I'm convinced that middle-class individuals, families, and small businesses still have wealth that they would like to invest, but they're "twice bitten, thrice shy." More than a few small investors have multiple Wall Street "bite" marks to show for their trust in the market.

Who can be blamed for mattress stuffing instead of stuffing more money into Wall Street? Who can be blamed for taking oneself out of the game to watch from a bench on the sidelines as Wall Street grapples with over-valued equities, yo-yo Dows, credit problems, Tech Bubble II, and a S&P that's again showing bottom-feeding tendencies.

No matter how guilty inactive, "self-sidelined", investors are made to feel for not "getting back in the game," they steadfastly refuse to disregard personal safety by throwing their money into the Stock Pot . Appeals to their patriotism don't move them. They seem deaf to appeals to help the economy or to show their support for The Street. But what can they expect from The Street? How has expectancy previously met with reality? What does Main Street have to show for cozying up to Wall Street?

Moms, Pops, and other small investors may be relentlessly propagandized with market slobber from the lips of Talking Heads, but, they haven't been deprived of their senses. Sensible people realize they can't simply place their chips on The Big Roulette Wheel in New York City, and walk away, trusting a puppeteer market to make them rich.

The question is not, "What is Wall Street do to win twice-shy investors back?" but, rather, "What can Wall Street do to make investors feel fairly treated? The follow-up question is, "What will Wall Street do?"

Firms on, and close to, Wall Street control much of the mainstream media, but, there is still enough freedom on the Internet (and in the movies) for prudent investors to be aware of Wall Street culture, its predatory attitude toward investors, and the voracious shenanigans that go on behind the corporate logos. Wall Street may have steady Drip Lines from the Treasury's ESF, and from the various spigots controlled by the Fed, but its pulse grows faint when the Sheep decline the invitation to the abattoir.

People the world over are having to deal with government and financial industries that have told so many lies that even more lies are required. People generally want to believe what they're told by those in leadership positions. Trust and faith suffer when they are abused, so, it's no wonder that investors seem tone deaf when the Street's opening bell rings.

Wall Street and the Capitalistic System, are in the same precarious position, with each busily engaged in devouring each other. Wall Street has used and abused investors, which limits what capitalism can accomplish.Capitalistic Elitism has, in turn, taken advantage of Wall Street connectivity to destroy the egalitarianism that makes capitalism work. Socialism/Communism and it Centralized controls, such as ZIRP, QE, monetization, NIRP, currency constriction, and cashless societies offer nothing but confusion, misdirection, and impractical and nonsensical delays of inevitable crashing and systematic re-booting.

Reform? Yes. Reform is necessary. We need the system to survive, but we need a system with values and ethics in addition to aims. It would be a vain hope, however, to expect reform to come from an establishment in Washington, D.C. whose need for reform is just as great.

Whence reform? I think it must begin with some courageous people on Wall Street--and not just those who are fearful of what Bernie Sanders might do if elected to the Presidency. What's been done to Wall Street, Wall Street has done to itself - and it's doing itself in.It has cracked the golden egg... and is garroting the goose. Wall Street has pampered itself and its camp followers to the point where its internal corruption argues against survival in its present incarnation. 

Can Wall Street change its stripes? Can there be a beneficial revolution on Wall Street? I think it's possible but I don't expect it to come through the appearance of a sinless savior--an innocent outsider untainted by Wall Street. Instead, it is far more likely that one experienced "revolutionist" will bond with a handful of others and form the beating heart of revolution. They won't be without sin, but, they will see the handwriting on the wall. Out of a down-to-earth combination of decency, necessity, and expediency they will form a core around a new ethic, which once established in principle and practice, will attract the trust and the investment that is the life-blood of both Wall Street and Main Street.Let's see that happening.