Kropotkin, talking about rubbish - the Clinton government back in the late nineties instructed Freddie Mac and Fannie May (These are banks, I'm guessing by your tone you have no idea and get all your facts from the Age or SMH) to give loans to people who could not afford them otherwise, they were given QUOTAs for goodness sake to get poor people and the "disspossesed" into housing with "no docs" loans .. So it wasn't a lack of regulation you fool, it was over regulation .. go look up some facts for a change and don't come back till you do. Talk about stupid, you really have no idea do you.

The banks didn't want to loan to people with no credit rating - it's not how they work. You must be truelly ignorant to believe otherwise.

Anyway the point of this was the nitpicking of the author about paying politicians a decent wage. The people we entrust with BILLIONS of $ of our taxes and the education, health and defence of this country - and you all want to pay them peanuts and quibble about what bankers get paid.

No wonder we're in the mess we are - try to think of the big picture, have some vision for once in your petty little hateful lives.