I keep reading in the financial pages, 'How do we restore confidence in the economy?'  Easy, there's sure way, retorts Mrs. M, make the bankers, risky traders, hedgies, oligarchs accountable and punish them where it hurts, in their wallets.  The public needs to see this happening.  Then maybe investors will return.

I have harped on and on about this. It's no good talking about the era of mega-bonuses and huge salaries coming to an end. ‘When?' we ask.  We have to SEE it happening.  We want to know who caused this crisis, not just vague accusations against bankers, which bankers?  And how much did they ‘cream off?'  And what is being done about it?  These offenders are still driving around in their chauffeured limos, and they are still paying themselves and others excessive bonuses.  So are you surprised there is no confidence in the market?  Come off it!

The only people who don't seem to understand the scale of public and investor backlash are the bankers themselves.  They are still operating under a ‘sense of entitlement.'  As Charles Geisst said in his recent book, Wall Street:  A History. ‘Bankers now seem to be completely out of touch with the political and public mood.'  Get real boys!

One of the arch offenders in this group is John Thain, recently dispatched as head of Merrill Lynch, one of the banking disasters of the Meltdown.  Previous to that he was president of Goldman Sachs. One wonders if Goldman is a prep school for Greed.  Thain in his wisdom paid out billions of dollars in staff bonuses just as his bank was haemorrhaging money, and just before the acquisition of Merrill was about to close with Bank of America.  Merrill had just lost $27bn for the year.  Thank God, these bonuses are being investigated by New York Attorney General Cuomo.

The John Thains of this world claim as a justification for excesses that if they don't pay the bonuses, they will lose the talent.  Only bankers believe this.  We investors don't swallow that for a moment.  Where will the talent go?  And with thousands losing their jobs, there's plenty more talent where that came from.  The John Thains just want to perpetuate a system that has rewarded him beyond his wildest dreams.  He like other Goldman alumni, including Hank Paulson, ex-Sec of the Treasury, believe the market is there to be mined like King Solomon's mines.  They don't want the excesses stopped.  They don't want the market regulated.

And they wonder, eyes blinking in bewilderment, why we investors refuse to play ball.

Grow up, boys.