Op-Ed: Wall Street still profiting at Main Street's expense

Stock market manipulations and subsidies continue profiting Wall Street at our expense -- a week after the stock market lost almost a trillion dollars in a matter of hours, the four largest banks claimed to make money for 63 trading days in a row

A week after the stock market suspiciously tanked and dropped almost 1,000 points -- losing almost a trillion dollars -- in a matter of hours, four of the biggest financial institutions on Wall Street responsible for defrauding the world of trillions of dollars announced that for 63 straight trading days in the first quarter, they did not lose any money trading. For the 63 straight trading days in Q1, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Citigroup reportedly made money trading for their own accounts. Those in Congress and the Federal government can't seem to figure out what happened to cause the stock market to lose almost 1,000 points, but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that there is something majorly wrong with this picture. For most Americans, trading is supposed to be a risky business. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Traders justify their egregious bonuses by claiming their jobs are so risky that they deserve to be paid millions for protecting their firms' precious capital. But, as we all know, the only thing that happens when Wall Street loses billions because of their fraudulent bets, is that taxpayers bail them out and those responsible for all the fraud receive huge 'retention' bonuses to make sure they don't leave and trade somewhere else. The 'Real Economy' Continues falling into the abyss But, trading for Wall Street isn't risky at all. It is for everyday Americans, but not for Wall Street. Why? Because the U.S. government lends money to the big banks at near-zero interest rates, which in turn, lend the money back to the U.S. government at 3%-4% interest rates, making 3%+ just like that. What's more, the banks are reportedly leveraging this trade, borrowing at least $10 for every $1 of equity capital they have, to increase the size of their bets -- meaning that banks can turn relatively small amounts of equity into huge profits by borrowing from the taxpayer and turning around and lending it right back to the taxpayer with interest. The U.S. government supposedly lends banks money at near-zero interest rates so the banks will lend money to small businesses, big businesses, and others in the 'real economy.' The only problem is, the banks aren't lending money to businesses or any other participants in the 'real economy.' The banks are using the money to make themselves money. Consequently, the 'real economy' continues falling over a cliff into the abyss. Lending money to the private sector is risky. Lending money received from the government back to the government is almost risk-free, so banks lend money back to the government and make their 3%-4%, repeatedly leveraging up their bets. The World's Economy is one big Fraudulent Ponzi Scheme That's how the big banks made money 63 days in a row. If you were working at a big bank, getting money for free and lending it back to the lender for a small profit, you'd be making millions of dollars too. Then, you'd get to take half the money home as a bonus. In other words, the government's zero-interest-rate policy is the biggest Wall Street subsidy yet. It hasn't done much to increase credit in the real economy, but it has screwed responsible people who lived within their means and are now earning next-to-nothing on their savings. It has also reportedly allowed the big Wall Street banks to print money to offset all the fraudulent bets responsible for destroying the world's economy. The world's economy is one big fraudulent ponzi scheme that was intentionally designed to make the rich richer at the cost of everyone else. The stock market is a fraud. What many don't realize is that the stock market is -- and has been -- manipulated to benefit Wall Street and its friends around the world. High frequency trading (HFT) is a scam. HFT is rigged to intentionally screw the public for the benefit of a few major international banks. It's time for Wall Street's Day of Reckoning The Plunge Protection Team (PPT) -- created in 1989 by President Reagan to prevent a repeat of the Wall Street meltdown of October 1987, has secretly manipulated the stock market for decades. The PPT's members include the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the Chairman of the SEC, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, big major banks, the New York Stock Exchange, and other exchanges. More information on how the PPT secretly manipulates the stock market can be found from the Market Oracle. Prior to the nearly 1,000 point drop a couple weeks ago, the stock market had steadily lost hundreds of points during the week. Why? Possibly due to Wall Street being investigated for fraud, and for suggestions that the government audit the Federal Reserve. It's too coincidental to be much of anything else but intentional manipulation by Wall Street, which has basically threatened to blackmail the world if it's investigated or if any attempts are made to hold them accountable for all their fraudulent actions. The too-big-to-fail financial institutions need to be broken up and the public needs to be given back all the money they've been defrauded out of by Wall Street and their friends around the world. Goldman Sachs has been accused of manipulating the stock market for years. 70 percent of all trades are executed by computer algorithms via high frequency trading, and Goldman Sachs has the power to make the market crash or rise at will. The 1000 point stock market crash could have been an act of financial terrorism. More information on Goldman Sach's fraudulent manipulation of the stock market can be found from AlterNet. The taxpayer bailout of Wall Street -- which has cost trillions more than we've been told -- hasn't been enough to quell the greed on Wall Street, and nothing has been done about the rampant fraud. Many in Washington have profited greatly at America's expense, which is why government oversight -- and the lack thereof -- is a major joke. As noted by the Market Oracle, the stock market is a crap shoot that serves the sole interests of establishment elites, corporate plutocrats, and banking giants. Regular Americans are losing what is left of the money they've invested in the stock market. There should be no penalty for pulling your money out of the stock market, but there is. Until there is an investigation -- and until all the fraudsters in Washington and Wall Street are held accountable -- it's only going to get worse. How much longer can this charade go on before the people do something about it? It's time for Wall Street's day of reckoning.