According to the Financial Times, the rapidly-passed House of Representatives bill to punish the people at AIG who received bonuses will have world-wide consquences. According to the article:
"Senior executives on both sides of the Atlantic on Friday warned of an exodus of talent from some of the biggest names in US finance, saying the "anti-American" measures smacked of "a McCarthy witch-hunt" that would send the country "back to the stone age"."...
"Bankers at Deutsche Bank said it could benefit from the proposed legislation by poaching its US rivals' most talented employees."
We live (and compete) in a global economy. Punishing achievement or government meddling in the internal decisions of a company does not help us compete. The bonuses at AIG are a manufactured crisis which will result in some really bad laws and decisions. (Chapter 11 would have avoided this whole contraversy) Don't talk about 'greed'--look at the envy that is being stirred up. We will lose some of our most talented people in finance, media, and technology if they begin to feel that the government is limiting their income. Where are the complaints about the income or bonuses of professional athletes or entertainers? Are they next?
Leave a comment