Earlier this month, I did a blog entry on how trust in banks has eroded completely.

Now, columnist Jason Zweig from The Wall Street Journal says it might take some time before that trust comes back.

Most of us have the delusion that good guys finish first and the system isn't rigged. It's a delusion that helps make short term set backs bearable. But a meltdown of this proportion destroys that illusion.

As Zweig says, it might have an impact that lasts well after the market recovers. "In 1952, two full decades after the Great Crash hit bottom, only 19% of wealthy Americans regarded stocks as the wisest investment choice, according to a Federal Reserve survey. Most investors thus sat out the great bull market of the 1950s, when stocks gained 19.4% annually," Zweig says.

He argues that banks would need to be more up front and less dogmatic. They would have to admit their shortcomings.

That might be a start. But restoring trust will take a lot more time. If Zweig is right, trust might not be back until the 2030s. If we should live that long.