Not Bad for 3 Weeks of Work

Alan H. Fishman's world just changed drastically. He's the CEO of Washington Mutual, but not for long. The feds just brokered a deal for the failed commercial bank, selling its banking assets to JP Morgan for a song. This came as a surprise to Fishman, who was on his private jet flying from New York to Seattle at the time...and what a nice surprise it is...for Fishman:

Mr. Fishman, who has been on the job for less than three weeks, is eligible for $11.6 million in cash severance and will get to keep his $7.5 million signing bonus, according to an analysis by James F. Reda and Associates. WaMu was not immediately available for comment.

$19 million for three weeks of work? Not a bad gig, if you can get it. Where do I sign up? Oh yeah, that's right: you can't become a CEO unless you know the right people. Why is it that the rich can fail miserably and still make money, while the rest of us suffer even when we succeed? Could it be that the rich believe in Socialism for themselves? We know Henry Paulson does. He was the CEO of Goldman Sachs before becoming Treasury Secretary. And to pursue this noble career in public service, Paulson had to sell over half a billion dollars in Goldman stock. And according to some, he got to avoid paying capital gains on that sale:

One of the things they say is that, in leaving Goldman for government service, Paulson made the greatest trade of his life. Not only was he required to sell his half-billion dollars in Goldman stock near the high, but also, as Treasury Secretary, he was exempt from capital-gains taxes. By getting out of Goldman while the getting was good, the guy may have doubled his net worth.

WTF? I repeat: WTF? Paulson helps build Goldman's portfolio of bad loans built on a highly unregulated and speculative market, gets out while the getting is good, and avoids paying any capital gains taxes? WTF? I'm trying to verify that this is true...if so, it's an even greater outrage from the worst administration in American history.