Corrupt, captured federal politicians and the regulators who work for them indulge wealthy contributors in their criminal behavior regardless of the effect of that behavior on the electorate and on the stated priorities of the government, while the occasional state level official acts - to the great embarrassment and anger of the federal politicians. In this system the most that can be hoped for is a fine that might be large enough for the offending bank to actually notice. Libor in the U.K. and Standard Chartered in the U.S. are examples comparable to that exposed by the new purchase of CDs with incriminating evidence regarding tax evasion by the NRW SPD.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."