The Federal Government and 49 States have agreed to a tentative settlement with the five largest banks for their robo-signing practices. While we still don’t know all the details, one thing has become clear–we officially have a bifurcated rule of law. The 5 big banks that are part of this settlement have their own rule of law, and the rest of us a much different one. Can you imagine if you stole a shipment of TV’s, but rather that getting arrested and going to jail, you were able to pay a small fee, and go on about your business?

If you want a deeper analysis of why this settlement sucks, see Yves Smith at Naked Capitalism.