If you do nothing else today, read this outstanding New York Times article about how five Wisconsin school boards somehow invested $200 million in insanely risky international financial instruments created by an German bank based in Dublin.

The investment bank that sold this to the school boards, collecting a fee of $1.2 million in the process, is called Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. For a good time, read the “Statement of Commitment” on their website:

To our clients—individual, institutional, corporate, and municipal, our commitment is to listen and consistently deliver innovative financial solutions. Putting the welfare of clients and community first, we strive to be the advisor of choice in the industry. Pursuit of excellence and a desire to exceed clients’ expectations are the values that empower our Company to achieve this status.

Well, they certainly managed to exceed their clients’ expectations.

When did America become this kind of country? Where little midwestern school boards think it’s a fine idea to use their money allocated for scissors, paste and teacher pensions for speculating in the international bond insurance market? And where all the most prestigious colleges send a third of their graduating classes to Wall Street so they can learn how to fleece these little school boards most effectively?

It’s really depressing. Fortunately, the current financial panic will eventually force the New York Times to eliminate this type of high-quality reporting. So while such catastrophes will continue to occur, at least we won’t have to hear about it.