Friday, March 27, 2009

Hang 'Em High

For such a crisp thinker as Willem Buiter, these words, with which I agree, are extremely harsh:

Too many bank insiders have exploited their monopoly of information and the control it bestows on them, to enrich themselves by robbing their shareholders blind. There has been a spectacular failure of corporate governance. Boards have foresaken their fiduciary duties. Surely, even the liability insurance taken out by board members ought not to shelter those who are guilty of, at best, such willfull negligence and dereliction of duty? Where are the class actions suits by disgruntled shareholders? Where are the board members in handcuffs?

Now that there is no meat left on the shareholder drumstick, the rogue managers and employees are going after a piece of the really juicy bird - the ever-patient tax payer. I hope they choke on it.

Governance lies as the heart of the mess. It was broken before the house of cards collapsed, and it's broken now, too, because the people responsible for the status quo are either still in power, or not on trial, or both.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Oh sweet Jesus. This is so true, and it is so refreshing, in a nauseating kind of way, to hear someone say it. Can we get this through to the bought-and-paid-for schlubs we've elected, so that maybe they'll grow some stones and do what needs to be done?

Can Obama hear this through the facialled and waxed and manicured and collagened fog of pretty words from Mr. [Goldman Sachs] Rubin and Mr. [Goldman Sachs mentored] Geithner?

Can we all somehow get the administration to really, really listen to Elizabeth Warren?

Anyway, thanks for posting this, you rock.