Banks

The trouble with Banks is that the financial system is a house of cards.......

However, the Banking System  has always been a house of cards.
In its very conception, it is prey to runs and panic and instability. Banks have requirements only to keep a certain percentage of their capital commitments, and at any time - if a sufficient number of people made demands - there could be problems which might spiral into panics. It required men and women of character, judgment, and discretion;  men and women conservative, honest, and trustworthy to overcome this inherent potential for instability within the banking system.
It is the character of the people involved that work as the flying buttresses that render the great Gothic vaults stable by deflecting and redirecting the forces that would cause ruin.

Think of the biggest banks of today and their leaders. What does "robo-signing" of foreclosure documents look like? Honesty? Good judgment? Character?

Think of Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey stemming the tide of the run on the Bailey Savings & Loan in Bedford Falls; he uses the money saved for his honeymoon to restore the confidence of his customers.
Now imagine the CEOs of today speaking to us about their failures. Would they increase our sense of Trust? Would their manifest honesty quell our fears?

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