They Work There Too?

As our country found itself in the early stages of recovery following the Great Recession, many found themselves asking how the crisis could ever have happened.  One professor from Middlesex University London, Clive Boddy, found an answer: psychopaths.  His research delves into toxic leadership which includes psychopaths.  Chaos is a condition in which certain people seem to be better equipped to survive.  It doesn’t get much more chaotic than the high stakes field of esoteric finance. 

Actually, there might be a career path with more chaos: Washington D. C. politics.  A study from economist Ryan Murphy at Southern Methodist University ranks states within the continental United States, including Washington D.C. (don’t Alaska and Hawaii have psychopaths?) by their concentration of psychopaths.  Our nation's capitol has the highest ratio, by almost double compared to the other 48 states.  Of the states, Connecticut has the highest concentration, followed by California, New Jersey, and New York/Wyoming (tied).  On the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia, Vermont, Tennessee, North Carolina, and New Mexico have the lowest concentration.  In the interest of full disclosure, Ryan Murphy’s study has not been peer reviewed, so this could be fake news.

Professor Murphy has studied psychopaths for years (is he nuts?), and earlier research of his suggested individuals with more psychopathic traits revel in the political sphere.  Fortunately, politics and finance rarely intersect.  Wait, fake news.  Here is an article exploring the four most recent presidential administrations and the various positions filled by former employees of just one well known Wall Street firm.  Here’s a hint: it’s not Atlas.  While we’re no psychopaths, we ain’t fools either.  We'll stick to our knitting-taking care of your portfolio-and leave creative chaos to the nut-jobs.