Wall street bashing is all the rage in Washington these days. That's understandable, given that financial excesses played a serious role in starting the recession and that some of the firms that have gotten billions of taxpayer dollars are also paying out billions in compensation.rnBut so far, all Washington has done is enact high-profile but ineffective pay caps and rant about symbols like former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain's $1.2 million office-decorating bill. (I explain why the pay curbs are ineffective at fortune.com/sloan.) So what could our national leaders do to show that they're interested in substantive reforms that would risk annoying the powers that be, as opposed to engaging in politically safe symbolism?
展开▼
