Recession Villains: Who Will Be Blamed Next?

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2009— -- With the economy mired in a 15-month-long recession, government bailout programs marred by fraud, executives at ailing banks collecting million-dollar bonuses, and investors irate about money lost to Ponzi schemes, there is plenty of blame to go around. And not a week seems to go by without the public picking a new person to point the finger at.

"What happened is our sense of fairness and justice has been deeply offended and now we feel vengeful and vindictive," said Dan Ariely, author of "Predictably Irrational," a book that explores the causes of everyday behaviors.

Early this month it was Bernie Madoff, who schemed investors out of $65 billion. Two weeks ago it was Jim Cramer, the CNBC talk show host eviscerated by Comedy Central's Jon Stewart. Last week it was Edward Liddy, CEO of AIG, who dished out $165 million in bonuses to executives at the bailed-out insurance giant.

So, who's next in line?

Some Republicans have directed criticism at Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, calling for him to resign for not stopping the AIG bonus payments.

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has come under fire for a change in the stimulus bill that scrapped a measure that would have prevented the AIG bonuses. Former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, a champion of de-regulation when he was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee that Dodd now leads, was recently selected -- in a TIME magazine vote -- the person most blameworthy for the economic crisis.

While no one is comparing Geithner, Dodd, and Gramm to Madoff, Cramer and Liddy, analysts say Americans want to get revenge for the economic crisis.

"The question is who can we exhibit revenge against?" said Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University. "How can you get revenge on a system? It's just not something we're used to. It's just not something we're designed to do. Institutions are relatively recent inventions in our history and we're not designed to feel revenge against institutions. Individuals, yes."

Madoff incited fury with his $65 billion Ponzi scheme. Before he appeared in a New York City courthouse to plead guilty earlier this month, the outrage of victims came to a boil.

"I'm thinking of it in terms of the 18th century trials in England where crowds of people would gather and throw stones," Manhattan resident Helen Chaitman said.