Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Economic Situation Painfully Funny

A friend sent me this little goodie today.



As yet another of my friends' husbands loses his job, I'm trying to laugh, but it's sort of feeling like gallows humour. When do we storm the castles of the executive's mansions, people? Now before you haul me off to jail, I'm not advocating violence against the corporate and investment top dogs who have preserved their gazillions while the middle class is struggling to retain their homes. But I think some careful scrutiny of who's made out while others have been damaged is in order. And I think - GASP! - maybe the fatcats need to give back some of their money to the businesses that are endangered so that they can pay workers and suppliers and not just keep going to the government asking for a bailout.

Last month, the NYT ran an article which began:
In announcing executive pay limits on Wednesday, President Obama is trying to hold the financial industry accountable to taxpayers while aiming to change an entrenched corporate culture that endorses outsize bonuses and perks that often bear little relationship to corporate performance.

I like what this guy has to say about it all:

“There is absolutely no reason why hard-working American taxpayers should be financing, directly or indirectly, excessive compensation for corporate executives whose decisions, in many cases, have crippled their firms and weakened the broader economy,” said Senator Christopher J. Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who heads the Senate banking committee.

Government stepping up to the plate like this make me feel better. I'm not sure what's happening right now on it all, but if you agree with me, please talk to your representative and senators to show support. If you don't agree with me, please tell me why on earth you don't. Unless you're a corporate executive with a nice fat bank account. In which case, I understand. But I sure don't sympathize.

1 comment:

Bee said...

That sketch is TOO funny . . . but barely satirical, unfortunately.

I wonder if they are going to be able get Madoff to cough up his ill-gotten gains? As for Sir Fred Goodwin, who has come to symbolize the feckless,greedy bankers in the UK, apparently he is considering moving abroad.