The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

In fact, someone has gotten worked up about the low-balled high incomes: the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a D.C.-based research group. The CBPP has been complaining about the Census data for years, griping not only about the $999,999 cap but also about the Bureau's exclusion of capital gains from household income.

"The census data has useful information," says Isaac Shapiro, a CBPP senior fellow. "But at the high end, it's not useful."

Based on Congressional Budget Office data, the CBPP says the average household after-tax income in the top 1% of the population tripled from $286,000 in 1979 to $863,000 in 2000, while the lowest fifth of the population saw household income rise a mere $1,100 to $13,700 over the same time period.

Put that in your Gini Index and smoke it.

2. Might as Well Face It, You're Addicted to Money

So much going on this week. Former Credit Suisse First Boston banker Frank Quattrone goes on trial. John Reed takes charge at the New York Stock Exchange. Rock star Robert Palmer dies. Ex-Tyco chief Dennis Kozlowski goes on trial. It's too much for one person to follow.

Yes, as this screen shot from Yahoo! (YHOO Quote) News indicates, it's hard to keep all the stories straight.

You Like to Think That You're Immune to the Stuff It's closer to the truth to say you can't get enough

But this multimedia convergence of Robert Palmer and Dennis Kozlowski does make us wonder. Given the choice, would you rather have a grand and glorious time as a rock star in a cool suit, and then die at the age of 54? Or would you rather have a grand and glorious time as an allegedly larcenous CEO of a multinational corporation, and then go to jail at the age of 56, your legacy sealed as one of the most notorious greedheads of the turn of the century?

As Palmer once sang, "You can't sleep. You can't eat. There's no doubt. You're in deep."