Wall Street Bankers - Can someone list names and charges?
It's one thing to say, "Them bastards! They oughta be in jail!"
The reality is, to put someone in jail, properly and morally correctly, you need to have specific charges of violations of the criminal code. You need sound evidence and/or testimony that can convince a jury of 12 citizens, with a wide range of experiences, personalities, and intellectual abilities, of the guilt of the defendant.
Guy pulls a gun in a liquor store in front of 2 witnesses and 3 security cameras - that's an easy sell.
But in the complex world of banking and financial securities, it is often not as clear who committed specific violations. I have no doubts that a lot of the crap that helped bring down the economy was either legal, or the people doing it were unaware that it was illegal.
Maybe a few of the worst, sloppiest offenders might spend some time in jail. And there's nothing wrong with wanting accountability. But for those of you dreaming of tens of thousands of bank presidents, managers, loan officers, stock brokers, etc spending their gray years sitting in a prison cell: Sorry, it ain't happening. Move on, go forward, help fix the broken stuff around you. And if you REALLY want to get some real offenders in jail: Learn the laws, do some civilian level investigating of specific cases. You obviously have Internet if you are reading this, so TRUST - the information is out there if you are willing to put in some effort. "Go to school" on financial fraud, get some names and details, then push the appropriate officials to do something.
Remember: Saying "Something needs to be done" is not the same as doing something about it.
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