From the Morning Desk - Shame Works!

You know, a lot has been said about what banks should do with the government money and what they shouldn’t do. And there has been a lot of debate on both sides. Most politically correct people would say that both groups make good points. But they don’t. They are idiots.

More regulation means more bank lawyers will figure out how to skirt the law. Less regulation (well we know how that turned out). But there is a third option that a few people are talking about. It’s shame.

And it works. Don’t believe me? Well, it was shame that cancelled Citigroup’s $50 million dollar jet. Who could forget John Thain’s $1 million dollar office renovation? Thain said that he would refund Merrill out of his own pocket, after the embarrassing story became front page news. And of course, AIG was lambasted for their little $440,000 relaxation retreat. You can be sure they won’t do that again. Bank CEO's are all forgoing bonuses, as it's not worth the grief of having to publicly defend it.

But now, we seem to have one problem child. Northern Trust. Apparently, they said that they didn’t need a handout in the first place, so it was alright to spend some of it on a big party. What? That’s your response? But more importantly, if other banks sense that a more aggressive “fuck-you taxpayer” media approach works, we won’t see any more results from public shaming. It’s time for the government to step up and call Northern Trust’s bluff. Demand repayment immediately!

Of course, yesterday John Mack from Morgan Stanley announced that they would still sponsor the upcoming golf tournament (that’s fine, it’s advertising), but that they would not send any executives or big clients there, on the company dime. Good for you, John! Folks, this guy gets it. Times are changing and Morgan Stanley is adapting.

And for the first time in America, shaming appears to be working.

Folks, this is Johnny Newsmaker signing off. We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming… "The Crying Game 2 - Wall Street & Main Street" only on Ranting-TV…