In a provocative article from Associated Press writer Rachel Beck, she argues that Wall Street CEOs should return some or all of their huge paydays that occurred as America was led into the current financial crisis:

If Wall Street CEOs really want to revive their credibility, they should return the bloated bonuses they got when they made what eventually turned into wrongheaded bets on the mortgage market.

We all know how that outsized risk-taking ultimately backfired for their firms. Record profits have turned into massive losses as financial companies worldwide have taken some $250 billion in write-downs due to their free-falling credit-related assets.

Yet the CEOs still are clinging to the compensation they made from busted business models. And not just bonuses from 2008, when the subprime mortgage meltdown and the credit crisis became more acute, but also those from the last few years that were "earned" when profits were soaring.

That's what they should be giving back to shareholders. It would be a genius public relations move.