[ by Larry Goldfarb ]

The House of Representatives report on the MF Global debacle seemed to lapse into finger pointing and child like tantrums.  The report cited the failure of the regulators and the mismanagement by the CEO, Jon Corzine, as contributing to the firm's bankruptcy and ultimate dissolution.  The central concern coming from the committee:  was the report a fair, balanced view of the proceedings or was it too partisan to be taking seriously.  Both Republicans and Democrats held firm to their positions.

The committee and the aftermath brought to mind the days when my child loved to play with the wooden miniature trains at FAO Schwartz in the Westchester Mall.  One afternoon, he was playing with the trains when another boy began playing next to my son.  After a couple of snide looks from my son, the other boy knocked over my son's creation;  this had the potential to cause a rumble with 4-year-olds.  The other boy's mother walked over finger pointing and I had to decide if this was going to escalate.  I had just acquired some brilliantly hot coffee and was in no mood for a protracted scuffle.  By the way, both kids were arguing, crying and fists were drawn.  

I then made one of the smartest comments I ever made as a parent.  I said, why not work together and build one gigantic tower for the trains, as opposed to two small ones.  The kids stared at me in wonder.  Even the mother seemed to pause and reflect at my suggestion.  The other mother and I got it started and then, well, the rest was coffee drinking heaven.  I mention this anecdote because what seems to come out of Washington are multiple small solutions that are exclusive and always fraught with bitterness.  Perhaps we could create one large "tower of a solution."