This past week, the Treasury Department's Office of Thrift Supervision Issued a Prompt Corrective Action Directive to $14 billion holding company BankUnited of Coral Gables, Florida's largest financial services firm.

From Zero Hedge:

(BankUnited) was told by its regulator, the Office of Thrift Supervision, to find a buyer who would raise its depleted capital to acceptable levels or risk a government takeover. In an ominously sounding "prompt corrective action directive", the OTS has essentially given the bank a 20 day ultimatum.

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President Obama has pretty much put everyone on notice that: "Your payment is due." So, I thought it was time to ask what I believe is...

The most important bailout question(s).

A great deal of focus in Washington, and within the MSM, is somewhat rightfully being placed upon ongoing excesses within the banking and investment banking industries. But, at what point do we turn our attention to--by far and way--the most excessive industry bonus of all: allowing the financial services sector to cash in their trillions of dollars in toxic debt at make-believe valuations which saddle our country with liabilities upon which our children and our children's children will be paying the price for years to come?

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Worth posting Claire McCaskill's tour de force impassioned announcement of her executive compensation bill on the Senate floor today.

"Going forward if you want taxpayers to help you survive, if you want the people at your financial institution to have a job tomorrow, then you're going to have to limit everyone's pay at your company to the same salary that the president of the United States makes," said McCaskill from the Senate floor. "Now once they're off the public dole, once the taxpayers aren't footing the bill, then it's not as much our business what they get paid. But right now they're on the hook to us. And they owe us something other than a fancy waste basket and $50 million jet."

Watch it below:

Thank you, Senator McCaskill.

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Lloyd C. Blankfein is CEO of Goldman Sachs. In that role he took home nearly $54 million in compensation last year. The company's top five executives received a total of $242 million. Goldman Sachs reported its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999 on December 16th. It received $10 billion in taxpayer bailout money on Oct. 28. Last Spring they defined their executive pay plan as necessary to retain those "whose efforts and judgments are vital to our continued success, by setting their compensation at appropriate and competitive levels."

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I consider myself to be somewhat of a diehard Democrat but, lately, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), one of my senators here in New York, is starting to irritate the hell out of me when it comes to our nation's financial mess.   At the very least, it sure looks to me--and many others--like Chuck really needs to get out more often. Apparently, others in the financial services industry are shaking their heads about this, too.

For starters, maybe he should read-up a little more on what's caused our nation to get into the nightmare it's in now. Concurrently, perhaps, he should stop talking out of both sides of his mouth as far as Wall Street's concerned, because while the New York Times takes notice of this in today's edition, even the little people--like me--are beginning to take notice that there's a bit of a disconnect  going on now as far as our reality versus Schumer's public comments about all things Wall Street, too.

I know enough about Schumer to realize that--more than many other members of the Senate--my Senator is right on most of the issues most of the time. But, Chuck, it looks like you've missed a few memos in the past year, for sure!

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