On this ‘commandeered by Wall St.’ thingy....I’ve only had a few [dozen] finance and economics courses, and worked with the business/gov’t/finance system for a few [dozen] years, so I’ll defer to your analysis...once I figure it out. I guess I need some foundation work on the premise. Can we at least agree that most small businesses need a banker and work from there? And if we need a banker to finance the purchase of a home...same same? And since we need these bankers wouldn’t it be nice if they were successful and didn’t go under every few years, with a ‘new’ banker calling our loans? Dunno bout you, but I have enough trouble changing insurance co’s every few years, sure am glad I never had a mortgage or loan ‘called’ (tho’ I admit that when they started the revolving mortgage servicer address change thingy I was pissed). And so IF, I repeat IF, we can agree that successful banks are better than bankrupt banks, what system other than the FDIC, FSLIC and the FED would you have? Does Paul have one in mind?
Research the concept of fractional reserve banking, and keep in mind the idea behind counterfeiting. Pay special attention to the process behind the creation of a loan, and where the money actually comes from. Also, check out the mathematical possibility of all debt actually being paid off. (Hint: there will ALWAYS be more debt than assets.)
Then, look up legal tender laws which protect the banking monopoly’s fiat currency from competitive forms of money.
Then, study the founding fathers’ views on the Bank of England, and the Coinage Act of 1792. The rarity of gold and silver kept the US government from spending too much and embarking on unsustainable, empire-building ventures, which is what crashed the British Empire.
This thing is a scam that’s been going on for hundreds of years.