Today's Outrage: Justice for Madoff?

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Convicted swindler Bernard Madoff is dominating the financial news today with everyone debating what punishment fits the crime.

In the end, the judge sentenced Madoff to 150 years in prison.

Madoff's lawyer had pleaded for restraint in the punishment, saying 12 years in prison for a 71-year-old man is appropriate, while many victims of one of history's biggest Ponzi schemes wanted the judge to throw the book at him.

This is all we're going to hear about today. I guess that's because this is the rarest of moments amid all the recent financial mayhem -- someone is finally facing some consequences for his misdeeds.

As I type this, I am joining the hype and hysteria despite my intention of talking us all down. I don't mean to downplay the pain and financial suffering this man caused to so many people with his multi-billion dollar investment ruse, and I regret that some have even taken their own lives due to the ruination delivered so callously by Madoff. But the money is gone and this saga is played out.

Now that the sentencing is done, the angry mob should disperse and we should all get back to business.

Sadly, there is too little to distract us today.

The $3.5 billion merger of Management consulting firms Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby and Watson Wyatt Worldwide(WW Quote) hasn't been enough to divert our attention.

We're getting no buzz over reports that UBS (UBS Quote) may be close to settling a civil case with the U.S. government for allegedly helping U.S. citizens hide their money from the taxman.

Few are giving much heed to news that Microsoft (MSFT Quote) is looking to sell its Internet ad agency Razorfish.

There is simply a dearth of financial news that can overshadow the Madoff sentencing.

Perhaps in the end, that's OK. This should not be treated as just another example of how excessive greed horribly screwed up our entire financial system.

We all need a reminder that there are consequences for bilking investors and that this is more than a mere white collar crime -- real people's lives were ruined. We haven't seen so much proof of the consequences during the bailout of our financial sector.