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Stop protecting Wall Street ‘captains’

Whatever happened to expression, “The captain goes down with the ship”? Has this ancient maritime concept and tradition that “a sea captain that holds ultimate responsibility for both his ship and passengers will die trying to save either of them”? Predating the Titanic, it was expressed more directly as “the captain always goes down with the ship.” Or does this apply only to sailors and not landlubbers?

Example after example of Wall Street companies, proven explicitly in courts of law for the Great Recession crash five years ago, have virtually rescued complicit “captains” and “first mates” by allowing them to board life boats before passengers and then punishing the ship building company with exceedingly low pocket change fines and inconsequential penalties.

Rather than perpetuating the ongoing process of shielding those responsible for our economic distress in landlocked courthouses, shouldn’t we try these cases using the guidelines of Maritime Law? Perhaps we should follow the lead and example of Guantanamo.

James D. Cook

Schaumburg

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