Former Chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, leaves Sing Sing prison after serving a sentence for financial naughtiness, 1941

I think all right-minded men can generally agree that the past few years have shown us that a rigid adherence to various forms of monetary and fiscal orthodoxy simply doesn’t work–people need to come together and give up a little here to get a little there–and be accommodating.  as for banking, as Dan and i chatted a little today, banking is about money–that’s why certain men go to city and wall street–to make money–as an abstraction that is fine–it is a career choice–as long as they operate in the law–if they do not, they belong in prison–additionally men of finance must be a part of the comprehensive solution to get employment and the generic economy back on track–these guys know a lot about money and its creative uses–I am not taken with the idea that all bankers–or politicians or government men are by definition evil–in fact most are not– bankers have merely chosen a field the sine qua of which is making money–if they are good at it–within the law–good for them–but they need to understand that their expertise is needed to solve the very real problems facing the generic economy and we need all the brain power we can scare up to successfully skin that vexing cat–all need to help out for the collective good.