M-P

Ritholtz, Ratigan Take on the 'Giant Vampire Squid'

The GS/Govt relationship is clear for all to see ... per Barry, GS has a nice quid pro quo going ... they are getting exactly what they paid for. The size of their latest bonuses is basically ridiculous, given the taxpayer backstops and the way the bankruptcy rules are applied differently for GS.

The real shame would be if no one speaks up ... I have written my senators and congressman - I may be delusional, but if enough people speak up, it could become politically unfavorable for GS to pay out what they are looking to ... think John Thain and his 10m payout ...

What Do We Need In 2009? More Failure

This piece is on-target. The mark of a psychologically healthy person or company is their ability and willingness to take responsibility for their actions and choices. The playing field is not always clear-cut, but the themes are usually clear - do you have an internal locus (personal responsibility) vs. an external locus on control (something outside your control). There are many things outside of our control, but our attitude and language around them is pretty telling. We all know people or companies that typically blame something or someone outside of themselves for their problems without taking-on some responsibility. The real issue is doing a clawback on those who knowingly and willfully planted (and cultivated) the seeds of failure and walked away with millions.

Banking's Ins and Outs: $188 Billion from Bailout, $1.6 Billion to Execs

I believe in capitalism and the implied pay for performance contract, but I have trouble with the bank execs receiving this kind of $ when they are being subsidized by the taxpayer because they took undue risk. Why don't we look at a clawback provision whereby we take back $ that was ill-gotten via reckless leverage and risk. Unfortunately, the seeds of failure were planted a number of years ago and we are now cleaning up the mess. Why do we reward malfeasance? Why do we subsidize recklessness? Why do we pay for incompetence?