St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church

Bear Stearns has gone from $143 a share to $2 a share. It will be sold for $270 million dollars. The employees often have 30% of their stocks in the company.

One commentator on NPR remarked that the financial system was based fundamentally on trust, although the incentive structure was based on short-term personal gain. The combination creates deception.

Who pays?

Perhaps there was some employee who sold his stock options and is living in a modest apartment in Yonkers, drives a used car and has invested in triple A municipal bonds. Those would be the ones who survive.