How the N.Y. Stock Exchange is destroying this country. It's history and destructive evolution.

This is a review of the history of the "Big Board" (wall street or stock exchange) from its inception to its current state of abuse of power and how it is destroying America today.

The 'NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE', also known as the 'BIG Board' and referred to as 'Wall Street', is the world's largest market place for securities.

The Exchange evolved from a meeting of 24 men under a buttonwood tree in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City.

It was formally constituted as the New York Stock and Exchange Board in 1817.

The present name was adopted in 1863.

Membership, limited to 1,366 since 1953, is obtained by purchasing (since 1868) a seat from an existing member.

Greater commercial activity in the U.S. after the War of 1812 and speculation in railroad stocks in the 1830's increased demand for capital and stimulated trading at the exchange.

After the Civil War, the exchange provided the capital for the accelerating industrialization of the U.S.

After the Panic of 1837, when many investors suffered heavy losses, the exchange began to demand that companies disclose to the public information about their finances as a condition of offering stock.

The financial collapse of 1929, which signaled the start of the Great Depression, led to investigation by the federal government and regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commissions.

A corporation must meet certain rather stringent requirements to be listed on the NYSE. These include that the company must earn $2,500,000 (before taxes), have at least 1,000,000 shares of stock outstanding, give common stockholders voting rights, and publish periodic financial statements.

As is true of anything that involves human beings and the transactions involving money exchange, there are those who learn quickly how to wheel and deal, and manipulate the system for their own personal gains at the expense of others.

Today it has become nothing more than a huge gambling casino for the mega rich with a stacked deck of cards, in their favor, by the use of :

Hedge Funding:

Hedge Funding - (started in 1967) as an investing group usually in the form of a limited partnership that uses a speculative technique in the hope of obtaining large capital gains.

Speculative betting:

Speculative betting - based on, or constituting, intellectual speculation that is theoretical rather than demonstrable. To assume a business risk in hope of gain, especially to buy, or sell, in expectation of profiting from market fluctuations. To take to be true on the basis of insufficient evidence.

Manipulation:

Manipulation - to control or play upon by artful, unfair, or insidious means, especially to one's own advantage. As was the secret tryst between Wall Street and the Banking Industry that was the catalyst that led to the current economic collapse.

Insider trading:

Insider trading- Sharing insider information so friends/relatives, etc. can place their bets (wagers) for a win/win profit fall. [What Martha Stewart was thrown under the bus for, by her male counter parts who do this more often than not - as a token gesture to appease the public and fool them into thinking that this is a rare phenomenon]

These manipulators (either out of sheer greed, or as an intentional attack meant to destroy our economy) stole so much money from the economy it caused an over all collapse.

Then the finger pointing started - to divert attention away from those perpetrators.

Today the political party that represents Corporate America is frantically fighting for the fatal killing blow by arguing that by removing all regulations from corporate America and Wall Street it would somehow magically re-vitalize a severely damage economy.

With the full expectations that the stupidity of the American people would blind them to the truth.

As yet, not one single person was arrested or charged with any criminal activity?

Talk about being shielded from the laws.

Money truly does buy anything, everything, and anyone.

The government and the people stand idly by in disbelief that this was ever allowed to happen when all the people's trust was misplaced in a government that failed us by participating in the over all attack on the American People.

And then adding insult to injury - used tax payer money to bail out corporate America and Wall Street instead of the American people.

But this futile effort did accomplish one thing - it gave Wall Street and Corporate America an extension of time to get the last drop of blood money out of this economy before it totally collapses.

The Occupy Wall Street Reform Movement is our one and only hope for the resurgence of true democracy in this country and ultimately around the globe.

But is it too little too late?

Politicians who say the O.W.S Reform Movement is directed at the wrong people - that it should be directed at Washington instead, are on the wrong side of this battle..

But the fact of the matter is that Government is now owned by Wall Street and Corporate America, so marching on Washington would be like beating up on all the drug users, and abusers, while giving the illegal drug dealers a free pass.

Oh, but, wait, isn't that what we are doing there too? Foolish me.

The new American way of thinking IS to "Blame the Victims".

The same ultimate questions still remain:

• Has the U.S. government gone beyond its proverbial event horizon and can not recover?

• Is the governmental corruption so ingrained there are not enough honest politicians to create the needed changes?

• Is the Democratic party of the people too weak and without strong enough leaders to make the necessary changes that will benefit all Americans, not just the 1% who run it today?

2012 and future elections will be the true test of strength between the power of "the will of the people (the 99%)" or the power of "the almighty dollar (the 1%)".

by: d.william 11/04/2011