End Bonuses for Bankers - NYTimes.com

I favor less regulation rather than more for most business activity, but the Wall Street bailouts by the Federal government have persuaded me that this has led to yet more severe excesses in the finance sector.


Taleb's simple proposal makes eminently good sense. The bonus excesses, particularly in 2010, simply are not warranted given the bailout these bankers received during the collapse of the risk markets in 2008/2009. 

 "The promise of “no more bailouts,” enshrined in last year’s Wall Street reform law, is just that — a promise. The financiers (and their lawyers) will always stay one step ahead of the regulators. No one really knows what will happen the next time a giant bank goes bust because of its misunderstanding of risk.
Instead, it’s time for a fundamental reform: Any person who works for a company that, regardless of its current financial health, would require a taxpayer-financed bailout if it failed, should not get a bonus, ever. In fact, all pay at systemically important financial institutions — big banks, but also some insurance companies and even huge hedge funds — should be strictly regulated."

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