Shock, Shock: The World Is Corrupt and You Get Roughed Up at Work

 "Book bombs: Trump aide tell-alls fail to sell - A number of top aides to the 45th president churned out books after his presidency ended. The public isn’t buying." - Politico, June 23, 2022. 

Among those tell-all authors is Mark Meadows, Donald Trump's former chief of staff. What he touts as his candid contribution to the public need to know is "The Chief's Chief." So far, it has only sold 21,569 copies. 

Let's bypass the issue of whether Trump is or is not old news. There is bigger fish to fry. That's the question: Has the expose, whether put out there in the public interest or just as a crass shot at making a buck, lost its power to influence? Or, in a growing number of situations, even sell?

What could be playing out is the tell-all as simply entertainment. That's the reach of those stories.

Thank you, we already know that the world is corrupt. Shakespeare told us that in his history plays centuries ago. In Roman Catholicism, the sacrament of confession helps us move beyond that - have a fresh start in being corrupt all over again. Man is an angle-seeking animal. Highly political, too.  

Yes, the expose on Wall Street and Big Law "The Caesars Palace Coup" has been selling well. But despite its theatrical condemnation of greed and hustle and very sharp elbows there has been no real-world impact. The reform expected didn't happen.

Congress didn't shut down Wall Street.

The supposed rascals are out there building more wealth and power.

At Apollo, the chief executive officer Mark Rowan is thriving. In fact he has reimagined the financial giant into what could be a credit powerhouse.

Law firms Kirkland and Ellis and Paul Weiss had amazing Profits Per Equity Partner for 2021. Those are $7.388 million and $6.162 million, respectively. 

Youth continues to push to be admitted into the Wall Street and Big Law games. For that they will work impossible hours. They will compete aggressively. 

Meanwhile, we wait to see how "Bully Market," to be published in August 2022, will do in influence.

Sales may or may not be good. That's not the point.

The question hovering over the whole Tell-All/Expose genre is if the messaging corrects alleged wrongs.

The author of "Bully Market" is a former managing director Jamie Fiore Higgins. She subheads the title with: "My Story of Money and Misogyny at Goldman Sachs." But who gives a damn? Just like who really gave a damn when reading the dirt dished in "Caesars?"

That's all so old. What will "Bully Market" tell us?

Won't it be: Folks do what they can get away with (hopefully legally) to make money. Some work settings aren't yet configured for female players. And in industries operating on power (especially that of wealth-creation) most of us will get roughed up.

Actually, when it comes to work per se exchanging one's labor for income usually involves some degree of emotional distress. More often, lots of it.

On Tuesday, I turned down two lucrative assignments. The terms and conditions mandated the near-impossible. Yes, the fee would have been good. Only now "at my age" can I afford to say "no." Those with pressing financial responsibilities of youth and middle age likely would have had to cave. No ambiguity: Earning a living is very difficult, in any context. 

Takeaways:

Goldman Sachs proably doesn't have much to worry about from "Bully Market." Its public response could be a smirk. Maybe a joke too. 

All those spanked in "Caesars" are continuing to enjoy their wealth, inflluence, and power. They can form a private prestigious network "Caesars Hachet Jobs."

I wish I were important enough for someone concerned about the public interest to devote a whole book to doing a hachet job on me. How flattering.

Connect with Editor-in-Chief Jane Genova janegenova374@gmail.com. Complimentary consultations. No selling.