[Mr. Jeeves]

Well, the fascist part is that despite all of the executive compensation, they are still running to the government and demanding to be indemnified against the cost of their bad business decisions. As long as the market is allowed to properly punish them for misallocating resources, how much they spend on perks is between them and their shareholders. But once the government is brought in it becomes a taxpayer issue.

[Orange1998]

Investors flock to the hedge funds because they are loosely regulated. When they are betting on a position they reap the rewards but when they get caught on the wrong side they plead for govt assistance.

[mysterio]

But once the government is brought in it becomes a taxpayer issue.

Well said. I feel the same way about companies declaring bankruptcy, splitting the spoils among top executives, and then dumping the pensions on the taxpayers. One company in my area did just that in 2004.