Conflict(s) of Interest + Malpractice =

Wrong Doctor, Wrong Prescription?

"No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." --Albert Einstein

Imagine that your doctor, over the course of a year in which your health steadily deteriorated, misdiagnosed gallstones as an ulcer; botched an operation to repair torn knee ligaments, leaving you hobbled; and was surprised that your difficulty breathing turned out to be pneumonia.

Now, the same doctor says you need emergency open heart surgery to open your dangerously clogged arteries. Or you'll die. Very soon.

Oh, and your doctor spectacularly overcharged for all the above-mentioned procedures, and, along with his partners, owns the medical practice that profited (or did, before he sold his interest for $600 million).

Lucrative Practice

It would certainly give you pause. You might even consider getting a second (or third) opinion. Or, when you come to your (remaining) senses . . . firing the doctor and getting a new one who's actually skilled, as well as honest.

In this case, the doctor is Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson; the medical practice is Wall Street -- specifically firms like Goldman Sachs (which Paulson ran before becoming Treasury Secretary); and the beleagured patient is the U.S. financial system, "backstopped" (what isn't lately?) by taxpayers.