2007 has been one heck of a year wouldn’t you say?
I, for one, have been quite comfortable… no disasters, no illness to speak of, steady employment, regular pay cheques, 3 square a day.
Not everyone has been so lucky. And trust me folks: Luck has everything to do with getting through the year without pain or crisis. When your luck turns, look out. No one can protect themselves against the furies.
Well. No one except for people like Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein who received a whopping 67.9 million in bonuses for being, well… a guy in the right place at the right time.
In the photo upper-right, CEO Blanfein relaxes after a hearty meal of investors
Somehow this company managed to avoid the bulk of the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis – a crisis that touched, no walloped the likes of Merrill-Lynch and Morgan-Stanley. Their respective CEOs did not earn a bonus this year.
And this is a perfect example of good luck. I mean, Lloyd Blankfein did absolutely nothing to warrant this kind of financial reward – his staff did. And guess what, his staff are getting no where near 67 million in rewards.
Truth is, as much as I support the free market system, this kind of reward system verges on the incomprehensively obscene. What of the million plus home-owners that will lose their homes this year because of the sub-prime mortgage scandal?
Sadly, versions of this story can be re-told from one community to the next in every small Canadian or American town; tales of inequality, unfairness and injustice – plain bad luck I guess.
In the last few days leading up to Christmas 2007, I hope your luck has been good, that your family and friends are healthy and that there is a roof over your head and food on the table.
In a society like the one we live in, sometimes it is all you can hope for.