easily blame and encumber employees. When a government is flailing in the wind, executives can easily be shown the door.