Later today, or possibly on Tuesday, I'm going to watch the movie "The Smartest Men in the Room".

I can't help but wonder...what is the appropriate punishment for being instrumental in severly damaging the economy of your country?  I know, they'll probably get 12 or so years of prison...but what does that do?  What will it teach them?  Nothing, most likely.

My friend Karen thinks they should have to do menial labor for minimum wage.

That's an idea.  Make them work at McDonalds and pay rent and buy food and send their children to school in the clothes you can buy on minimum wage.  Make them stand in line at public offices looking for assistance.  Have them sit with their child in the emergency room for hours and hours and hours because the child has an ear infection and the emergency room is the only place you can go that has to treat you with or without insurance.

Let them get to know bright young kids with big dreams working two 15-hour a week jobs so they can go to a public college and maybe someday make 30-50 thousand dollars a year.  Let them work with the fry-cook who builds computers in his garage and sells them on the side...or the retiree who mans the cash register because some corporate brass-hole stole his pension.

Nah...it'll never work.  They can't learn compassion.  Just clap 'em in irons and put them in a real prison.  Something drab, and dull and common.  Make them eat in a mess hall with hundreds of other men that they would normally not even bother to look at.

I don't know what you could possibly do to wring some remorse and contrition out of their hearts.  I can't think of a thing that would help all those people who lost their pensions and their livelihoods in the scandal.

There's not really anything that can "make it right".  I guess that's life...

But at the very least, we get to say "They're guilty".  And that's a start.