And not paragraphs before he states:
Richard Fuld, the former chief executive of Lehman Brothers, E. Stanley O’Neal, the former chief executive of Merrill Lynch, and Charles O. Prince III, Citigroup’s chief executive, may have paid themselves humongous sums of money at the end of each year, as a result of the bond market bonanza. But if any one of them had set himself up as a whistleblower – had stood up and said “this business is irresponsible and we are not going to participate in it” – he would probably have been fired. Not immediately, perhaps. But a few quarters of earnings that lagged behind those of every other Wall Street firm would invite outrage from subordinates, who would flee for other, less responsible firms, and from shareholders, who would call for his resignation. Eventually he’d be replaced by someone willing to make money from the credit bubble.
He seems to forget that the Washington power brokers are all bought and paid-for by these firms they are supposed to regulate and protect us from. If the senators start whistle blowing, their re-election money will dry up and they will be replaced by someone willing to play ball.
In the immortal words of perhaps the funniest video game ever: “There will be cake.”
Also, the credit-ratings agencies are all government sponsored.