The Wall Street public pension troughfeeding frenzy has, unbeknownst to taxpayers and government workers participating in these funds, cost the nation trillions and is only getting worse with the proliferation of hedge funds and private equity alternative investments.
How enlightened we are, smug in the knowledge that our method for feeding at the public trough is morally superior to the benighted practices of corrupt foreigners.
The same is true of the frequently repeated section where the hero cares for his horse by brushing dirt off its coat, filling a trough with water, and feeding it apples.