During the 2008 housing bubble burst and the banking crisis that accompanied it, there was quite a fuss made over the bonus packages some bank CEOs were making. Around that time, I happened to be working in the Los Angeles area, and one Friday evening, as I was in a Valencia watering hole soaking up a couple of after-dinner beers, I struck up a conversation with a local guy who happened to be some sort of middle-management type for one of those banks. Being the curious sort, I asked him what he thought of the bonus packages that the legacy media was yapping about at that time, and I’ve always remembered his answer.
“Well,” he told me, “Here’s the thing. A lot of these guys’ bonus package is based on performance, and it can work like this: A candidate meets with the Board of Directors, and they tell him ‘We’re in trouble. The bank is expected to lose $100 million in the next year.’…
