more populist hilarity, courtesy of The New Yorker

THE FINALISTS!

1. "Trust me—you don't want this. It's filled with mortgage-backed securities." Oho! That one couldn't be timelier: you see, it makes reference to our nation's current economic crisis! (And I'm sure that the point of the cartoon is that the man descending with a halo and great white wings has come to steal that bag of money, so the joke makes perfect sense, too.)
2. "Haven't you got some white-collar criminals to attend to?" Aha, further hilarious topical humor! This, too, refers to our nation's current economic crisis! New York, N.Y., and Charlottesville, Va., clearly have some canny and humorous readers, always ready with a well-informed satirical bon mot. All I can say is—touché! Forget that masked robber: how about those crooks on Wall Street, huh? Am I right?
3. "That skirt is so last year." Best of the lot! Who cares what's actually going on in the cartoon: that man is wearing a skirt (kind of), and that is hilarious! Brava, brava!

Well done, America! Now let's see how you fare in...

THIS WEEK'S CONTEST!

1. "If you think this hurts, wait'll you see your 401k!"
2. "Pack your bags, honey—in this economy, we can't afford to live in Manhattan anymore!"
3. "We'll tear your soul apart!"