Banks

Yes, the country once upon a time was pretty darn close to the values depicted in It's A Wonderful Life. Bankers could be good guys. Your neighbors. Not greedy heads of greedy institutions. I once witnessed this myself. I've told the story before here but it's worth telling again.

After the army, in the early 60s, my best buddy Dick wanted to go back to school. He had a family, 2 kids. He needed a loan. His mom went to school with a guy who now was head of a bank in a small Idaho town. So a loan was arranged on the phone.

I drove with Dick to pick up the check. A beautiful drive through the Idaho palouse. We picked up the check. As we walked across the parking lot to leave, a secretary raced out and handed Dick something. "You need to mail us an application for our records," she said.

Those were the old days: get the money first with a phone call, formally apply for it after you get the check.

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Frightening Supreme Court decision today. No limits on corporate spending in politics. Say what? It's almost surreal.