“First, most of the “wealthy elite” are that wealthy and elite because they’ve focused their lives on maximizing returns. Any “rah rah America” stuff you hear is from the very few who venture into the political arena.”

That’s a misunderstanding of how most of the wealthy elite in the world attained their wealth, not to mention a head in the sand attitude with regard to the marriage between big industry and government in this country.

“Second, why do bonuses HAVE to be more reasonable? Where do you want that profit to go? Is it better for society and the economy if GS leaves it around as excess and unused capital, or if they pay substantial bonuses to a lot of people, each of whom (presumably) is going to look to parlay it by investing?”

Here’s my question as an answer: Which creates a greater overall economy, large bonuses to 5% of a company, or spreading that profit around more (but not totally) evenly amongst every last member of the corporate “team”, from the Prez to the Janitors? I think that giving more people some wealth to spend creates more economy than lots of wealth for some to maybe spend.

“Third, your Madoff reference makes you seem like a kook. Are you suggesting GS’ profits are fictional and that they keep two sets of books? Or was that a random and bizarre outburst?”

Sure there’s some Frank Thomas’ out there. But most of them, to one degree or another, whether they get caught or not, are Barry Bonds / Mark McGuire / Sammy Sosa / Ralph Palmiero / A-Rod. Calling people who call out the truth “kooks”, lumping them in with UFO hunters and what have you is the oldest trick in the book. Corrupt business is easy, and if you want to name a forum where we can discuss it in detail, I’d be thrilled to do so.