When a company is having a fire sale due to risky business practices, should they be receiving this kind of compensation? I realize this team came in after Stanley O’Neal led them into this problem but this still seems excessive. Let’s not forget that taxpayers have been giving away billions in loans that are about half the rate of *official* inflation, so it’s not as though Wall Street has been on their own. Looking at how poorly this sector is doing and the fact that former CEO Stanley O’Neal walked away with $161 million, this is a problem. CEO Thain has himself only been at Merrill since last December.

The tax code – that helps makes all of this as easy and pain-free as possible for companies and CEOs – has to be updated. Is it fair that companies pay for the taxes of executives? How many Americans have such giveaways and how is that even allowed? Nobody is asking for handouts (besides CEOs) but Americans are looking for some fairness. When business does well, everyone should profit accordingly, not just a couple of people. As we are seeing yet again, the profits are always limited to the top of the food chain.