Shame on Who?

I have a "Yes We Can Opener" to commemorate Obama's presidency. I got it at Stupid.com. I'm not ashamed to share that with you (or it with you--c'mon over!). But Mr. Obama is ashamed: of you!

Yes, he's a little upset about the Wall Street bonuses paid for 2008. Well, even though this topic is of no value to you and will not broaden your understanding of current and changing compliance obligations, I feel like talking about it. It's my blog: I'll cry if I want to.

Is the car factory worker to blame for the auto industry's failure? Is the farmhand at fault for the effect of subsidies on our crop market inefficiencies? No. Then why are our brokers blamed for this big financial crisis we're in? Every work day last year these folks got to work by 7:30 or 8:00 a.m. , dressed quite well, by the way, and worked until an hour or two after market closing. They did what was expected of them from on-high: they bought, sold and bartered their way through the day so as to make their bosses happy. They invented or used flashy software tools, trading algorithms and order management systems in order to efficiently get the job done. They did it with skill and enthusiasm...not because they wanted to take down the free market system, but because they wanted to get paid. In their (your) world, they get paid at year-end. They all know it's coming, so they live accordingly. I would do the same. But now comes the end of the world as we know it, and some of us decide to blame the baby in addition to the bath water. What were these legions of Wall Street workers supposed to do? Fall on their superiors' swords? Not expect to get paid for a year's worth of toil and trauma? I don't think so. Yes, they can now all adjust their expectations for 2009: the gig's up. And yes, senior management--the guys/ladies who made the decisions that directly fed our slots-like odds of failure--they should go without their '08 bonuses. They can put their gold in pre-paid envelopes and walk to the post office. Responsibility for this mess falls on those at the top.

Wait, if you're conjuring WWII images, don't. Soldiers know slaughter is wrong; most brokers don't have the tools or knowledge necessary to morally object to their crimes. Or didn't. Now they do. This transition to less fun, less money and great social responsibility will be tough for brokers. I wish you well. And I wish Obama a stronger will to avoid rhetoric.

If you stop by to use my Yes We Can opener, we'll be drinking Iron City. (The Steelers six pack is in the house.)