Apparently, if you shill for the banks AND violate ethical standards set forth by the institution on whose board you sit, no one really cares. Not the editorial boards of newspapers. Not the transcribers of press releases (formerly known as "journalists"). Not elected officials. And not advocates for the public interest.

   Nope. The sound we hear is: crickets. Nothing.

   And it is a fine example about why the system is not changing.

   Yesterday, I wrote about the blatant ethical violations of Kathryn S. Wylde, a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In trying to silence and bully New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman into getting with the program and signing off on a "stay out of jail deal" for the banks involved in the "cash for trash" aka the subprime mortgage scandal that brought down our financial system, Wylde violated at least two ethical standards of the Fed:

  …As a Reserve Bank directorship is a form of public service, directors also must limit their participation in partisan politics. Specifically, directors should not engage in any political activity or serve in any public office where such activity or service might:

    *associate the Reserve Bank with any political party or partisan political activity;

    *raise questions as to the director’s independence and ability to perform the duties of his or her position with the System; or

    *bring embarrassment to the Reserve Bank or the Federal Reserve System.[emphasis added]

   The response?

   Not a single major traditional media outlet has done a single story digging into the clear ethical violations.

   No editorial board has called for her to resign.

   No elected official (as far as I know) has publicly called for her to step down.

   Why is this important?

   When a public official tries to do his or her job on behalf of the people, it is critical that the people–elected representatives, organizations who represent the people (like unions)–stand behind that person.

   Especially when an influential person, with a position of power, tries to scuttle the work of an elected official.

   Because other people watch what happens. And messages are sent. Lessons are learned over time by people in public office–lessons that dictate what they do in the future to cover their ass or survive.

   Indeed, Schneiderman has already taken a hit for being outspoken about the bad deal some people, including the Obama Administration, are ready to strike:

Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who is leading foreclosure settlement negotiations with the nation’s largest banks on behalf of all 50 states, abruptly removed New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman from the coalition’s executive committee Tuesday, saying he had “actively worked to undermine” the group’s efforts in recent months.

   Hey, let’s be realistic: did you think the banks weren’t going to play hardball?

   BUT…

   The question is: why are we letting this happen?

   Wylde is not the most central character in this scandal.

   She is a messenger.

   In this case, Wylde’s message was: don’t fuck with the banks. And if you do, we’ll come after you.

   Why aren’t there large press conferences on the steps of City Hall in New York demanding that Wylde resign?

   I understand why the press is mute–aside from the laziness of "journalists" (who can’t grasp a story that isn’t handed to them in a press release), Wylde is part of the power structure in the city. She has built the same local veneer as an oracle for business as Alan Greenspan did on the national scale…oh, right, a privilege given that arguably led us into the financial crisis we are now digging ourselves out of.

   But, if Wylde is not pushed out, then, we are letting the corruption continue.