Self-righteous Fury!

Nothing brings out self-righteous fury like finally finding a villain. That's been the problem with this darn economic crisis. There aren't any easy villains. But now we have them! Those dastardly financial "wizards" over at AIG in the financial products division.

Can you believe that the executives at AIG had the nerve to honor the contracts their employees had signed? I mean, in a crisis, small things like the rule of the law shouldn't get in the way of us finding a scapegoat.

The whole situation is disgusting. First, the fact that the bonuses for these employees were not performance based. Trust me, AIG gave out those bonuses only because they were contractually obligated, not out of some dastardly underhanded attempt to get their employees rich at the expense of the country.

Second, the ignorant public that is furious at a situation that very few of them actually understand. And of course the press which loves an easy story to sell the outrage.

Third, the grandstanding politicians who are climbing on themselves to outdo each other in degree of rage.

Where is truth in all this? Hard to fine, in Washington or elsewhere. Listen, the law sometimes obligates us to do things that are not pleasant, like give bonuses to people that don't deserve them. But it is a better thing to honor the law than to bend it to please the anger of many.