Bonnie And Clyde Live On

Sympathy for outlaws thanks to greedy bankers

"Is America witnessing the return of the bank robber as local hero? Seventy-five years after Bonnie and Clyde were dispatched in a hail of Tommy-gun bullets, the FBI is reporting a spike in bank robberies. And as long as the only victim is the bank's cash, there are indications that there is some sympathy for the robbers.
Which is hardly surprising when Americans get a report in the New York Times saying that Wall Street 'financial workers' - bankers, brokers, Masters of the Universe - awarded themselves $18.4bn in bonuses last year. It is a breathtaking figure - and most of it was paid after the financial crisis had become apparent.
Think of it as a chunk of a $700bn bail-out package from the taxpayers. Think of it as a proportion of the $35bn flushed down the khazi last year by the brokerage departments alone of the big banks playing roulette on Wall Street. And add this detail from the survey behind yesterday's Times story: 45 per cent of Wall Streeters declared themselves 'dissatisfied' with their 2008 bonus."

Pretty Boy Floyd by Woody Guthrie



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