May 22, 2011
When I see so many competent and self-reliant people being "collateral damage" in the fallout from the recession, I am angered at the high-rollers who caused it and who continue to be obscenely rewarded by great wealth while going back to the same disastrous practices. Those at the top of that financial ponzi scheme who knew it would collapse after they cashed in should not only lose their jobs, they should be prosecuted.
Those who did not realize what the effects would be should at least lose their jobs. Whether they are incompetent or immoral, no one believes anymore that these "leaders" deserve to thrive at our expense.
We need to change incentives so Wall Street doesn’t collapse our economy again. One way would be for regulators to set up a way for shareholders to take back ill-gotten gains. For example, if the profits in a given year were built on shoddy practices that become clear in the out-years, those bonus payments should at least be forfeited.
I hope you will act to enforce conservative and fiscally sound practices to restore public trust.
Roxanne Fand