With the complexity of the economy that those in power have established, is there really any way

[T Wolf]

to keep it under control? Or have it work for the benefit of society as a whole rather than as an instrument for the enrichment (beyond any level of decency) of the already-wealthy.

None of the old rules apply anymore.

But, rather than rail against the evils of the system, it just seems that there are far too many "middle men" who really are non-productive in the original sense of the word. They manipulate markets and policies, move "money" around simply to make more money, without producing ANYTHING OF VALUE. The complex system they have created is thus, ripe for abuse. Add in their cut (aka commissions, or if they were honest in the least, the vigorish) and you have fraud on an unimaginable level.

The "perfect" example of this is the "bailout." Why not direct our tax dollars directly to those who need it instead of those who created the problems in the first place?

At the risk of sounding heartless, throwing all the money managers out of work might not be a bad thing. Employ them in something useful, like rebuilding our infrastructure, caring for and teaching our children, caring for our health, etc.

Just as our electoral process and the government itself have been removed from the person-to-person contact that originally marked our democracy, so has "commerce." We do not buy our goods from John & Mary at the corner store, but from a multi-national conglomerate that has no need to listen to any comment or complaint we may have.

I realize that it may, in fact, be too late to return things to the "good ol' days" of the past. But simplifying our over-massive and corrupt system to some extent has to be possible. If not, we will forever be at the mercy of those in charge of the monster.