'Tis the Season to be Greedy

Fa-la-la-la-lah La-la-la-lah.


I'm getting worried. Shame, the traditional weapon against corruption and abuse has been rendered ineffective - or so it seems to this wizened observer of the American scene.

While most of us are still tightening the old fiscal belt, bank executives, Wall Street fat cats, college presidents and politicians are unabashedly gorging themselves in a feast of excess.

In the news yesterday, the costs of congressional travel to conference in Scotland.  Our elected reps and spouses spent 5 days at a "conference", and spent taxpayer money like water from a firehose. 

Banks, Wall Street, GM are paying back billions in TARP money so they can continue to pay exorbitant bonuses to themeselves and cronies. They say the top execs are irreplacable but anyone who has worked in a successful company knows this is not true. No one is indespensible. And most of the important work is not done in Mahogany Row.   Besides that, most of the guys looking for bonuses were calling the shots when the economy tanked.  Aren't bonuses supposed to be a reward for success?

In his 2002 book Throwing the Elephant Stanley Bing presents a zen approach to managing the boss (the elephant). This observation (p172) is dead-on:

"Unlike you, the great elephants do not concern themselves with personal feelings because they have taught themselves to view the vast range of human interactions as 'just business', nothing more, and this distance gives them incalculable power."

So there you have it. The main reason execs have the perks is because they are a) smart and most importantly b) are not burdened by conscience.    Relieved of a sense of shame for their actions, there is no reason not to continue to claw and grab any money on the table because everyone else is doing it too.  Tough darts for the vast unwashed.  It's just business saith the Godfather, nothing personal. 

The problem is, we  (who still feel shame even when we undertip a waitress because of  lousy service)  are becoming personally revolted by these excesses - especially when it is on our backs.   

The great philosopher Tom Leher  nailed it in his Christmas Carol: 
"On Christmas day you can't get sore
Your fellow man you must adore
There's time to rob him all the more
the other three hundred and sixty-four..."