Graft and Greed in America?

No, not Africa. Here.

This is taken from a letter our governor sent to Henry Paulson (US Treasury Secretary). Does it make your blood boil, too? How long before greed destroys us?

· Carolina First CEO Mack Whittle retired sooner than expected. Some have surmised that Whittle’s retirement date was moved up so that his bank could apply for federal bailout money while Whittle retained his “golden parachute.” The estimated value of Whittle’s retirement package is $18 million; the deal would have been compromised if the bank had asked for a taxpayer bailout before Whittle left.

· The Federal Reserve is putting $150 billion, $27 billion more than previously extended, into AIG after an initial bailout attempt failed to stem massive losses. After the initial bailout in September, AIG treated some staff members to spa retreats in California ($440,000) and a hunting trip in England ($500,000).

· The Wall Street Journal reported last week that some $40 billion is being paid to executives of banking giants that are getting bailout payments. On top of that, Bloomberg reported that the Federal Reserve is refusing to identify who is getting $2 trillion in emergency loans.

Maybe we should slow down. We're trusting Congress to regulate, right? I'm not feeling too confident . . . .