January 29, 2009 5:19 AM

Master of the Universe: clueless and apparently built to stay that way

By almost any measure, 2008 was a complete disaster for Wall Street -- except, that is, when the bonuses arrived. Despite crippling losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and the passing of some of the most prominent names in the business, employees at financial companies in New York, the now-diminished world capital of capital, collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year. That was the sixth-largest haul on record, according to a report released Wednesday by the New York State comptroller.

So much for the idea of Wall Street being a meritocracy, eh? Granted, I was a History major, so you'll have to cut me some slack here, but how is it that some bankers can take home milliions in bonuses, even as their employers are losing billions and in some cases laying off employees lower on the corporate food chain?

Perhaps it's time to re-introduce a couple of words that seem to have been lost in the shuffle: transparency and accountability. Yes, I understand that some of the companies in question are privately-held corporations, and technically not answerable to the unwashed masses. Nonetheless, if my tax dollars- and yours- are being used to prop up or bail out financial institutions, there are some basic things that we should be within our rights to expect. Transparency and accountability would seem to at the top of that list...perhaps along with a basic sense of fair play and frugality. If you're laying off tellers by the score, should executives in corner offices really be taking home bonuses in the millions? Even if you disagree with my argument, surely the symbolism involved here should be self-evident?

I understand that these Masters of the Universe © may well inhabit an alternate reality, where corporate jets and antique office commodes are not perks, but God-given rights. Still, as much as I detest this analogy, if the Lords of Wall Street want and/or expect those of us on Main Street to bail them out, shouldn't they be expected to at least feign an attempt at frugality and common sense?

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 29, 2009 5:19 AM.

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