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The junk-mortgage meltdown we are now facing is the latest such scandal, which demonstrates the embarrassing eagerness of our present government to bend over backwards to avoid proper regulation of business, to the benefit of the same businessmen who also contribute heavily to the election campaigns of the politicians responsible for the lack of regulation, and to the great risk of the customers of these businesses, their employees and investors, and the economy itself.
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Exactly. And not only will the general public suffer due to the economic turmoils this mess has created, but we as tax payers will ultimately "pick up the tab" for many of these company's mistakes. A double whammy.

I heard a quote a few weeks ago from someone in the analyst business that basically said many of these powerful corporations have a win-win policy - that is, they institute ridiculous schemes and if it turns out great, THEY win, and if it turns out terrible, the taxpayers will bail them out, and THEY win again.