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Well done, guys. It's easy to get emotional about these things. The US has been divided for so long that it's polarized all of us to some degree. My circumspection on things like this is that politics, like religion, is too complicated to be encapsulated in any given set of views. We gravitate to a sliver of the whole and settle into it. The mistake we make is to disavow the validity of anything outside our particular sliver. None of us is wise enough to do that, really. It's good to vent; it's great to vent and then step back and reevaluate. I think we've covered the spectrum in this discussion, and that can't be a bad thing. :)

Wow. Any info on what happened to the guy who punched him? Couldn't find any. I'd call it justifiable...

Are any of these CEOs, bank lenders, etc. going to see any jail time? Maybe we should send all of them to their nearest gym and let their borrowers and other citizens that they've affected have at 'em!!

I read an article (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27081173/) about the MCI guy who did prison time and now tours colleges around the country telling economics students not to do what he did (embezzle, lie, cheat, etc.), and to try to stay honest so they don't end up like him - making $70k/year explaining the obvious. He thinks that a lot of these guys will do time before it's all over, but not for another year or two. He pointed out that the lending practices may not have been illegal, but covering up their effects on the value of securities most certainly is, and that's why they may do time.

It struck me as funny that Walter Pavlo got into trouble not so much because he stole, but more because he covered up the effect of his actions on the value of the company's assets.

There is something wickedly amusing about that statement. If one were shrewd enough, it would be the perfect crime. Do a little time, then set yourself up on the eternal lecture circuit. Brilliant, really.

Some undoubtedly will. Most won't. The problem is, to go to jail, a crime has to be committed and being greedy is not a crime. The only people who (may) have standing to sue are the stockholders and most Boards and officers have indemnification. Besides, if you weren't a Lehman sharegolder, you didn't get hurt.

Where they can get someone is where data has been deliberately falsified, in order to boost earnings and provide larger bonuses for the execs. Johnson and Raines are under investigation for just this. Don't hold your breath, though. Their buddies in Congress will keep them out (if they don't, they might be implicated)