So John Thain has finally been ousted at Merrill Lynch.

But the extraordinary part about this story is about his talent for self-enrichment and arrogance beyond belief. Merrill Lynch was in serious trouble and the US government had to bail it out with tens of billions of dollars of taxpayers' money, but Thain continued to lavish himself with payments and luxuries. The Daily Beast reports that in early 2008 as he was getting ready to cut thousands of jobs, he was also helping himself to company money. That included $1.22 million spent refurbishing his office at Merrill Lynch headquarters in Manhattan, including $800,000 to hire celebrity designer Michael Smith, who is redesigning the White House for the Obama family. Unlike Thain, the Obamas are paying just $100,000.

It also includes $87,000 for an area rug in Thain's conference room; a sofa for $15,000; four pairs of curtains for $28,000; a pair of guest chairs for $87,000; a "George IV Desk" for $18,000; six wall sconces for $2,700; six chairs in his private dining room for $37,000; a mirror in his private dining room for $5,000; a chandelier in the private dining room for $13,000; fabric for a "Roman Shade" for $11,000 and a "custom coffee table" for $16,000.

When the rest of the economy is tanking, is it any wonder that public anger over these brigands is high?