Why Not Send My Tax Check Directly to Wall Street Execs?

My husband and I just made out a check to the IRS for $5,021. It's more than usual because of solid investment returns in his native Canada, where their quaintly regulated banking system continues to hum along. Normally, though, we don't mind paying our tax bill. We believe that strategic government investment is the way out of this crisis, and we're happy to contribute our fair share.

But this year I cringed as I dropped that check in the mail, thinking about how I might as well have just handed it directly to a Wall Street executive.