It’s one of the most memorable movie monologues in the last quarter-century — and given the freefall the American economy has experienced in the last 2 years, the words of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas) are prophetic. A great scene from the movie Wall Street (1987), written by

 INT. HOTEL BALLROOM - DAY

 The annual Teldar Paper stockholders' meeting is in session: 400 stockholders are there -- many middle aged and older, one bag lady. Cromwell sits on an elevated platform at the front of the room surrounded by an army of bulky EXECUTIVES, none of them weighing less than 200 pounds, ACCOUNTANTS and LAWYERS. Gekko in contrast seems like Robin Hood seated with Alex, Harold, Bud and the other stockholders. Cromwell is delivering his prepared attack on Gekko in a highly sarcastic, gruff manner.

    CROMWELL  ...Your company, ladies and  gentlemen, is under siege from  Gordon Gekko.  Teldar Paper is now leveraged to  the hilt, like some poor South  American country...instead of using  our cash to build plants, build our  business, all this man really wants  is to get paid to withdraw his  tender offer and that will cost us  approximately another $200 million  in greenmail which will be passed  on to the consumer...

 Gekko seething, jumps up.

    GEKKO  Where do you get off speaking about  me like that, making remarks to the  press, I resent these remarks, I  demand the right to speak.

    CROMWELL  Sit down, sir, you're out of order,  haven't you done enough damage to  Teldar as it is?...have you no  sense of decency?   (to shareholders)  How can your management...

 Gekko is urged to sit down by his people but we hear various catcalls, "Let the man speak!" "Sit down, Gekko!"

    CROMWELL (CONT'D)  ...concentrate on long term growth  when we're busy fighting the get-  rich-quick, short term profit, slot  machine mentality of Wall Street  when we should be fighting Japan!  The original fundamental reason for  Wall Street was to capitalize  American business, underwrite new  business, build companies, build  America. The "deal" has now  succeeded goods and services as  America's gross national product  and in the process, we are  undermining our foundation. This  cancer is called "greed". Greed and  speculation have replaced long-term  investment. Corporations are being  taken apart like erector sets,  without any consideration of the  public good. I strongly recommend  you to see through Mr. Gekko's  shameless intention here to  strip this company and severely  penalize the stockholders. I  strongly recommend you to reject  his tender by voting for  management's restructuring of the  stock.

      CUT TO:

 Gekko is now at floor level with a microphone. He's calmer, makes his pitch to the stockholders, looking up at the management.

    GEKKO  ...I appreciate the chance you're  giving me, Mr. Cromwell, as the  single largest stockholder in  Teldar, to speak.   (gets some laughter   and applause, loosens)  On the way here today I saw a  bumper sticker. It said, "Life is a  [hassle]... then you die".   (gets another laugh)  ...well ladies and gentlemen, we're  not here to indulge in fantasies,  but in political and economic  reality. America has become a  second rate power. Our trade  deficit and fiscal deficit are at  nightmare proportions. In the days  of the 'free market' when our  country was a top industrial power,  there was accountability to the  shareholders. The Carnegies, the  Mellons, the man who built this  industrial empire, made sure of it  because it was their money at stake.  Today management has no stake in  the company. Altogether these guys  sitting up there own a total of  less than 3% and where does Mr.  Cromwell put his million dollar  salary? Certainly not in Teldar  stock, he owns less than 1%.  You own Teldar Paper, the  stockholders, and you are being  royally screwed over by these  bureaucrats with their steak  lunches, golf and hunting trips,  corporate jets, and golden  parachutes! Teldar Paper has 33  different vice presidents each  earning over $200,000 a year. I  spent two months analyzing what  these guys did and I still can't  figure it out.   (a big laugh)

 Cromwell is upset.

    CROMWELL  This is an outrage Gekko! You're  full of [crap]!

    GEKKO  One thing I do know is this paper  company lost $110 million last  year, and I'd bet half of that is  in the paperwork going back and  forth between all the vice  presidents...   (increased laughter,   he's getting them)  The new law of evolution in  corporate America seems to be  'survival of the unfittest'. Well  in my book, you either do it right  or you get eliminated. Teldar Paper  is doomed to fail. Its  diversification into casualty  insurance has not worked. Its crown  jewels are its trees, the rest is  dross. Through wars, depressions,  inflations and deterioration of  paper money, trees have always kept  their value, but Teldar is chopping  them all down. Forests are  perishable, forest rights are as  important as human rights to this  planet, and all the illusory  Maginot lines, scorched earth  tactics, proxy fights, poison  pills, etc. that Mr.  Cromwell is going to come up with  to prevent people like me from  buying Teldar Paper are doomed to  fail because the bottom line,  ladies and gentlemen, as you very  well know, is the only way to stay  strong is to create value, that's  why you buy stock, to have it go up.  If there's any other reason, I've  never hear it.   (laughter)  That's all I'm saying...it's you  people who own this company, not  them, they work for you and they've  done a lousy job of it. Get rid of  them fast, before you all get sick  and die. I may be an opportunist,  but if these clowns did a better  job, I'd be out of work. In the  last seven deals I've been in,  there were 2.3 million stockholders  that actually made a pretax profit  of $12 billion. When I bought the  Ixtlan Corporation it was in the  exact same position Teldar is  today -- I turned three of its  companies private and I sold four  others -- and each of these  companies, liberated from the  suffering conglomerate has  prospered. I am not a destroyer of  companies, I am a liberator of them.  The point is, ladies and gentlemen,  greed is good. Greed works, greed  is right. Greed clarifies, cuts  through, and captures the essence  of the evolutionary spirit. Greed  in all its forms, greed for life,  money, love, knowledge, has marked  the upward surge of mankind -- and  greed, mark my words -- will save  not only Teldar Paper but that  other malfunctioning corporation  called the USA...Thank you.

 Much applause as he sits. Now a standing ovation; shouts of approval. Cromwell knows he has lost the day, tries to continue the meeting by calling for "order".

 Bud watches, impressed.

Here’s the last part of the scene:

Now that’s a monologue! Let’s see if “too big to fail” becomes the 21st century business mantra that “greed is good” was to the swinging 90s.