Overall I agree with your sentiment about the options not being either of two extremes. In the case of bankers and financiers who seemingly engaged in fraud on a grand scale it’s about the idea that justice should in some sense be blind with regard to the amount of money you have. There are lots of cases where people steal things on the order of a $1000 going to jail for lengthy periods of time.
The anger about the lack of prosecutions for bankers, at least in part, is the frustration that comes from realizing things aren’t right in the U.S. The justice system works very differently for the 1% than for everyone else. I think with growing inequality comes growing anger and resentment.
> There are lots of cases where people steal things on the order of a $1000 going to jail for lengthy periods of time … The anger about the lack of prosecutions for bankers, at least in part, is the frustration that comes from realizing things aren’t right in the U.S.
The thing is, it's very much not clear that they did anything actually illegal. In that sense, not throwing them in gaol for not violating the law is exactly how the justice system is supposed to work, for the rich and the poor alike.
Last year I got kicked off a jury for (they don’t say why, but I’m pretty sure) saying I couldn’t possibly consider a 20-year sentence for the crime of receiving stolen property worth $500 or more.
In case anyone is curious, Virginia Code 18.2-108 states that "If any person buys or receives from another person, or aids in concealing, any stolen goods or other thing, knowing the same to have been stolen, he shall be deemed guilty of larceny thereof" and the following section states "Any person who commits larceny of property with a value of $200 or more with the intent to sell or distribute such property is guilty of a felony punishable by confinement in a state correctional facility for not less than two years nor more than 20 years". https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title18.2/chapter5/secti...
FYI, my comment wasn't intended as a correction. The limit of $200 is even more extreme than your stated $500, and the law even includes a minimum sentence of two years.
The anger about the lack of prosecutions for bankers, at least in part, is the frustration that comes from realizing things aren’t right in the U.S. The justice system works very differently for the 1% than for everyone else. I think with growing inequality comes growing anger and resentment.