There is a free bumpersticker which says “NO BANKER LEFT BEHIND” available at/from: http://www.bumperhumpers.com/nobanker.html

The only country these people recognize is wall street and the world of finance capitalism.  The US means nothing to them, it just happens to be where most of them reside.  There is no such thing as a nation-state in the global economy.  A country is something quaint that little people believe in.

Right On, Big B.  You’ve nailed it: Republican sanctioned criminal action in the name of a “FREE” economy has got to be seen for what it is and be “put to death.”  WE have to stand up to it and tell our representatives in Congress to go after these criminals if the Congressional leaders want our vote.  If there’s enough of that, maybe the single drops on the head will turn into a message that it’s raining, and we all need to take cover.  We need rules that mean something and are enforced.  I sure hope that isn’t countered with a response that it’s wishful thinking.  We need a strong chorus to overcome the resistance we’ll find to these ideas.  But it does weaken us.  What better example of that then the mess we are now in.

We have once again taken our eyes off the ball. The executive compensation issue is nothing compared to the real problem, which is that the actions of these selfish idiots have, in many ways, caused irreprable damage to the US.
Aldredge Ames did less damage to the nation, and he was tried for treason.
Major corporations wanted and recieved the rights of being a regular US citizen. It is now time to hold their feet to fire. If you run your company in a manner that is damaging to the US economy, thus weakening the US as a whole, you should be tried for treason.
Imagine how much more responsible a CEO and board of directors would be if they saw the image of one of their colleagues strapped to the electric chair.
But this will never happen, of course, for corps enjoy all the rights of citizenship, without any of the reponsibilities.

“Everybody knows the fight is fixed,
The poor stay poor, the rich get rich,
That’s how it goes, and everybody knows”
Leonard Cohen

Correction:  The $250 million was not severence pay, but total compensation while at the company.

At yesterday’s hearing on the failure of Lehman Brothers, Henry Waxman asked the CEO if he thought it was fair that he got a $500 million severence package.  He responded, “I didn’t get $500 million, I only got $250 million.”  Barely enough to make it through the winter I’d say.