Barney Frank is the one Congressman who can manage to pierce hypocrisy, sometimes with biting wit.
In his committee's hearing with CEO's he pushed for an answer to the question: what are the bonuses for? And they really couldn't give a good answer.
Barney questioned why someone should get a reward for simply doing the right thing. The bonuses obviously weren't tied to productivity or profit for the company.
So he asked: would you have done anything differently if there was no bonus? And they reluctantly agreed that maybe the whole system needs to be rethought.
Ralph
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This is the most bizarre business - the bonuses. I'm not sure what it even means that they feel entitled to their bonuses - something in that culture that none of us really get. Do they read the papers? This reminds me of Cheney's recent pressers extolling the virtue of torture and Gitmo. There's a similar eeriness about it. I want a bonus for having to read about it...
ReplyDeleteIn his committee hearing with CEO's yesterday, Barney Frank pushed the question: what are the bonuses for? And they really didn't have a good answer. The obviously weren't for performance or profit. The explanation of "retention bonuses" doesn't fly since number of those who just got the bonuses had already left the company.
ReplyDeleteSo Barney's question just hung there unanswered, and they said maybe they needed to rethink the whole thing.