Submitted by John House, Mar 8, 2008 20:22

We seem to observe this rule in breach, not practice.

I read about investment instruments that seem exotic to this Illinois country boy. Then I look at our banks, corporate retailers and lenders. Most of their innovations are creating new and different fees from the same basic services. Also, when an investor buys a investment secured by the financial services, the risks are actually higher than stated because the loans are made with unanticipated rate increases to people with questionable ability to pay, and the return is understated in respect to the actual risk.

Successful people whom I met seem to strive for a consistent profit over the long term. The successful people's customers had optimistic expectations about doing business. Our current financial creativity seems to focus on inconsistent profit over the short term. Today, consumers are consistently pessimistic.

The successful people I met usually weren't sophisticated. The only thing they had was money, and so did anyone who worked for them, did business with them or trusted them.

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