Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap: Big Government Not Protecting the Little Guys

Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

---

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Feel like you're getting stepped on by the Wall Street machine? Get used to it. That was Jim Cramer's sad commentary to "Mad Money" viewers Thursday. He thinks individual investors won't be getting justice any time soon because there's simply no incentive for Washington to fix the problem.

Who can blame investors for feeling helpless, unprotected and alone in the stock market? According to Cramer, markets appear rigged, and the only losers appear to be the shareholders.

Was the Facebook (FB) initial public offering fair? With news that Morgan Stanley (MS) may have alerted some of its biggest customers about slowing growth at the company, it appears not. Were investors at J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM) misled by CEO Jamie Dimon, who repeatedly said things were going great even though the company was in the process of losing $5 billion? It appears so.

As if these offenses against shareholders weren't bad enough, Cramer said it gets even worse: Both Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan will use shareholder money to investigate and defend themselves against any wrongdoing. If they're found guilty, guess what? They'll use shareholder money to pay the fines, too.

Cramer said companies get away with stunts like this because the system is broken and Washington isn't doing anything to fix it. While the big banks and hedge funds have huge lobbies in Congress, the individual investor has none. Cramer said the bad apples on Wall Street must pay for their actions, and that will only happen if the government starts targeting them directly.

"Give prosecutors more power," Cramer concluded, and Wall Street will start cleaning up its act in a hurry.

Another Suggestion For J.C. Penney

Cramer wasn't done with suggestions for J.C. Penney (JCP) CEO Ron Johnson on how to revive the ailing retailer. After comparing J.C. Penney's turnaround attempt to that of Pier 1 Imports (PIR), Monday today Cramer compared Penney to the turnaround in Chico's FAS (CHS).

Cramer explained that when Chico's began its turnaround almost two years ago, the company took the opposite approach Penney's Johnson. Chico's started with a hands-on approach, made no promises to Wall Street and slashed its earnings estimates. It then spent more money on infrastructure while closing stores, returning its brands to profitability.

1 2 3 Next › Last »