Comments on: How angry are you about bonuses?

By: M Kraak

M Kraak — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:00:31 +0000

The point is that most of the bonusses being paid are actually part of people’s salaries for doing their jobs. I see most of these people as sprockets of a larger machine. The sprocket simply has to do its job but does not know what the machine that it is part of does (exacly).
In a less general way I do agree and would even demand back any bonusses conceived on monies having been made by constructing the mortgage deals that are responsible for the current market melt-down.

By: bobsocks

bobsocks — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 08:52:17 +0000

Tough times. So far Bos is all talk and no action. It is time to stop suggesting the return and/or cancellation of executive bonuses. It is time to forbid them. No need for the wealthy to pay no penalty while the rest of us pay the price of this crisis.

Come on, Bos. Stand up for the common folk!

By: Patrick Faas

Patrick Faas — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:40:26 +0000

I have been angry because of the onslaught of unbridled (and unchallenged) capitalism in the last decades, and I resent the consequential demise of collective responsibility, but I would certainly not go the houses of AIG executives, outing them as money grabbers. What’s new or exceptional, that is so shocking? Mob lynching parties are not my cup of tea, but where was all this anger over capitalist greed and ruthless selfishness before? And how can you single out individuals, when we are all to blame for facilitating such behaviour?
When I focus my anger, I get George Bush in sight, for he indeed is individually to blame for many of the wrongs in the world today, including this financial crisis. But then again, he was voted into power by the very same mob that now takes to the streets in anger. The mob had a major change of heart, so it seems, and over this I cannot be angry, over this I rejoice, since a general change of mentality is precisely what was needed.

President Obama may not want to temper our anger, but the fact that he was voted into the Oval Office has already tempered my anger substantially. Since then, Obama has made a start in putting the urgently needed bridles on capitalism. Hopefully he will continue in this new direction and keep a fairly tight reign.