Originally Posted by
bernardd
You could apply a similar arguement to Bank bonuses. What's the value of a formal agreement when the Bank has had to be largely nationalized to stave off Bankruptcy? Why should any of car workers or bank employees be different to, say, the employees of many US airlines when they went through Chapter 11 - most of them lost a large chunk of pay and benefits.
What saddens me about the "bank bonus" debate is that this fatuous topic has diverted attention from the core issues.
The reality is that 99% of all the bonuses being paid or contemplated are being paid to relatively low-paid banking workers who thoroughly deserve their bonuses. This is a part of their salary and is thoroughly deserved, and they should not be made scape-goats.
A relatively small amount is being paid to senior execs and non-retail banking speculators ie traders. The venom directed to this last group is detracting from the bigger picture. The select committee hearing two days ago was so tainted by this single issue that I cannot see what they learned from it.
A relatively few banking traders and senior execs should be prevented from getting any of their normal bonuses and I think prosecution avenues should be evaluated. But let's not dishearten all of the decent employees - also victims of this - of the banks by making them feel that this bonus issue is about them.