The AIG scandal makes one wonder what kind of goofy thinking is coming out of Washington. A few years ago there were two banks. One was Continental, which lavished its executives with all kinds of expensive perks. Another was Wells Fargo, a scrappy, hard-working company whose executive would pick the stuffing out of a broken part of his chair during staff meetings.

Guess which company did well? Continental went bankrupt, while Wells Fargo prospered. As a matter of fact, Wells Fargo stock has showed healthy gains over the last five years, except for the recent market downturn.

Now, let’s apply the current thinking in Washington to this situation: “Say, look at those two banks. I feel sorry for Continental. It’s obvious that Wells Fargo doesn’t need any help. Let’s tell Continental what we think of their excesses and throw lots of money at them. That will make them get better.”

“Great idea.”

Reminds me of a Rogers and Hammerstein tune that my mother used to sing, “Stick close to your desks and never go to sea, and they’ll make you ruler of the queen’s navy.”