Merchants of Menace

Democrats were reported this weekend to be attempting to block bonuses to executives of firms involved in the Wall Street bailout. This makes sense as they were culpable for the risky practices that led to the bailout in the first place, but Democrats also wanted the rescued companies to cancel dividends which often punishes investors who had no say in whether the companies delved in to exotic vehicles on the sub-prime market. Democrats have called investors "speculators" diminishing what they were doing and even President Bush has parroted them. Many of these so-called speculators were buying and holding their shares for decades relying on the dividends for large portions of their incomes. They were not casino-type gamblers in a get rich quick scheme. They too were misled by executives who suggested these companies were financially sound and not at risk. Weep not for corrupt executives but wail for your 401K.