Time to Punish Someone for Economic Disaster

Economists mostly agree that the financial situation is so dire that a bailout is needed, but many are skeptical about the one proposed. One of the biggest problems is the lack of punitive measures against the reckless, fat-salaried financial bosses who created the mess in the first place, experts tell the New York Times.

“It absolutely has to be punitive,” one analyst said. The bailout "isn’t a way to make these companies and their executives rich. This should be about keeping them in business so the financial system doesn’t collapse." The argument over cutbacks on executive pay is one of the main things stalling the bailout package in Congress. Some see disturbing echoes of the rush to war in Iraq in the White House pressure to pass a package immediately.
(More executive compensation stories.)