The Prisons We Choose: Critical Analysis of Money Hunger as a Prison among the Stock Brokers in the Stock Market Individuals in the society have different ways that they view themselves in. In this case, thus, people tend to occupy various ‘prisons’ which are either real or imagined. The societal prisons have different positive and negative impacts on the lives of the individuals. According to Lessing, people get stuck in developing a perception about self, understanding what they individually know, picking paths in a world with numerous options and amounts of information and opinions, and developing a view on self and the society in a fresh way on one’s eyes (Lessing). Lessing views a prison as more of the savagery of the past events among the people and the tools individuals have to escape from such a situation by making or failing to make necessary changes in behaviors in one’s life. One aspect of life where individuals tend to be imprisoned by their choices, perceptions, and understanding of the situations is in the issue of money hunger in the stock market. In most cases, individuals provide false information, engaging in insider trading, and also violating the securities laws in the attempt to benefit from ‘quick cash’ or deals that will make them rich in a stance. As a result, individuals turn to become victims of behaviors such as targeting to blackmail or convince people to fall into their trap. The stock market is made up of efforts by the stock brokers to build a successful stock exchange empire that guarantees positive gains and huge profits. However, with success likely to lead many individuals to greed, many stock brokers end up in situations associated with money hunger and fraud. Eventually, this behavior becomes a prison for an individual whose choices are quite difficult to surrender or quit (Lessing). At the same time, the temptations of the deals in the stock market associated with profits, loans, and other financial opportunities render individuals imprisoned. Over the decades, various national and international stock markets have suffered setbacks and significant falls due to money hunger among the stock brokers. In the recent past, some famous stock brokers such as Jordan Belfort, Bernard Madoff, Bernard Ebbers, Andrew Fastow, Tang Waxin, Raj Rajaratnam, Michael Milken, Hiromasa Ezoe, Anthony Elgindy, Dennis Kozlowski, and Barry Minkow have engaged in different scams due to their association with money hunger. As a result, some of the results of their involvement led to negative impacts on the national stock markets. Thesis statement: by choosing to engage in money hunger deals in the stock market, stock brokers also choose to enter into a life-threatening prison that negatively impact on their lives, their families, and the economy as well.
Engaging in a real or societal prison may take place following one’s choice, decision, or action in life or in the society. Some of the individual choices are as a result of moral dilemmas, unethical involvement, or even greed. For such a case, individuals become preoccupied by the situations happening in their life, thus, turning into actual or imaginary prisoners. In the book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, by a Russian novel writer, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the main character, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, explores the hard life of a prison in the Soviet Union’s concentration camp after his dramatic arrest (Salisbury). The novel is critical on the life of a prison with a major attribution to the reason that landed Shukhov into incarceration. Arguably, Shukhov was an innocent inmate who was captured the German troops after being accused of being a spy (Salisbury). Eventually, he became a prisoner of war in the event of the World War II in a Soviet Union’s prison (Solzhenit︠s︡yn 3). Despite being innocent and mistakenly landing to a concentration camp, Shukhov went ahead to claim a ten years jail term sentence tied up with a hard labor package. Essentially, Shukhov was imprisoned for telling the truth about his escape from the Germans in 1943 in an attempt to trace back his lines (Solzhenit︠s︡yn 6). Therefore, by telling the truth, he was taken as a spy amidst the Germans and eventually taken away to prison. In this case, Shukhov became a prisoner in a scenario that significantly emerged due to his personal contribution. With there being a choice to lie and escape prison, he instead chose to tell the truth and risk living as an inmate. As a result, he ends up counting each day as it goes as he tries to spend his deplete his 3653-days jail sentence (Solzhenit︠s︡yn 63). Most part of the story reflects on the 104th, a group that had 24 members (Solzhenit︠s︡yn 6). The inmates spend their time working hard to earn extra food based on individual performances. At the same time, the find tricks to survive through their interactions with each other and with the guards in the concentration camp.
Essentially, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, shows the contribution and the impacts of the ‘prisons that we choose’ in the lives of the individuals. The life of Shukhov while working and living in prison is full of challenges and negative experiences. In the same way, money hunger exposes individuals to a life that is full of challenges and negative impacts. The history of stock market mainly addresses the success stories as well as the contributions of the ‘scammers’ and fraud activities to the people and economy. ‘Scams’ and fraud activities in the stock market occur frequently due to the association of the business with high odds and mega deals (The New York Times). Therefore, just like the rewards are high, individuals also tend to instill high risks on the market in the hope of turning into millionaires, if not billionaires. However, it is important to note that the rewards and risks sidelines with both the victims and also the ‘scammers’ (The New York Times). In most cases, the fraudulent individuals succumb into the side of risk while being forced into a miserable life and poor reputation as well as huge losses. Researches show that many individuals involved in money hunger activities in the stock market ended up compensating their individual victims, companies, and even the stock market after incurring huge losses (The New York Times). For instance, the ‘Wall Street darlings’ have always engaged in contract and agreement breaches between them and their clients (Sarna). As a result, this has severally led to the disappointment of their companies as well as the public members and the ever-optimistic stock market community. In the stock market, these fraudulent and self-centered actions eventually turn into ‘prisons’ for the brokers while dealing payment, compensation, or even actual jail terms. Stock brokers’ engagement in scams and unethical deals lands them into these prisons in various ways.
Firstly, stock brokers accept deals with criminals aiming to liquidate the stock business for hiked prices and immediate profit (Bhide 37). In this case, the brokers acquire dodgy loans as well as credit card charges in favor of their involvement in the deals. The brokers participate in the sale of unapproved shares to run away with profit garnered from the innocent buyers, for example, the fraudulent activities done by Barry Minkow and Dennis Kozlowski. According to an article in the NY Times, criminals target at hyping a stock with a goal of inflating its price (The New York Times). At times, the brokers may use keystroke-logging programs installed in computers to individual investors’ accounts. Thus, the brokers may engage in selling shares without the approval of companies to get advantage of the ready-investors who are willing to risk their cash while the sales scale heights. Some of the brokers such as Dennis Kozlowski were associated with lavish lifestyles that kept them on toes to secure any fraudulent stock deal to increase their individual earnings in the market. Kozlowski made a birthday party for his wife which was worth over $2 million in total. Various reports showed that Kozlowski had smashed a whooping earning from his shares that had plunged in over 80% just after six weeks (Eaton). On his part, Minkow engaged in several accounting fraud such as forgery to pave way for increased earnings and loans to finance his carpet business. However, the money hunger and greed with the two brokers turned into a prison where both sought new deals to sustain their lifestyles and business demands (Rowe). Eventually, the two were also imprisoned as an ultimate end of their ill broking deals.
Secondly, the stock brokers involve themselves with leaking the inside information about the companies dealing with the sales of shares. In most cases, such individuals target the companies that have their transactions and sales activities under the investigation of the government agencies such as the FBI. With the insider trading intention, the money-hungry stock brokers can play tricks with the companies owning the information or with other individuals acting as company shareholders or just outside criminals. In some cases, such individuals act as bloggers or online stock brokers with expert tips on how to engage in the business of the stock sales (Eaton). Therefore, they charge for their services with exorbitant prices to let their clients have access to the acquired inside information as expert tips. On the same note, these brokers may use the inside information to blackmail companies for charges in the risk of having the information released to the public. With such information holding significant risk for the stability of the companies, many CEOs and company directors may helplessly pay huge sums of money to protect their companies. Regardless, the brokers may proceed to ‘sell the information’ to their clients as they target to earn from both sides. This insider trading gambling craze has led to the fall of various companies, stock markets, effects on the economy, and losses to some individuals in the purchase of shares. Some of the famous scammers who engaged in insider trading include Hiromasa Ezoe Michael Milken, Raj Rajaratnam, and Anthony Elgindy. Most of these individuals end up highly addicted to the vice due to the possibility of making quick and big sums of money from their deals (Carlson " Steven). However, their self-selected involvement turns into a ‘prison’ where only arrests and incarcerations tend to stop them from such deals and engagements.
Lastly, money-hungry stock brokers develop fictitious statements and reports about companies’ progress and current state. The brokers showcase the company earnings and profits as high and also promising in the future. Such statements and reports are designed to attract investors to transacting with companies with ‘promising futures’ by buying their shares. As a result, the reports and statements render the companies’ shares more expensive and appreciation, especially due to increased interest (Eaton). The inflated prices translate into profits and increased earnings among the brokers as they take advantage of the innocent and optimistic investors in the market. At the same time, the brokers may also design deals with the companies to trick the investors through attracting them to their shares. In such a case, companies may be in search of capital to improve their businesses and also to ensure their sustainability. At the same time, such a case may emerge in a situation where some corrupt and unethical company members take advantage of the company to trick its clients and outside investors for their personal gain. Such cases have occurred repeatedly in the Wall Street courtesy of some stock brokers such as Andrew Fastow, Bernard Ebbers, and Bernard Madoff (Leuz et al.). Fastow collaborated with individuals from various companies such as Enron to tailor deceiving reports about company earnings (Sarna). The money incurred in those deals helped him in promoting his businesses in money laundering programs. On his part, Madoff provided information meant to convince investors to transact with some companies. His reports attracted investors to low-risk investments which were associated with high returns. Madoff went ahead to build a corrupt financial empire that led to a web of victims who fell for his fraudulent activities. Despite being associated with several mega deals that turned the three brokers into tycoons, the latter proceeded to con more and more victims while also running money laundering businesses to ‘wash’ their ill-gotten wealth (Eaton). In fact, Madoff’s money-hunger stock broking deals claimed millions of money from over 9,000 innocent investors who trusted in his information and tricks (Sarna). As a result, the stock brokers were imprisoned with their wealth reclaimed to compensate some of the clients and investors who incurred huge losses. However, were it not for the investigations, arrests, and imprisonment, the three Wall Street stock brokers scammers would have continued with their unethical engagement of tricking and conning investors and shaking the stability of various companies (Leuz et al.).
In conclusion, individuals choose to inhabit various prisons in the decisions they make or take in life. These prisons are either real or imaginary. At the same time, these prisons impact on the lives of the people either negatively or positively. In the book, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, Shukhov contributed largely to his imprisonment in the Soviet Union’s concentration camp by his decision to talk the truth. Although he would have convinced the Germans, he chose to speak the truth and land into the eventual consequences. The experiences that he encounters in prison showcase how ‘the prisons we choose’ have significant impacts in our lives. In a similar way, the aspect of money hunger in the stock market acts as a prison for the brokers involved in the business. These individuals engage in developing corrupt deals, insider trading, designing false reports, and betraying companies and investors for their personal gains. As a result, the ability to earn huge sums of money, assume lavish lifestyles, and the success of money laundering programs turn the individuals into prisoners of unending money-hunger deals in the stock market. Famous scammers in the stock market such as Bernard Madoff, Raj Rajaratnam, Michael Milken, and Hiromasa Ezoe have previously faced long jail sentences after blackmailing and conning numerous companies, investors, and clients. Therefore, the experiences in the lives of the brokers depict the aspect of money hunger in the stock market as a ‘prison’ where individuals live to make deals and wealth until their arrest and imprisonment.
Works Cited
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