When this country’s top bankers went into a secret meeting last week, they may have believed that they were to meet Henry Paulson and hear an update on the unfolding financial crisis. Instead, the Henry Paulson they met was no longer just Treasury secretary but the new Don of the financial universe, and he was going to make them a deal they couldn’t refuse.

Yes, Don Paulson told them, the government had a deal for them. The government was going to buy a big stake in their banks and be their new partner, whether they liked it or not. Now, of course, the bankers had two choices: They could take the deal, or they could take the deal.

Actually, I made up the part about what Paulson said to them. We don’t know what he said. Apparently not so much as a transcript was made.

Yes, more than $100 billion of taxpayers’ money was committed in a secret meeting. There was no apparent oversight of the decision to spend the money. Seemingly no one seriously questioned the Don about whether we should first have a teensy little public discussion about whether it was wise to take one giant step toward nationalizing this country’s banking system. And thanks to the new Don, we don’t even get to know exactly how the live conversation or argument unfolded among the nine bankers and the top government officials.

Maybe the Don figures we don’t need to worry about such matters. We should get busy learning how to properly bend over to kiss his ring.

Now, I’m certainly not going to question the Don. No, sireee. I don’t want him to get mad at me. But maybe one of his assistants could answer this one little question: Exactly where was that meeting with the bankers held?

I mean, I read where it was in Washington, but I’m thinking surely it was in Venezuela. Or maybe Sicily of 100 years ago.

– – –

Why do smart people keep getting suckered by bubble prices?

Just last May, a Goldman Sachs analyst said oil prices could hit $200 a barrel by the end of this year. He wasn’t alone. Many highly paid analysts and market experts stood up on CNBC and confidently predicted oil prices would just keep shooting skyward.

Of course, oil prices have been chopped in half in the last three months, and they dipped below $70 a barrel last week. That’s what happens when a bubble pops.

It doesn’t seem to matter if its house prices in Southern California or tech stocks in the late ’90s or Dutch tulips in 1635, bubble prices have a knack for making smart people stupid.

– – –

Competition almost always results in better services and products at lower prices. And it’s particularly refreshing to see some spirited competition developing where we desperately need it: in the schools of South Los Angeles.

The Inner City Education Foundation early this month announced plans to boost the number of charter schools in South Los Angeles from 13 to 35 by 2016. The schools reportedly have a great record of achievement with many students going on to college. Mike Piscal, the founder, was quoted in the Los Angeles Times as saying the new schools will lead to a transformation of that area “into a stable, economically vibrant community.”

Established districts often view charter schools as a threat, which is why there was an effort last year in Sacramento to make opening charters more difficult. Thankfully, the effort did not go far. But school districts should look at charter schools the same way any business should look at its competitors: as an invitation to improve.

Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].