Billions gone

By MARC MEWSHAW | July 11, 2012

So what will come of the JPMorgan debacle? A couple token heads will roll. Iskal, the London Whale, will be harpooned and his blubber rendered into lamp oil that will briefly stoke the flame of populist outrage. Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JP Morgan, much vaunted for his risk-averse stewardship of the company, will be bloodied but unbowed. Life will go on; flagrant liberties will continue to be taken with your money.

If only there were some way to prevent this kind of balls-out proprietary trading that got us into a recession in the first place. Ah, yes — there is. It's called the Volcker Rule, and is currently tied up in congressional wrangling. Call me dumb, but isn't it about time we learned our lesson?

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Topics: The Editorial Page , Money, JP Morgan, billions

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