Give the bonuses back!

Lots of people are disgusted to find out that Wall Street banksters paid themselves almost $20 billion in bonuses at the end of 2008, shortly after many of them were bailed out to the tune of $350 billion (and counting) by the taxpayers. These are the very same people who are largely responsible for driving our economy into the ditch, causing millions of people (and still counting) to become unemployed. And they think they deserve bonuses? The level of greed is just unbelievable!

This bonus payout flies in the face of pay-for-performance strategies: these banksters lost billions upon billions of dollars of other people's money, and many of them should rightly be in jail. Not getting bonuses! You do not reward such behavior. I don't care if some divisions of these corporations were profitable. If the firm loses so much money that it needs a government handout, it should pay no bonuses. Period.

And don't tell me these companies will lose their best and brightest employees. Most of these financial firms are letting people go, like the rest of the industries are, so where would they jump to? We can put them to work on a chain gang, if they need employment.

President Obama called it shameful. That's not enough. Shaming only works on someone who has a conscience. We've gotta do more than shame these sociopaths, as they clearly have no consciences whatsoever.

So I propose that we simply take back the bonuses from all individuals working for any company that received money from the TARP program. We all know the law that authorized the program was written hastily. At the time, Congress was desperate to save our economy, which is still very much on the edge of an abyss. So pass a new law clarifying it. Make them give the money back to the taxpayers who bailed them out. Think that's unfair -- changing the rules in the middle of the game? Perhaps.

What about this, then: a temporary change in the income tax law, for tax years 2008 and 2009, that would levy a 95% income tax rate on bonuses paid by any company that received funds under the TARP program. You could exempt the first $5000 if you're worried about punishing the clerical staff.

However it's done, they need to give the money back. It's as simple as that.

I also have a good longer-term idea for how to rein-in outrageous executive pay levels in the future, but I have to get back to work now so I'll write about it later. Some of us actually have to work for our pay.