It's off to the Plaza for Cayne!

Were you ever the treasurer or your middle school french club? Or your neighborhood association? What do you suppose would happen if while you presided over such a group their treasury went from $1000 to $60. Do you think they'd pat you on the back, take you out for a cocktail, and keep you on? No? Well, add a few zeros to those numbers and you find the story of James Cayne, Bear Stearns chairman (he resigned as CEO in January).

This week Mr Cayne sold his stock in Bear Stearns for $61,000,000, which according to commentators was just a year ago worth $1,000,000,000. Yeah. That's a lot of zeros for the guy who oversaw the demise of this once "great" financial institution. Reports indicate that he sold because he needs some scratch for his newly purchased $28 million living space at New York's Plaza Hotel. I'm sure the Bear Stearns employees who saw their retirement accounts go from $100,000 to $6,000 are facing the same struggles. Oh wait, no they are selling Bear Stearns memorabilia on eBay.

It's just, well, it's obscene.