Bernard Madoff is “slime, sleaze, scum, etc.,” said Patrick Edaburn in The Moderate Voice, and “I am thrilled beyond words” that after confessing to 11 counts of fraud Thursday, he went straight to jail, where he will likely spend the rest of his life. But it’s hard to accept that his unfortunate victims were “completely innocent dupes.” It didn’t "set off alarm bells” with these investors that no matter the market conditions, they always got double-digit returns?
Americans who’ve been hit by the market crash probably took “vicarious pleasure” in seeing Madoff plead guilty, said USA Today in an editorial. But the “sad fact” is that the “great harm” done to the markets was not caused by criminals like Madoff, but by the financial players who, legally, are guilty only of incompetence: bank boards and executives, investment bankers, mortgage brokers, and many others.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why ghost guns are so easy to make — and so dangerousThe Explainer Untraceable, DIY firearms are a growing public health and safety hazard
-
The Week contest: Swift stimulusPuzzles and Quizzes
-
'It's hard to resist a sweet deal on a good car'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
