Bashing Capitalism for Votes

I know Americans are as furious as I am that AIG would pay bonuses out of one hand, while the other hand is taking billions from the government. And those who made stupid mistakes should not be rewarded. Any who committed crimes should be prosecuted.

But this Wall Street bashing has gone too far. A lot of pandering politicians find it easier to blame Wall Street for bringing down capitalism, when it is capitalism that will save Wall Street.

First, it was the Obama Administration, its Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and democrat Senator Chris Dodd who first approved those bonuses, citing contractual obligations. But after the media showed its bright spotlight on the bonuses, the politicians ran for cover under the shade of a Washington tradition, the blame game.

Many of those bonuses were paid in lieu of salaries and only if their divisions made money. Some did, and should legally be rewarded according to their contracts. Those that did not should return their bonuses. But for decades many on Wall Street took very small salaries, hoping for big bonuses.

That contributed to an atmosphere rife with risk. Take more risk. Make more money. Without regulation, no one was watching the store. Problems surface years later, long after bonus payday. Hopefully, more thoughtful regulation will solve that oversight.

But now the reactive mood in Washington seems to be that all bonuses are bad business, and all executives are being paid far too much. That attitude flies in the face of the notion that you should be rewarded for your efforts. And letting government decide how much you can earn sets this country on a slippery slope to socialism.

Now is the time for cooler heads to prevail. Sure we’ve made mistakes. Arrogance and greed became far too prevalent on Wall Street and Main Street. But we are still the wealthiest and most successful country in the world. We did not get there by bashing capitalism, but by embracing it.

(Brian Banmiller is a national Business Correspondent for CBS News Radio, free lance writer and public speaker. The former television business news anchor in San Francisco can be reached at brian@banmilleronbusiness.com .)