function hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); bubble.style.display = "none"; } function hide_user_promo_bubble() { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 0 } }, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100); } function handle_promo_username(params) { var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image"); var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link"); if (params.has_photo == "true") { img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/" + params.user_id + "-tiny.png"; } else { img.style.display = "none"; Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide"); } anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name; anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/" + params.user_name; bubble.style.display = "block"; var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, { opacity: { to: 1 } }, 2, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut); myAnim.animate(); } if (HuffPoUtil.getUrlVar("user_promo")) { YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() { var parts = document.location.hash.split(","), shared_by = "", badge = "", i; if (parts.length < 2) return; for (i = 0; i < parts.length; i++) { if (parts[i].indexOf("sb=") !== -1) { shared_by = parts[i]; } if (parts[i].indexOf("b=") !== -1) { badge = parts[i]; } } if (shared_by == "" || badge == "") return; var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble"); if (!bubble) return; var entry_id = HuffPoUtil.GetEntryID(); if (!entry_id) return; var user_id = parseInt(shared_by.substr(shared_by.indexOf("sb=") + 3)); if (!user_id) return; var badge_type = badge.substr(badge.indexOf("b=") + 2); if (!badge_type) return; script = document.createElement("script"); script.setAttribute("type", "text/javascript"); bubble.appendChild(script); script.setAttribute("src", "/include/share_track.php?a=view&eid=" + entry_id + "&uid=" + user_id + "&b=" + badge_type + "&cb=handle_promo_username"); }); } Pity Bonus: Executives Who Miss Goals In Bad Economy Still Rewarded

CNNMoney.com:

Maybe you missed your earnings target last year or your stock was crushed. But if you're a corporate executive, that might not necessarily prohibit you from earning a generous bonus.

Following an unprecedented period of economic turmoil, a number of corporate boards appear to have taken pity on executives last year. In some instances, they handed over millions of dollars in so-called discretionary bonuses to managers.

Read the whole story: CNNMoney.com

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Comments

[adoantarel]

How many people out there work regular jobs and have quotas and goals set by management that you are expected to reach?

If you reach those goals, do you get a bonus? Or are you just expected to reach them? If you do get a bonus, would you get that bonus even if you didn't meet the goal? Are salepeople getting big commission checks even though fewer people are buying?

Where is the CEO who says, "Ya know, I already made 2 million just on my base salary this year. I can afford my mortgage. I can pay my kids' private school bills. Let's take that bonus money you were going to give me and hire 10 more workers, or not fire 10 workers, or lower our price to stimulate sales, or somehow reinvest in our own company so that we emerge from this recession and stronger and better."

Ya know, people often complain that Americans don't take pride in their jobs. Well, I say, that starts at the top.

[jalaroc]

Seriously...Are they TRYING to piss us off?

[WIpatriot]

Seriously, they don't git two chits about you or me.

[lightningbolt]

Anybody who gives an executive a bonus for failure is a complete idiot. Those companies deserve to go bankrupt for rewarding failure.

[adoantarel]

The problem with that is, when they go bankrupt, these jerks still have millions to their name, but people like you and me are out of a job.

[ibsteve2u]

Whenever an article quotes a board defending its decision to give executive incredible bonuses - even for doing a mediocre or worse job - the article should mention how many of that board's members are executives of other corporations.

The people on America's corporate boards have turned "one hand washes the other" into an orgy of greed.

[WIpatriot]

Absolutely, steve.

[Amalek]

Hey, just because the company had a bad year doesn't mean I don't need to keep the yacht shipshape.

[Voting citizen]

People should move their money to their community banks, shareholders should stop being shareholders and people should just pull out of these big banks and businesses. Leave them in the dirt. It's your money they are giving away so as I see it take your money away from them and they are left with no one to support them. How sad would that be? Then put your money in your community and support your community. It's not like your getting rich off these big banks your just supporting the rich so they can get richer. That's called greed and you will never win in that game. I lost everything. I didn't have much to begin with but lost it anyway. I will never bank with a big bank again. I will never buy another stock again. I will never be a shareholder again and I'm happier with that decision. It's better than living in the worry of supporting the rich to be richer.

[FoonTheElder]

The big American corporations continue to handsomely reward failure. Is it then no wonder why we end up with more failure?

[schatsie]

time for shareholder suits....

[schatsie]

Oh my gosh. a pity fxxx for the CEOs......What does that say about the boards of directors....TOOLS, they are all tools and I would love to see where Warren and Billy voted for these pity bonuses...

[phoebie]

Something to ponder. Since the generation that went through the depression and fought in WWII has retired, it appears business ethics beyond their influence has declined dramatically. The majority of these people would have reached retirement age in the 1980's from the workforce . Lessons learned by struggle and self sacrifice have been forgotten. If you didn't get the job done, you got reprimanded or fired. You did not get a bonus check,a pat on the back and told to do better next time.

[eds123]

The whole bonus issue goes way beyond the financial industry. You see excessive bonuses, bonuses paid for failure, golden parachutes, executives who outsource and give themselves bonuses for the savings difference or tax credits, et al, in almost every industry in this country. And people wonder why we are in the middle of financial crisis. Executives are pocketing the money they should be investing in the economy, we need to regulate bonuses.

[adoantarel]

Exactly. This is the "me first" baby boomer generation.

[WIpatriot]

Good point, phoebie.

To expound, in the last few years before I retired when business was headed down the lower-CM, lower-DM, lower-revenues road, even if you exceeded your annual Goals & Objectives (which changed as often as quarterly) you weren't given a bonus (or merit pay raise) because the whole business didn't make their numbers to the corporate bottom line. Or the corporate EOA was lower than expected even if your business delivered. Pick a reason. But the business CEO or division GM sure as heck got their bonuses. So did the BoD. I have, literally, heard it all.

[jws2346]

Hey, what's with the righties? Rewarded for failure? Capitalism? Strongest to survive and all that other crap?

[FoonTheElder]

Reagonomics and trickle down is all about a few big winners while everyone else is a loser. They didn't mention anything about really doing anything to deserve their big winner status.

[Amalek]

Completely wrong. These executives get their bonuses, and they pay some of them to the little guys who wash their car and mow the lawn, and some more to the girls who, you know.

[BillyPilgram57]

And we lose our jobs, our homes,
our health insurance.............
Sounds like the New America is
right on track.

[dennissinned]

"Board members at the company defended the move however..." -- Board members which are mostly executives themselves at other companies!!! Yeah, they'd like to keep the money among themselves. Their executives are so good they missed their target but deserve a bonus because all the other executives are getting it, too. A person's sense of entitlement will be the cause of his ruin more than anything else.

[imrusselloliver]

i'd start my own company and run it like a business should be run, rewarding pay with results. but i'm too lazy.

[FoonTheElder]

Sorry, you just aren't big corporate material. You can be lazy, but you need to learn how the game is played.

[SnickDiesel]

That's right. You'll need a new wardrobe, watch, luxury car, Mansion, country club membership, lots of connected friends with big money, family ties to other big money families, and some type of recurring revenue business that you can't possibly screw up.
Then, you'll be too big to fail.

[jeanrenoir]

Like the "sensitive" birthday parties these guys give for their kids in which all the losers get prizes too. How touching!

[schatsie]

and they write off the parties as business expenses....God forbid they should pay payroll and income taxes on every dollar before they get to spend it....God forbid they should not be able to take a tax deduction for a party....