Big shots on Wall Street, in Congress still don't get it

I thought this was a very interesting OpEd piece.

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20 ... 05/OPINION

'Shameful'
Big shots on Wall Street, in Congress still don't get it

Bad habits are hard to break, but some people in America's corporate and political worlds don't even seem to be trying in the midst of the worst economic calamity since the Great Depression.

* Speaking of bonuses for failure, the brokerage units along Wall Street lost more than $35 billion last year - and doled out an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses.

Now, there are two ways to look at those bonuses. They represent a 44 percent decline from the previous year - which as New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli pointed out means a loss of about $1 billion in state revenue and $275 million in New York City revenue in income taxes.

The same prescription can be written for Congress, where bad habits also abound.

New York's Charles Rangel and five other Democratic members of the House enjoyed a trip to the Caribbean sponsored in part by Citigroup (see above) in November - after Congress had approved the $700 bailout for financial firms (including Citigroup).