For Wall Street, Greed Was Not Good Enough

nytimes.com — As long as people are compensated hugely for taking risks with other people’s money, and do not suffer equally on the downside, then those risks will inevitably become outrageous. If there’s a way for someone to make money at another’s expense, he will. In spades. So where next? And, most important, what should be done? To get to the root of the matter, we have to address the bad side of greed. We know from Ivan Boesky and Gordon Gecko that greed can be good. Greed makes the world go around; it makes people take risks that ultimately lead to economic or scientific advances. But the greedy must also face the consequences of taking those risks.

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