Let me start off by admitting I am not an expert in the world of high finance.  How bad I am?  I still take off my shoes off whenever I try to balance my check book.  (OK, that’s a bit of a stretch, but it is true that I took Algebra twice in college and not because I had enjoyed it the first go around).

Still, my head spins around like Linda Blair in the movie “The Exorcist” whenever I hear someone try to explain the economy to me.  The pundits claim our economy is fragile and teetering.  The Stock Market reacts to Europe hiccuping and the Dow drops 320 points, but then retailers break all sales records during “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” and the Dow ends up gaining 400 points back.  Lets face it, it’s easier to make sense of a Kardashian wedding than what Wall Street likes and doesn’t like.

Today the news is all about Citigroup getting a slap on the wrist (if you consider a $285 million settlement small potatoes)  because they misled (allegedly) investors in a $1 billion CDO linked to sub-prime residential mortgage securities. Investors ended up losing about $700 million.

Why is Citigroup getting off so easy?  Because the SEC does not have the money and/or time to prosecute them, and if they did decide to take them to court, they would not have the resources to go after other institutions that are violating the system.  In other words, it’s easier for us to settle then to punish.  And the worst part is that Citigroup does not have to admit any wrong doing under the terms of the settlement. I’m sure Bernie Madoff is fuming that he didn’t get to make the same deal.

I would love to know how financial institutions plan a budget for when things like this happen.  Let’s see, we better put 5% of the revenue generated to the side in case we get caught and have to settle.  Who needs less regulation and government interference when you have a system like this in place?

What really gets me is when my 401k takes a nosedive because some A-Hole throws a Molotov cocktail in Syntagma Square in Athens because they want to retire with a full pension when they turn 12 (or something like that). I’m still waiting for an economist to explain why I need to pay for that.  Some people will suggest the world is simply becoming smaller, and I’m beginning to think that is not such a good thing.  I say let Greece drown itself with self inflicted wounds and keep their problems over there (but make sure we keep those yummy Spanakopita pies and dreamy Frappe drinks coming).

It’s been 10 years since the collapse of Enron, and what exactly have we learned?  It appears not much.  I read somewhere Presidential contender John Huntsman, who has as much of chance of winning the Republican nomination as Barney Frank does, believes banks are too big and should be made to be smaller in size and scope.

I have to say I agree with Huntsman.  Any financial institution that can bring an entire economy down is too damn big, but then again, I may be wrong; after all I didn’t end up taking Algebra II in college.