Quote from Angrycat:
But as long as we're going to subsidize this shitty system with taxpayer dollars, we should at least not create a scenario where good workers are incentivized to leave.
Finally, MOST Wall Street employees had absolutely zero to do with any of the bad decisions top managment made. The decision to make Merrill the leading bank for subprime bullshit was Stanley O'Neil's goal and anyone who didn't go along with Stan got fired. Why should the options trader who busted his ass and made a ton of money for the firm be punished for Stan's decisions? In fact, if you don't pay the good traders, they will simply leave. And don't kid yourself - people who know how to make money for others will ALWAYS find a job or find investors.
Quote from Clubber Lang:
C'mon, how many really "good workers" are there?
I would say at best maybe 5% of traders on Wall St. are exceptionally good at their jobs.
Quote from Clubber Lang:
95% of those jobs could be filled just as well by normal blue/white collar kids who went to an average college (of course, the system would never allow them in though).
Quote from Anaconda:
So go ahead and pay them with your money, since you're so happy to do so. Go make a donation.
Company bonuses don't happen when the company fails. Since these companies have failed, there should be no bonus. Instead, they are having the people foot the bill.
So wait, should I start a business, pay myself a salary, promise myself a bonus, and then run to the government for a bailout cause my company is a failure? Hmm, good idea, where can I sign up and make this happen?
Quote from poyayan:
Sorry. This is the same argument that UAW made for their management counterpart.
The fact is : If your company take the bail out money ( corporate welfare check ), someone between the CEO and the janitor are at fault. Don't expect the taxpayers to distinguish which is which.
If the bonus is so important, paid the taxpayer back as soon as possible to get them off your back. Then, no one gives a damn whether your bonus is $1 or 1mil.
Quote from Daal:
'Salary' and 'bonus' are essentially the same thing, corporate money going to an employee. How come one(which happens to be small) is ok(unless you are all advocating state sponsored slavery) and the other so evil?
Since you all agree that the employees should be paid(as I said, unless you think slavery or the government changing past contracts is a good idea) just tell me how the hell you guys know what is the 'right' amount of corporate money should go to the employees?Why you feel qualified to make this judgement?
Almost nobody knows the right amount which is why you let market forces do that, even in the cases where the market was prevented from acting due too big to fail concerns because the alternative is to let barney frank and cuomo set bonuses across the board
Quote from Angrycat:
Fine, then don't give them any bailout at all. That's my preferred option. Why should wealth be confiscated from people who actually know how to create it to be poured down a wealth destroying toilet?
BUT....if you're going to bail the companies out, you shouldn't ensure that anyone worth keeping will leave because they're underpaid relative to what they can earn elsewhere. If they leave, then the firm will be in even more trouble later and will require ANOTHER bailout. If you want the money to be paid back to the taxpayer (it won't - congress will find a way to piss it away), then don't scare off the wealth producers in the company. Get rid of the excess baggage and pay the producers to stay. I see your problem with this. But, ultimately, I think your problem is with the bailout, not Wall Street comps. It's the taxpayer subsidy that creates this problem. Without it, the firm fails and the producers find jobs at stronger and better firms and the taxpayer isn't held at gunpoint to pay for Stan's, John's and Richard's fuck ups.
Quote from Angrycat:
Where are your statistics to back your drivel. Somehow, I find the ramblings of some dude on a chat board not convincing
Wow. Again such heady statistics from a guy with a retail account in Boise. Where's your data.
And yet....despite the very high compensation levels....most people can't get a job on Wall Street. As someone who spent countless hours interviewing candidates for various jobs from research assistants to traders, I can assure you that the vast majority of graduates from really good schools weren't recommended by me. I would say I passed one out of every ten candidates I interviewed and that's AFTER the resumes were first weeded by HR.
Now, that's not to say I haven't met a shitload of morons on Wall Street. It's just that most Wall Street morons are smarter than the average person.