Double standard?

Not all that long ago...
Enron goes belly up. Lay & Skilling convicted of fraud.
WorldComm goes belly up. Bernie Ebbers convicted of fraud.
Tyco didn't quite go belly up. Dennis Kozlowski convited of fraud.

At the time, each of these seemed like massive failures; the WorldComm failure - an $11Bn loss to investors - was the worst.

Today?
AIG, Citi, GoldmanSachs, MorganStanley... massive failures.
... and the $$$ are staggering. $11Bn looks like nothing.

BUT: the CEOs and others who masterminded this collapse?
They're still getting bonuses - bailed out by TAX-PAYERS!

What's wrong with this picture?

Is anyone now talking about reform of financial markets?
No - that's page 11 news... if it makes the news at all.

Are the rescued financial institutions now at least doing the job we expect 'em to do?
No - they're not lending money to promote capitalist growth! - they're simply continuing to 'manufacture' financial instruments that'll get 'em all bonuses! - Even credit card rates are going up!
You're a business that needs cash flow?
Sorry.

One of the financial instruments employed by Enron was 'parking'.
Getting someone else to temporarily assume the risk of an asset, with the explicit guarantee that Enron would take that asset back at face-value as soon as the reporting period had ended.
Are the financial giants of Wall Street engaged in this fraudulent activity?
Just asking.
(We'll never know. Geithner is happy to let his Wall Street buds skate - no matter that we tax-payers get screwed!)

Those gun-toting folks at healthcare townhalls?
Me - I'd just as soon enlist 'em!
With income-inequality at an all-time high, I'm not all that unsympathetic to the idea that, "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
... tho' I don't believe the tyrants reside in the government, but in our financial system.

The last time I was a proponent of revolution was in high school.
You'd think age & experience would have tamed me.