Occupy Fort Wayne

[Common-Tater]

IF I were a strong investor in any of these firms, it most likely would not be the Mayor I felt the need to talk to. Just saying...these excessive bonuses and salaries being paid to executives managing our 401K and other investment funds are where I choose to focus upon.

The other thing I'll point out is that banks are private businesses (though heavily regulated). The government has no place getting involved in a private business and telling them how they can spend their money. Bonuses are given as incentives in a lot of occupations. The company I work for gives bonuses to branch managers based on how many contracts they have at the end of the year. The problem I've always had with this is that it's the Site Supervisors and officers at these sites who determine whether or not we keep an individual contract by their performance. I've seen us almost lose contracts due to decisions made by branch managers; moreso than by things officers do. As a matter of fact, every time I've been transferred, it's to fix a broken site. Yet each time, all I've ever received is a fifty cent increase. I've worked for this company for almost 10 years and in that time my pay has gone up about $5.75. Is it fair for a branch manager to get a bonus when the employees under him/her are the ones doing a majority of the work? They already get paid significantly more. I'm not concerned about banks. I'm concerned about people who work retail, food service, and other service based industries who will never see any kind of fair treatment because they are service based. Servants are to serve, not be served. So they're very rarely ever treated well, themselves.

[krazetrain]

Glad you are not concerned with a major player in the housing crash, which also caused the current depression. Then again, maybe those things were caused by the ugly kid working at rat in a box , forgetting to wash his hands prior to fixing a ratburger for a wall street exec! People don't get treated right, usually because the robber barons are running rampant across the financial world! Those people have nascar & NFL team owners as friends and made their fortunes by dismantling factories and outsourcing the labor. They mistreat animals and to them, humans are no better!

[blue adept]

Now now Kraze, if it doesn't concern someone, it doesn't concern them. Never mind that they would rather look at the fairness of whom is getting the bonus, after all, this is a private business, and can do with their money what they wish, even if they do cause a fallout that destroys others, that is not their problem after all.

[HoosierHelen]

The other thing I'll point out is that banks are private businesses (though heavily regulated). The government has no place getting involved in a private business and telling them how they can spend their money. Bonuses are given as incentives in a lot of occupations. The company I work for gives bonuses to branch managers based on how many contracts they have at the end of the year. The problem I've always had with this is that it's the Site Supervisors and officers at these sites who determine whether or not we keep an individual contract by their performance. I've seen us almost lose contracts due to decisions made by branch managers; moreso than by things officers do. As a matter of fact, every time I've been transferred, it's to fix a broken site. Yet each time, all I've ever received is a fifty cent increase. I've worked for this company for almost 10 years and in that time my pay has gone up about $5.75. Is it fair for a branch manager to get a bonus when the employees under him/her are the ones doing a majority of the work? They already get paid significantly more. I'm not concerned about banks. I'm concerned about people who work retail, food service, and other service based industries who will never see any kind of fair treatment because they are service based. Servants are to serve, not be served. So they're very rarely ever treated well, themselves.

When banks, other type financial institutions and car manufacturers become "too large to fail" because it will cause mayhem and significant losses from the fall out to our nation's economy, they look to the US Government and common taxpayers such as you and I Tater to bail them out. Why are they at risk of failing? Poor management & bad decisions of the executives of their private businesses. (actually, I do believe most all were publicly owned...but...we will ignore that fact for now).

At the point & time when they reach out for assistance from our government to save the existence of their 'private business' and our government agrees to invest taxpayers funds into these businesses, it is my position that
#1, The existing CEO's & other top executives do not deserve bonuses for failing at their jobs. They tend to do a lot of finger pointing and placing blame, but the responsibility for stability of their companies does rest with them.
#2, Now that these companies have received taxpayers monies to prop them up, we have reasonable expectations that these extremely excessive bonuses be discontinued until the public taxpayers have been completely repaid.

Private companies who are self sufficient, indeed have the right to pay their top executives whatever inflated bonuses they choose. I hear what you are saying about bonuses being paid to managers when it is often the worker bees who make the difference for the companies in the service industries. Of course we must credit the managers for hiring and keeping the best worker bees. One of my favorite shows on TV is Undercover Boss. It is so much fun for me to watch the owners of some of these large franchise chains as they learn what their average workers deal with day in and day out. Sometimes they are so amazed at what dedicated, hardworking, goodhearted people they have working for them and they never knew. I really love the part where they reward those workers with new opportunities for education, promotion, or cash where needed. Then there are times when they discover the opposite to be true.

You may not feel you are concerned about banks Tater, yet I suggest if one of our local banks should fail (small as it may be), it will have a negative effect on our community. There was a bank owned up in Angola (or Fremont) that was owned by a fellow...his last name was McNaughten. I can't recall the name of that bank right now, however, there were indeed many local people who lost money due to his mismanagement. The last I knew there is a warrant out for his arrest but he hasn't been caught yet. So...it doesn't need to be a large bank to negatively impact our communities.

Just sharing my thoughts Tater on why we should perhaps care about the responsible management of our banking systems.