Bailout Nation — Same As It Ever Was
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1 CommentOn Saturday, this article was front page news in The Guardian, with this choice bit of reporting:
Financial workers at Wall Street’s top banks are to receive pay deals worth more than $70bn (£40bn), a substantial proportion of which is expected to be paid in discretionary bonuses, for their work so far this year – despite plunging the global financial system into its worst crisis since the 1929 stock market crash, the Guardian has learned.
This $70b is 10% of the talked about bailout figure of $700b. The real figure will, of course, be higher.
You really should read the whole thing. What is clear is what many folks on the outside looking in have long suspected — that the bonuses paid at these firms really have no relationship to any kind of work performance. The article highlights instance after instance of where the bonus pool is equal to or close to the actual value of the company. Here’s just one:
