Hmm. You know, I don't remember the Washington Post going out on a limb to warn us about the consequences of invading Iraq, or the hazards of deregulation, or anything else that led us into this mess. But suddenly, they're very, very concerned about anything that impedes the ability of those working in the financial services industry to make outrageous profits at our expense.

So now they know what it's like to be on the losing side of the class war, huh?

In New Dilemma, Banks Cite Two Paths to Disaster

Some bank executives warned yesterday that the government is forcing them toward a disastrous choice between accepting restrictions on compensation that could cripple their ability to compete with rivals, or returning billions in federal aid, which could retard lending and damage the economy.

The possibility of a newly weakened banking industry also raised concerns among businesses in the wider economy that already are struggling to find financial firms willing to lend them needed money.

"We're all going to lose on this thing," said an executive at a large bank that took federal aid. He and other bankers expressed shock at the rapid progress of legislation that could impose large pay cuts on thousands of workers, and dismay that the industry is at the mercy of an angry Congress.

Some members of Congress, however, said those concerns were overstated and that limits on pay schemes tied to short-term profits were long overdue.

A wave of public fury, which is driving the bills before the House and Senate, was unleashed over the weekend by reports that American International Group had paid $165 million in retention bonuses to employees at the unit that gutted the company and forced a massive government intervention.

Let's Put Down the Pitchforks:

At the end of the day, the thing to get outraged about is not the $440 million in bonuses at AIG or the $10 million that Citigroup is spending to redesign its shrunken executive suite. These may seem like princely sums, but they are almost insignificant compared with the real outrage: the hundreds of billion dollars of taxpayer funds that have been put at risk to keep AIG and Citi from failing and taking the whole financial system down with them. Let's keep our attention on the elephant rather than the pimples on its behind.

[...] As the financiers see it, there's a big difference between the government that sets tough terms for participation in its financial rescue programs and a government that is a fickle and unreliable partner, that tries to micromanage their businesses and changes the rules of the game with every zig and zag of public opinion. That may be an exaggerated view, but it is the financiers' view and one we need to be mindful of, since at this point we need their money and cooperation as much as they need ours.

A final point on outrage: We need to save some of it for ourselves. While it was Wall Street that got rich by peddling new ways for Americans to live beyond their means, the decision to do so was ours. It was we who ran up the credit card bills, we who drew down the equity in our homes and we who refused to tax ourselves for the government services we demanded. Wall Street bankers may have been the pushers, but it was we Americans who became addicted to the easy credit.

Why, it's not the drug dealers who cause all the problems! It's the people buying the drugs!