However, as the stink wafted across the land, taxpayers crinkled up their noses and said "wait a damn minute!"
The media, sensing eeevil Wall Street blood in the water, attacked with a vengeance. The politicians jumped up on their pork barrels and danced a jig, pointing fingers and shrieking when the traders fulfilled their part of contract and asked to be paid. The witch hunt was on. The hysteria grew. Special, targeted punitive taxes were proposed to rake back some of the questionable booty.
Among people familiar with the Constitution and the contract clause encoded within, the household Robot B-9 began flashing and turning in mad circles: "Danger, Will Robinson! Danger Will Robinson!" Contracts must be fulfilled, no matter how pungent their odor.
The traders are still stomping around their richly appointed offices, feeling scapegoated and unappreciated. As far as I know, they were paid the boatloads of cash spelled out in their contract, but oh! Where were the accolades from an ungrateful nation? Where is the worship, the ticker-tape parades, the baseball cards with their pictures tucked in among slabs of bubble gum?
In James Michener's opus "Cheasapeake", his character Simon Steed was instrumental in helping Washington and the young rebel colonies throw off the yoke of British oppression. After the war ended, many gentlemen of Steed's station received honorable postings as the new government was formed. Washington, when approached by Steed for such a posting, recoiled in horror, for it was common knowledge that Simon Steed had profited outrageously from the war, while his fellow Americans sacrificed and suffered. Because of his greed, Steed became a pariah among his honorable fellows.
The traders at AIG have their mountains of money, plucked from the pockets of besieged taxpayers at a time when our nation is teetering on the edge of a financial abyss. Let them be content with our money. They will never have our approbation.
In this article at WaPo, a trader states:
Another was even more irate, lashing out at the public for scapegoating AIG employees. "To be honest with you, I really hope it blows up. I think the U.S. taxpayer deserves to lose a trillion dollars over this thing for the way they have behaved."
Really? Did someone say something? Must be the wind....
Gee, this post was a big hit. ;P
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note: I learned something new yesterday. Never work on a kitchen-painting project with an inquisitive two-year-old underfoot!
The paint washed off her little hands. The tiny prints next to the window sill? Priceless. :)
Lady Red, I think that there are some posts that are read with great interest, but there is little to which we can add -- and that tends to be posts that are, for lack of a better term, of a "technical" nature. I would not take that as a sign of lack of interest.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, it would have been a nose print.