It was back in the 80s when spurious mantras such as ‘greed is good’ and ‘lunch is for wimps’ first entered the collective consciousness.
The sad thing is that some people took them entirely at face value.
In the UK Mrs Thatcher, in similar bullish manner, declared “the lady’s not for turning,” the proud boast of a conviction politician if ever there was one.
Whatever the rights and wrongs of Mrs T’s 11-year plus tenure in Downing Street, it’s surely beyond argument that her sledgehammer approach to politics helped foster a climate where corporate greed was indeed viewed by many as good.
Mrs T may have tamed the avarice of 80s-style union barons who thought their mission was to hold the country to ransom, but, with a political soulmate like Ronald Reagan in the White House, the so-called free world found itself at the mercy of many other strains of corporate excess.
Which brings us to today, and the worst global downturn since Mrs Thatcher was finally forced out of Downing Street.
Now we learn that some worms have finally turned.
The banking world has already been exposed for its smoke and mirrors approach to lending, and the philosophies of big hitters like Sir Fred Goodwin and Andy Hornby have been outed, both literally and metaphorically.
With large parts of the banking world facing meltdown, the juggernaut effect of the downturn has left whole industries who rely on credit deep in the mire, and nowhere is the swamp more treacherous than in the automotive sector.
So we are now treated to the dubious spectacle of Alan Mulally and Rick Wagoner, respectively heads of Ford and General Motors, offering to work for just a dollar a year and forego bonuses and corporate jets in return for a share of a $25billion US government bail-out to prop up the car sector.
If Congress agrees a $9billion bridging loan to Ford, Mr Mulally can wave goodbye to the sort of package which has earned him $50million in pay and benefits over the last two years.
Closer to home, we also learn that the Royal Bank of Scotland has called off a festive bash at Nailcote Hall for 240 Brindleyplace workers after Birmingham MP Gisela Stuart called the £49.50-a-head party “extravagant spending.”
As the immortal Oscar Wilde once said: “You’d have to have a heart of stone not to laugh.”
And a very Happy Christmas to Mr Mulally, Mr Wagoner and all at the Brindleyplace offices of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
