Risky Business

According to CNN certain banking companies will begin to raise their employees’ bonuses by an estimated 40 percent in the upcoming months, all in the wake of the financial turmoil in 2008. Many people are concerned that these increases may lead these companies back down the path led previously. The article states that the Fed will be ensuring that the banks are held accountable to the rules that ban excessive pay for bankers. But who or what decides what is excessive? Does the American public get to say, “Hey wait a minute, I think they are getting a little overpaid?” Or will it be the overpaid government determining what the definition of overpaid is?

Additional concerns surrounding the taxpayer bailout are being brought up since many of these companies planning increases were the ones that received bailouts earlier this year. But I think we can all rest assured since they still are not making quite what they were making in 2007, even with the 40 percent increase. As a taxpayer, I can definitely say this news does not make me sleep better at night, how about you? They are saying that the increases come due to the banking industry returning to a level of profitability. I say that we are not nearly out of the woods yet and this risky business needs to be looked at a little closer.