Former Wall Street trader Marlon Weems has much to say on the economy.
Marlon Weems on capitalism
Mr. Weems discussed the state of our economy. He provides a few realities that are hard to refute, both in housing and inflation. Listen to the entire video/podcast.
Recently Mr. Weems wrote the article “Capitalism is Killing Our Democracy” that everyone should read. He said the following. There is so much more context than the words.
I’ve heard that, after making his firm $20 billion, Paulson’s take-home pay was about $4 billion.
One day about ten years ago, I sat in our kitchen gushing over Paulson’s financial exploits. After a while, my wife Shannon, who had heard enough, asked me, “Don’t you think that’s too much money for one person to make?” Was it right, she asked, for an individual to make $4 billion because millions of people lost their homes?
At first, I was annoyed that she would ask me such a question. As a trader, the question was a personal affront bordering on blasphemy. Isn’t making as much money as possible, I argued, the raison d’être of capitalism?
It took me a few years, but ultimately I realized Shannon was right. Perhaps a culture built solely on wealth accumulation as a primary objective is the problem with capitalism—at least our version of it. Our country’s interpretation of the capitalist ideal is so warped that we allow the inequality it spawns to exist with barely a complaint.
Whenever we reach a certain level of income and wealth disparity, democracy suffers. Why? Because ultimately, the billionaire had the capital to ultimately control everything. We must commend Mr. Weems’ wife for observing the unfairness of our system and becoming a catalyst to Marlon in revisiting his thoughts on our form of capitalism.
I enjoyed speaking with Marlon. Every time we discuss the economy, we both gain insights. I am sure you will as well.
Marlon Weems spent thirty years in finance and more than a decade on Wall Street. He writes about the intersection of domestic politics, the US economy, and America’s history of anti-Black racism. His material will give most a new perspective not only on our economy but on our socio-economics. Subscribe to his newsletter here.