Friday, April 23, 2010

Why is this woman smiling?


An SEC accountant attempted to access porn websites 1,800 times in a two-week period and had 600 pornographic images on her computer hard drive.

That's from ABC's story, SEC Pornography Problem. This expose reveals that the Securities and Exchange Commission was distracted by porn in 2008, when they should have been warning us that our financial world was melting.

I know there are some, perhaps even many, who are outraged. So why does this amuse me?

• It's usually funny when sex makes people act stupid. And somehow horny federal accountants seem especially humorous.

• It says she "attempted" to access the website, which implies she failed. This makes it even more funny/stupid.

• The accountant is a woman, which means we have reached equality when it comes to our appetite for smut.

I just don't get it

I try and try, but I don't understand what's happening with financial reform. I listen to Secretary Geitner, Chase's Jamie Dimon, and others who are undoubtedly smarter than I am. And I still don't get it.

I believe some companies are "too big to fail." The people who work at those companies have families and mortgages and need their benefits. If the companies fail, I'm supporting these people with my tax dollars anyway. I'd rather my fellow citizens work. So whether it's GM or Citibank, it doesn't bother me when the government bails a ginormous company out. I just hope that the boards get canned and the loans are paid back. Accountability -- I'm all for it.

Even thinking about all this makes me tired and sad, though. I keep hoping for better days so this conversation is irrelevant.