Awwww… The Poor Widdle Banksters

We all want people to think and speak well of us.  More than most, I’m a believer in giving folks a second chance when they accept responsibility for the damage they have caused to others and try to make amends.  But when the subject turns to criminal Banksters, who persist in the same behavior that caused this mess, they have nothing coming.  That’s why the following resonates so strongly with me.

Wall Street is upset. Sure, they were handed a trillion dollars. Sure, their industry was pulled from the toilet, propped up, dried off, and allowed to return to its never-ending party. Sure, they’re looking forward to what may be the biggest bonus year ever while the rest of us are dealing with a little thing called a recession. But hey, they are upset that people have been talking mean about them. They don’t like that. They don’t like that so much that they’re pouring record levels of money into Republican campaigns, just to make sure that Democrats get the point.

After all, being "too big to fail" means never having to say you’re sorry.  Heck, it means never having to face up to the fact that you failed at all. It certainly means that guys wearing Alexander Amosu suits don’t have to say thank you to the people digging ditches, flipping burgers, or sweating out a stint of unemployment. You know, the people who chipped in so that the Wall Streeters could keep their jobs. Being too big to fail means being able to go on pretending that you’re a tough, take care of yourself, fiscal conservative and that this little bump never happened. It certainly means that you don’t have to be the least bit contrite, or demonstrate any sense of either guilt or gratitude.

And I absolutely agree. They don’t. There’s only one thing I want from these guys — I want to tax the holy crap out of them.

I’m not suggesting this because it would be satisfying (though it would), but because it would be a good thing to do. The right thing to do. Not just to start repairing the hole these guys drove through the federal budget, but good for the whole economy. Even good for Wall Street.

Over the last four decades, we’ve become a nation where the Laffer Curve is hardwired in our brains. A nation that believes in always carrots, never sticks. Republicans have pushed the idea that reducing taxes is an universally effective way of growing the economy. No matter what the problem, there’s bound to be a tax cut to solve it…. [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Daily Kos>

I fully agree with this author.  Let’s start with a 125% tax on all bankster bonuses.

While financial reform was weakened by Republicans and DINOs, but Democrats gave us more of it than we have seen in a long time.  On the other hand, Republicans govern exclusively for the benefit of criminal corporations and the richest 1%.  Your vote matters.