The Fairy Tale Capitalist blog exists to shine light into the imbalances in our financial system's structure and their effects on our democracy. The government stands behind the Too-Big-To-Fail banks more than ever, contributing mightily to income inequality. Social mobility, an historic strength of U.S. democracy, has also decreased as the continued derivatives trading activities and attempted super-regulation of TBTF risks smother traditional commercial banking, an engine of economic growth.

Originally conceived as a debating forum, the FTC blog aims for a more realistic and hopefully valuable objective: providing insights into the impact of financial engineering, derivatives and credit ratings on the wider financial sector. The growth of these tools formed the substance of my corporate banking career in the 1980s and 1990s. Working at the largest banks and a credit rating agency, I saw firsthand how they evolved and was tasked with understanding their credit implications.

No advertisements. No revenues. Hence, low budget and therefore low-tech. But I use government reporting data to illustrate the points. Arguments, charts, and tables should be legible with their sources and methodologies described.

This is a credit crisis. However, it has wider implications for democracy itself. This is my small voice. No Ph.D. No famous name. Just an analyst who was respected for her work as a banker and especially for her work at the credit rating agency.

The debate needs constructive voices, large and small. We are all shareholders in this enterprise called democracy.