Buggy whips and bonuses

I probably shouldn't listen to National Public Radio and drive. It's dangerous to my health and to the health of the surrounding drivers. I find myself, too often, screaming "What?!" at the speakers in my dash and, thus, averting my eyes from the road. I'd be better off making a phone call on my cell phone.

The latest bit of disbelief popped up when I was listening to yet one more report on the bank debacle we like to call the financial industry. Seems our greedy brothers to the north have decided that huge bonuses are due to their employees since the banking industry didn't completely collapse last year. Their reason? They have two. Both of which are preposterous, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

The first reason being that the "top talent" will go elsewhere unless they are bribed to stay where they are now. Talent? Really? Call them the top dogs, the head honchos, the boys with the biggest balls, etc. Call them anything you like (mine is not printable according to FCC regulations), but don't call them talent. If they are so damn smart and so damn good, why didn't they keep all this from happening? Or why haven't they dug us out of the hole faster? They may know their job, but they hardly possess the talent merited by such huge rewards. Talent would be giving 600,000 people their jobs back and making sure they don't lose them in the next year.

Speaking of job loss, there is a buggy museum in Carthage, North Carolina. The horse carriage business supported this small town and surrounding areas at the turn of the last century. The owner of the factory was approached by Henry Ford. Seems Mr. Ford thought this factory produced the best leather seats and wanted them for his automobiles. However, the factory owner thought automobiles were a passing fad and not part of the American culture. Why do I bring this up? Because that was reason number two given by the banking industry. Bonuses are part of the banking culture. Bank employees expect bonuses. Well, I "expect" to win the lottery every time I buy a ticket, but that doesn't mean the state feels compelled to meet my financial expectations every week. And why doesn't the state do this? Because the system would go BANKRUPT! Can anybody else connect the dots on this conclusion?

Funny thing about the word "bankrupt." The word is French in origin, and the latter part of that word comes from the Latin "rumpere." Which means broken. Well here's a news flash. The system is broken, smashed to smithereens along with a lot of people's hopes and dreams. Bonuses may have been a part of the party banking culture when things were flying high and everyone was living the good life, but it's time to throw the bonuses out with the buggy whips. It's time Wall Street climbed into an austere Model T and learned to live a more frugal lifestyle.
And if they refuse? Maybe those buggy whips should make a comeback (and I don't mean to be used on horses either).