Poor Bernie Madoff. The man has been ordered to spend 150 years in the hoosegow. What for? Who did he kill? A century and a half seems a little excessive for a financial crime. You could hold up three liquor stores and rape a whole convent and still not get 150 years. With a little bit of good lawyer-ing, a history of child abuse in the family, and good behavior in the big house, you'd be back on the street in 18 months.Bill Bonner puts the evil of the century into perspective.
But all the papers seem delighted. "Locked up for Life!" says one of today's headlines. The judge "threw the book at him," says another. His victims wanted him to get no mercy. The judge gave him none, imposing the maximum sentence. He is "extraordinarily evil," said the man on the bench.
Justice has been done. Right? ......
But, what is the point of keeping Madoff in prison? He represents no threat. Rather than pay $30,000 per year to keep him locked up, we suggest that he be forced to do community service work. He should be pressed into service as the next head of the Federal Reserve after Ben Bernanke's term expires in December. With Madoff in the big office, there would be no longer any illusions about what sort of bank the Fed is running.
Power and Authority
-
The Bible makes a helpful distinction between “authority” and “power”. Some
disagreements would disappear, if the terms were defined more clearly and
“po...
1 day ago
2 comments:
Good to read a perspective like that. Thanks for the link. The ridiculously long sentence was no doubt in response to public opinion, in turn, driven by media sensationalizing the story. The media all too often convince people what they should and should not be outraged about. In the U.S., if you assault our "media-given" sensibility, we'll "Hang Ya High!". Thus the black man in the ghetto gets a long sentence for a crack cocaine conviction, but a middle class car salesman gets only probation for powder cocaine.
Great links on the Blessed Economist site yesterday. It will take me awhile to work my way through all that. I had never even heard of Rushdoony.
Thanks again.
He should be given the opportunity to take the highest paying job possible, with the income going to his victims. This story just shows Americans' drive for punitive retribution rather than true justice.
Post a Comment