War on Greed: Starring Henry Kravis and his Homes

We don't subscribe to some of the "wealth jealousy" evident in this video, but Kravis is definitely a snake. He dismantles companies, sucks out enough to pay himself handsomely, and produces a flat to negative return for his investors. Often the companies collapse under the debt burden.

Still, the problem is not so much Kravis -- he is just gaming the system fully in accordance with its rules. The problem is the system itself, which rewards activities that excessively concentrate (and destroy) wealth at the expense of the average citizen. Much of this is brought about with monetary policy, though the video only points out the tax policy aspects. We have a de facto policy of easy money, but it is only for the banks and the rich and powerful. This has produced malinvestment into garbage mortgage securities (driving the subprime/Alt-A bubbles), uneconomical leveraged buyouts (Kravis' territory), and violent booms and busts. Meanwhile, all the rest of us have our credit cards and mortgage rates raised.

The problem isn't Kravis, and its not even greed: its that the rest of us keep getting lured into the same trap of allowing this "easy-money" system to continue, under the mantle of "economic growth". But such a system always benefits the rich and powerful vastly more than everyone else. We would do better getting rid of central banking, government props for banking in general (like ad hoc bailouts and the FDIC), and re-institute sound money so the people can keep the wealth they earn.