The new Sophie's Choice

Oh these poor financial executives. Forced by their own incompetence to have the government fully fund their companies they are forced with a dilemma that is almost too difficult to comprehend. Do they accept government money and restrict bonus payments or do they give the money back and collapse? Truly a query that even King Solomon would have difficulty finding a solution to. It's just not as simple as sawing an infant in half.

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.

It's a fair tradeoff, you're mad at all the mad people and government for deigning to judge you, we're mad at all the apes in suits who collapsed the world economy. You're mad that all your "talent" might leave if you can't hand out exorbitant bonuses with government money and you'll lose to competitors. Here's the good news: all your competitors are also failing and taking government money, so no worries. I think it's nice to know that after all the damage you've caused you're all still thinking about how your failures affect your own pay and not, you know, the collapsing world economy.

This article is one of my favorite types of new financial collapse journalism. It's one where we're repeatedly told that the only sensible way forward is to give financial companies free money but to also let them pay their employees exorbitantly and any restrictions and scrutiny is coached in fear about what chilling effect it will have. News flash: you've just enacted history's biggest financial collapse, the solution was never going to be 'let things go on as they were, only with the masses subsidizing the corporate elite". The faster you come to that conclusion the faster I can stop gouging out my own eyes every time I have to read one of these "Will no one think of our moneyed whore elite?" articles.