Bonus Paychecks

It seems like all I've been reading about in the WSJ is how much my investments have been going down while all of the folks touching my money are making incomes that make mine feel "Smurf-like". This is spite of the fact that the market is down nearly 50% over the past year and a half. The "average" Merrill Lynch employee made $247K in 2008 while the company lost $41,000,000,000. That's a bunch of zeros to the left of the decimal point. Anyway, John Thain, the Merrill CEO, decided to slip in $4 billion of bonuses before the end of the year just before the new owners, Bank of America, could take control of the firm. Meanwhile, the average Bank of America employee squeaked by on $80K. Needless to say, the folks in Charlotte could care less for the greedy SOB's in New York City.

All of this is being made possible by you, the taxpayer. Our government has pumped over a trillion dollars ($1,000,000,000,000-more zeros) into the financial system and a bunch of it is going the goombas that screwed it up. They should be taking cuts in their base pay just like the UAW members will soon experience once Congress is done picking their bones.

Here's the skinny from my small business perspective. If you are paid an annual income by your company and you produce more revenue the following year, your income should increase. If you produce less revenue, you should earn less. And, in no uncertain terms should you expect ANY bonus if you still have your job.

The time has come for everyone to get a reality check and getting a few less bucks for poor performance is a good start. Even in New York City.