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Notice that you're effectively saying "the bailed out banks should renege on contracts". If nothing else, there's enough money on the table that the affected pe
by pdpi 12y ago
Notice that you're effectively saying "the bailed out banks should renege on contracts". If nothing else, there's enough money on the table that the affected people are likely to litigate, and there's a fair chance you'll just end up paying the bonuses just the same, but now topped off with the expenses of a lawsuit.
- aidos 12y agoAre the bonuses often contractual and not discretionary? If so, they're not really bonuses.
- growse 12y agoContractual doesn't mean guaranteed. You could have a bonus that's contractually tied to a certain set of conditions being met (e.g. personal objectives). If the employee meets those objectives and the company doesn't pay out, they could be in breach, regardless of their financial situation.
- snowwrestler 12y agoThey are bonuses, but the word "bonus" means slightly different things in different industries. In the banking industry, think of it more like a sales commission than a totally optional check for doing a really good job. It's paid out according to a pre-determined formula, not the whim of a manager.
- aidos 12y agoWhich makes sense. In the cases of financial institutions needing a bailout while simultaneously paying huge bonuses something must be seriously miscalibrated in their calculations.
- tgb 12y agoIsn't reneging on contracts a standard part of bankruptcy?
- pdpi 12y agoThe whole purpose of the bailout is that there is no bankruptcy to begin with.
- tveita 12y agoJailing the people responsible for committing criminal misconduct and confiscating their gains seems like a nice solution to this dilemma.