29 September 2008

The System Works (for some)

Perhaps you've heard of Alan H. Fishman. He was the CEO who presided over the demise of Washington Mutual, though he can't be blamed for it, since he was on the job for less than three weeks. Even if he's innocent of that, can he claim to have earned the fortune he leaves with? Note the source: this is Fox News, so you can't call it liberal spin that distorts the truth. The reporter seems to be as appalled over Fishman's fortune as you are.

Is it too late to call Congress and ask that the bailout bill be amended to ban the whole idea of signing bonuses for CEOs? It's an idea I associate with free agency in sports, and it's often justified in that realm by the argument that a star player will increase revenues by attracting more spectators. These calculations seem irrelevant in large corporations that attract speculators rather than spectators,-- granted, the difference may not be great,-- and ought to be dispensed with. I would say more, but I feel my lack of training in economics quite keenly right now. I'll close by advising everyone to educate themselves on the subject as quickly as possible.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Everytime I read or hear about some putz like this getting that kind of a pay-out, it makes me yearn for a Stalin-esque purge of the financial sector.