What happened to firing incompetents and/or crooks?

There has been much publicity lately about how the very people who have had a hand in bringing our economy to the brink have been rewarded with multi-million dollar bonuses. I just ran across an article from last summer about Ann Lott. Ann Lott was the chief of the Dallas Housing Authority, the entity whose federal audits revealed shady accounting practices and other "problems," among them, paying more than $167,000 in rent for dead people. They'd also spent $20 million on ineligible clients, duplicate payments, and clients not reported properly. Ms. Lott resigned rather than face disciplinary action.

So what does the DHA Board decide to do? Reward Ms. Lott with $90,000 in severance pay. Board Chairman Betty Culbreath said, "We thought it was fair, given the time she had been on the job and the contributions she made to the agency." Contributions? What a crock! I should think Ms. Lott would be thrilled with nothing more than being allowed to resign and serve no jail time. The idiots are taking over, and they're using our money to do it!

"Chief to get $90,000 in severance." The Dallas Morning News; July 31, 2008; p. 1A.