Hedge Fund Hype, Wall Street Horoscopes, and Drop-Top Jets: The Magical Minds of the "Radical Rich"

By Richard (RJ) Eskow

September 26, 2012 - 2:38pm ET 

Strange stories from the newswires: Thousands of Wall Street traders subscribe to "financial astrology" newsletters. A series of wealthy Americans erupt into rage-filled public outbursts. Mitt Romney wonders why you can't open a jet's windows in mid-flight.

This isn't an episode of the X-Files. These seemingly unrelated stories are part of a larger pattern. What appears to be a sudden epidemic of magical thinking actually reflects something else: the rise of a financial sector whose economic incentives have tilted away from core business competencies - and toward something like that looks a little more like madness.