I watched CNBC all last week, more than I'd ever watched it before. I watched the metamorphosis of several financial brands go from "long-standing" "traditional" "prudence" "reliability". The moniker of "trust" that was once associated with brands like Lehman-Brothers, AIG went down the toilet (with WaMu, Merrill Lynch and other old-money-name sounding financial brands closely behind). I watched and listen to the blame game: Republican lawmakers and conservative financial analysts pointing fingers at the Dems and slapping the wrists of corporation heads by saying, well, this is the fallout of good, solid corporations trying to get into the subrime mortgage game and lending to non credit worthy consumers who default on their mortgage loans (true). I watched the Dems wag their fingers right back and say: Did you take a gander at the bonuses for the CEOs for some of these same financial corps even when they knew the subprime industry was going downhill? (Uh...also true.) Now ex-AIG CEO is refusing a $22 million dollar payout. That would be most prudent at this juncture.
I watched and watched...like an episode of a juicy, pathetic soap opera. With my eyes wide shut.
