It's only capitalism if you're winning....

[Hannah Bell]

Nearly 100 companies have undertaken programs that allow employees, many of them executives, to exchange sharply depreciated stock options for new awards with more generous terms. The companies... argue that the exchange — which increases the chances that executives will be able to collect rewards even though the company stock has plummeted — is necessary to retain and motivate personnel...

Remember how salary bonuses rewarded performance? In practice execs saw the same bonuses whether the firm was booming or spinning its wheels. Now we know a firm can collapse into a smoking hole and bonus checks will still find their way to the executives responsible. That makes salary bonuses into something more like an attendance award...

The new argument that we have to treat wealthy earners even more lavishly or else the CEO might downsize himself may be true, but it sort of invalidates the original argument that bonuses represent some sort of risk. That leads more or less directly to the conclusion that Phil Grammish defenders of modern American capitalism were either lying or stupid (as always, both is an option). That does not make capitalism’s various malcontents automatically correct, but it does suggest that if you want observers who are consistently plugged into reality your search should start there.


http://www.balloon-juice.com/?p=18324

[Toucano]

1. It's all a scam. They're grifters.

With all the unemployment, I would think a job with simply a salary would retain a lot of motivated personnel.