The problem with Madoff

The media is in a frenzy this morning, going all OJ on Madoff as he heads downtown for his guilty plea. The story will dominate the news all day

The problem? Well, I have two: 1. It's not that big a story, and certainly no longer news. He's just a common criminal (albeit one more successful for longer than most) 2. More insideously, it affords the media the pretense that it's actually 'reporting' on the economic meltdown.

The fact that the loathsome Madoff exists is bad enough. Good riddance to the guy, and let's hope he descends into the seventh circle of hell. But what's worse is that his existence clouds the much larger and much more disturbing story of the near-willful destruction of the US financial system by thousands of incompetent-if-not-criminal bankers who are still at large. That story will be with us for years, and will affect the livelihoods of folks all over the planet. But it's not as simple to tell, as there are no cars to chase.

But if you must follow cars, think of this: as Madoff is being chased down the FDR Drive, bankers in Westchester and Greenwich (who were 'bullish on housing' in January 2007) are warming up their BMWs as we speak, and heading down to Wall St as they do each and every day, fully prepared to perpetuate their ongoing crimes. Add up all the day-to-day 'ordinary' actions of these folks and you make Madoff look like a petty thief......

Thus far, these upstanding bankers have conspired to cause $3.7Trillion in losses, and to force the Feds to spend $2Trillion (thus far) to keep the nation from collapsing. Maybe some sort of Nuremberg trial is needed, once we dispense of Madoff? You know who they are - those 'ordinary' and 'innocent' co-conspiritors who willfully looked he other way while endlessly enriching themselves.

That would be a trial worth televising