Got Pitchfork?

I posted a week or so ago about executives at the company I work for awarding themselves a nice, fat stock bonus while simultaneously telling the rank and file workers that we got no bonus because the company did not perform well. I think I am justified in my anger about that behavior. It seems though, that those opportunistic grabbers were mere pilot fish in the shark tank of corporate larceny. Follow the link below for the rest...

The title of this MoneyCentral blog says it all - "The Best Temp Gig In History". Read the whole thing, but the story in a nutshell is this: Alan Fishman, CEO of Washington Mutual, started three weeks ago with a signing bonus of $7.5 million. He is now technically unemployed because the company went under and is being gobbled up by JPMorgan Chase, so he got a severance payment of $11.6 million in cash. That is $19.1 million dollars for three weeks of work. Other executives also took fat severance payments. The shareholders? They get nothing. Nada. Zip. Washington Mutual stock is worthless. Shareholders got wiped out.

Are you mad yet?

Sharpen your pitchfork and ready a torch. There are McMansions that need torching.


UPDATE: Does this make you feel sorry for your local billionaire?

[Connecticut State Rep. Livvy] Floren, who represents some of the richest neighborhoods in America, said she is more concerned about the younger bankers with large mortgages and little children. She bumped into three people during the past week who are now unemployed — two from Lehman and one from the investment firm Bear Stearns. With no bonuses that they once relied on, the mid-level Wall Street workers will likely pull back from buying the fanciest cars and the largest boats.