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WHAT is the matter with Wall Street?????
By Lauren | January 30, 2009
Okay, let’s recap … just a few months ago, big Wall Street financial firms were begging for money from America’s taxpayers, claiming they were on the edge of meltdown. Congress rode to the rescue, passing a $700 billion bailout package to shore up the financial services industry. And now, we learn from the New York Comptroller’s office that Wall Street firms awarded their employees more than $18 billion in bonuses last year.
What were they thinking?????
True, the bonuses were down 44%, about where they were a mere four years ago. But at a time when ordinary people are losing their jobs left and right and consumer credit has all but vanished, it’s downright appalling to think that the folks who largely created this mess have had the gall to help themselves to extravagant bonuses. One would expect Wall Street’s wizards to show some humility and self-control, but apparently they just don’t get it. According to the Associated Press, one large finance company, Citigroup, was all set to buy itself a spanking new corporate jet after receiving post-bailout money. Luckily for them, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner stepped in and stopped them from committing such a colossal blunder.
President Obama had some choice words for Wall Street, calling the lavish bonuses “the height of irresponsibility.” He was right, and would have been well within his rights to come down even harder. In tough times, that kind of self-indulgence is inexcusable. Wall Street had better hope that it doesn’t need another nickel of bailout money, because its behavior demonstrates brazen disrespect for the people who ponied up that money in the first place. Big financiers have flagrantly mismanaged the funds they’ve already gotten; Congress would be grossly irresponsible to give them any more.
Topics: Business Ethics, Social Ethics, corporate responsibility, ethics |