What do you think?

Since the end of World War II, a time when business technologies, mechanization and worker productivity reached new highs for Americans, doesn't it seem that so called "White Collar Crimes" are occurring more frequently and each with higher sums of money involved than the one before it.  It's almost as though - the smarter and more efficient our nation becomes, the more it opens the door to schemes to defraud mass amounts of people or topple markets.

The kind of schemes I'm talking about are designed by stock brokers,  bank officials, accountants and lawyers alike (sorry if I've offended anyone).  Sometimes I wonder if the ink on the contracts or the controlling legislative documents is dry before someone has already figured out a way (and maybe implemented it) to steal someone else's money from a position of trust.

Our own government is part of this too.  From relaxed lending standards in boom times leading to over-extending many Americans on credit (guys if you bait a trap somethings gonna bite it), to the intentional lowering of prime rates when the DOW takes a dive (talk about your special interest group), to being the primary investors in schemes and people who sought to defraud thousands from their life savings (gotta remember the Keating 5), our government must also share the wearing of the stain of financial recklessness.

So, what's your thoughts.  What about the financial disasters since 1945?  Are they occurring more frequently and with larger amounts of money.  How has it affected you?

An interesting tid-bit I ran across: Dates of American Recessions
...and it seems to coincide with this. The interesting part at the bottom of the Yahoo link is the list of who was in the Presidency at the time of each of the 21 incidents listed.  Democrats = 6 or 28.57% to Republicans = 15 or 71.42% (I'm just sayin'...)