I literally felt ill this afternoon as I listened to an NPR interview with David Viniar of Goldman Sach about the AIG payouts to them. Listen here, if you missed it..

Corporate narcissism apparently knows no bounds. We average joes are being forced to sacrifice as well, but we are also being asked to willingly sacrifice even more for the common good. And most of us understand and accept that imperative. These big corporations and the people who run them will sacrifice only what they are forced to sacrifice. The notion that there are both times and circumstances when their responsibility as corporate citizens should carry some measure of more weight than their perceived responsibility to their bottom line a notion that simply does not exist within their internal paradigm. They will make only forced sacrifices - forced by the market or by the government - .

I am pretty dumb about economics, but I do understand that it is in the best interests of all of us for business to do well. At least well-enough. But it is clear that many of these corporate types see it all as a one way street, and the rest of us are supposed to be pleased with what trickles back down the gutters and storm drains.