Wall Street doesn't care about you.

It's too busy fighting for its life. Big Wall Street firms have taken the U.S. economy to the threshold of the abyss, a cataclysmic vortex of wealth destruction not seen since the Great Depression.

We're about to watch the Fed sink its claws into Wall Street, forever changing the game, says Brian Hicks.

We're also watching as the Bush Administration introduces the Wall Street "overhaul," the broadest plan of financial oversight since the Great Depression, which could change the way the government regulates thousands of businesses.

Not to worry, though. It's unlikely we'll see it in action any time soon. Former housing bull and "at or near bottom" pontificator Hank Paulson assures us that the changes are intended for longer-term problems, than serve as a quick fix.

Though, if all goes according to plan, the regulatory web created in the 1930 would become wider, with power concentrated in fewer agencies. One of the recommendations is to merge the SEC with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

But you can't move boxes around and expect a long-term solution.

The Reality Behind the Wall Street Overhaul

What the plan would do is hand new authority to the Federal Reserve, an idea that makes no sense. The Fed was responsible for overseeing our current meltdown. It was Greenspan who used to praise derivatives market growth as a boon for market stability, while ignoring calls for the regulation of the mortgage market, says The New York Times.

So, who does the overhaul plan really help?

According to the Times, "If adopted, the sweeping overhaul of the system overseeing the American financial system proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. on Monday could hand Wall Street investment banks a major victory in their years of effort to streamline regulation.

One change Wall Street wants is for regulators to shift from policing the industry with hard and fast rules - do this, don't do that - to using looser "principles" that might be open to interpretation. Another is to modernize the hodgepodge of state and federal regulators that sometimes overlap and compete with one another."

From what I've seen, there's nothing "in it" for the public, meaning we're the low man/woman on the totem pole.

What makes the situation sadder is the assertion of timeliness. Years after allowing floods of poorly documented loans to feed the housing bubble, which has since dragged us into recession territory, we're told the plan is timely.

Says the Federal Reserve:

"The Treasury's report presents a timely and thoughtful analysis and is an important first step in the complex task of modernizing our financial and regulatory architecture. We look forward to working with the Congress and others to help develop a policy framework that will enhance financial and economic stability."

But it's anything but timely:

• Banks are falling.
• Unemployment is rising.
• People are walking away from homes.
• Credit delinquency and foreclosure rates are rising.
• Commercial real estate is set to plunge.
• And my favorite, SEC Openly Invites Corporations to Lie.

Nice, huh?

And the daily spew of ridiculousness continues

The Fed is spending billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out banks. Banking CEOs are telling us their liquidity positions are solid, only to fall apart, needing Fed bailouts to stay afloat days later. We saw it happen at Countrywide in 2007. And we saw it again at Bear Stearns in 2008.

We have a Fed chief that believes "a recession is possible," with a belief that the $168 billion stimulus package will limit economic damage. But it's tough to save us from a recession we're already knee deep in.

Truth told, Wall Street could care less about you.

Banks and Wall Street firms are more important than you. Brokers care more about saving commissions and keeping their jobs than guiding you through tough economic times. And the Fed is busy saving billionaire banking CEOs who drive Maseratis through foreclosure-torn neighborhoods even after losing billions in market cap.

It was March 13, 2008 when Standard & Poor's believed that subprime writedowns will total close to $285 billion when the crisis is over, putting us "past the halfway mark."

"Standard & Poor's Ratings Services believes that the bulk of the write-downs of subprime securities may be behind the banks and brokers that have already announced their results for full-year 2007. There may be some additional marks to market as market indicators have shown deterioration in the first quarter. However, when we dissect the percentage of write-downs taken against various types of exposures, in our opinion the magnitude of some write-downs is greater than any reasonable estimate of ultimate losses..."

They knew the crisis wasn't over. Do you think they were shocked on this news?

"UBS doubled its writedowns from the subprime crisis on Tuesday, dumped its chairman and sought more emergency capital in a second attempt to reverse its fortunes. Its shares climbed 7.5 percent as investors hoped the move marked a turning point for the firm that now leads the global list of banks hit hardest by the credit crisis.

UBS wrote down an additional $19 billion in ailing assets, bringing to $37 billion the damage wrought by the subprime crisis and causing a net loss of 12 billion Swiss francs ($12.03 billion) in the first quarter.It pushes UBS, Switzerland's flagship bank and financial fortress for rich investors, past Merrill Lynch to the top of the league of writedown shame."

All the while:

• Record numbers of Americans are receiving food stamps, which could reach an all-time high of 28 million by year end.
• Gas prices are likely to reach $4 as we near summer driving season.
• Milk, eggs, and bread costs are through the roof.
• The average number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits hit a two-year high of 2.824 million.
• Construction spending fell for the fifth month.
• Manufacturing activity dropped 0.3% in February, reflecting weakness in home building and non-residential activity.
• Consumer spending ticked up a scant 0.1%. Remove inflation and the numbers were flat.

And there are still economists that believe we can avoid a recession. But what do they know?

Three months into the last recession, not one economist accurately predicted a recession in a survey. Unfortunately for their credibility, later evidence pointed out that a recession had begun at the time of the survey.

But it's tough to argue against recession when:

Well Fargo CEO John Stumpf says, "It is now clear that the U.S. and global financial markets are experiencing their worst financial crisis since the Great Depression."

And when the Oracle of Omaha, the chairman and CEO of Caterpillar, and even George Soros says this is the "worst market crisis in 60 years..."

While it'd be nice if the $168 billion economic stimulus plan saved the economy, chances are slim if taxpayers use it to pay down debt or save it.

How to Put the Screws to Wall Street

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Put the screws to Wall Street. Manage your own money, or follow the advice of those that don't receive Street incentives. Remember folks, it's still your money that Wall Street is playing games with.