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I've got your bonus right here, pal
Landline Magazine
By Terry Scruton [ terry_scruton@landlinemag.com ]
Published in December '08/January '09 Issue
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Awhile back I was talking to a friend who said that, because the company he works for is not doing well, he will
not only lose his Christmas bonus but could be facing a salary cut as well.
Another friend works for a large telecom company and goes week to week not knowing whether he'll get to
keep his job.
And how many truckers do you know who have parked their rigs this year because they couldn't afford to keep
driving?
Even on Wall Street things are tough. As I'm sure you know, earlier this year the government approved $700
billion in taxpayer dollars to bail out firms such as Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
So you would think, in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, that those companies
would be cutting back on things like bonuses, too, right? Think again.
Bloomberg reported that those companies will be handing out some $20 billion in bonuses this year between
them.
Merrill Lynch, which has reported five straight quarters of losses, is set to hand out $6.7 billion in bonuses.
Lehman Brothers, which declared bankruptcy in September, is still handing out bonuses to some of its
employees.
The Bloomberg report mentioned a Morgan Stanley investment banker in Europe who said his bonus last year
was five times his salary and that he would quit if he didn't get a bonus this year, unless his salary was
doubled.
Cry me a river, build a bridge and get over it. People like this make me sick. They have no conscience. They
have no soul. They have no regard for anything but themselves and their bank accounts.
They have no clue how this looks to the outside world and just how angry people are with them. They just
keep on handing out money like nothing is wrong and whining when they don't get their share.
But something is wrong. These people ought to be ashamed of themselves. I don't know how they sleep at
night. And I don't think that the government should give them another single dime of our hard-earned
money.
In fact, maybe we should even take back the $700 billion and see how they like going from Wall Street to
living on the street. It'd be like the movie "Trading Places," except no Jamie Lee Curtis hooker with a heart of
gold is going to help them out.
You'd be all on your own, Wall Street, just like the rest of us. Merry Christmas.
LL
(source: Landline Magazine)
-fs-
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