Merrill Lynch CEO: bogus about his bonus

I heard this on CNN this morning also:

The Merrill Lynch Chief Executive Officer (CEO) John Thain thinks he should get a 2008 bonus of $10 million!

Are you kidding me? The company lost $11 billion in 2008! I can't even believe the company's board of directors would even consider the guy's request. It's absurd. But news reports say the committee is only thinking about denying bonuses this year for Thain and other senior executives. So, that means they're also considering not denying them.

I just don't get it.

We are officially in a recession. Have been for more than a year now. People are losing their homes to foreclosure left and right. We had more than 500,000 people laid off work in America just last month, Merrill Lynch employees possibly included. Yet, some big wig corporate exec of a financial company that lost so much has the nerve to think he deserves a bonus. Quick. Tell me where to sign up for this scam?!

Seriously, how can a CEO--the man who oversees the entire company and its operations--not see this kind of attitude is part of the problem here?! What one person needs $10 million, anyway. If there's that kind of money floating around his company now, couldn't it best be used to hire people back?

I can tell you how to turn this obstacle into an opportunity--fire the guy! The fact that he can even make such a request tells me he's out of touch with what's going on in his own company. How is that call for a bonus? Why would it even be considered?

This kind of news just makes me mad. It makes me question everything I ever thought I knew about how our country operates, especially now, as I hear about real people with real families hurting, as I read about real companies that actually contribute real dollars to their communities shutting down.

This kind of news just makes me mad.

How about you?