financial-regulators
Explanation
The Joke
A man proposes a "thought experiment" about policies that would probably work but are too stupid to actually implement. His example: instead of formal financial regulation, we should "just put old ladies with spraybottles in all banks." Whenever they see someone engaging in financial misconduct, they spray the person and shout "BAD! BAD!" -- exactly the way you would discipline a cat for jumping on the counter.
The comic takes the concept of financial regulation -- normally an enormously complex domain involving legislation, compliance departments, auditors, and enforcement agencies -- and reduces it to the simplest possible behavioral conditioning: a spray bottle and scolding. The joke is that this absurdly low-tech approach might actually be more effective than the elaborate regulatory infrastructure that repeatedly fails to prevent financial crises.
The Humor
The humor works because of the implicit critique buried in the absurdity. The suggestion is ridiculous on its face, but the reason it is funny is that it forces the reader to consider how ineffective actual financial regulation has been. Major banks have engaged in massive fraud and misconduct repeatedly, paying fines that amount to a small fraction of their profits. The image of a grandmother with a spraybottle treating bankers like misbehaving pets is funny precisely because it could not possibly be less effective than what we already have. The comic also plays on the inherent comedy of treating powerful, suit-wearing financial professionals like naughty animals -- deflating their authority and status in a single panel.