There are people that still believe in the old adage that if a person works hard they will get ahead. The concept is essential in order to maintain a capitalist system. Take out the incentive to work hard and a company, or even a nation is doomed. That concept has been used to attack the welfare state, and rightly so in many cases, and now it strikes at the core of the present controversy over executive bonuses.

            Employers should use bonuses as an incentive to their employees. Employers may utilize them as a means of retention, a motivator towards increased productivity or increased efficiency. Unfortunately, there has been a trend towards bonuses as an expected part of a compensation package. In some cases, when it appears that executives will not meet criteria established to receive bonuses, they simply change the rules so that they will. That was the case with WAMU executives right before the Federal Government seized the troubled institution.

            Of course, there is no law dictating what types of bonuses that corporations can give to their executives, and there should not be. Unfortunately for many of these corporations they have sought out taxpayer money to keep afloat, and with taxpayer money comes accountability, at least theoretically. It is the equivalent of asking your father for money because you cannot pay your rent but then you drive over to his house in your brand new car to pick it up. Dad still might give you the money but if you ask again you better be riding over to his house on your bicycle.

            If dad keeps loaning you money every time you get into trouble then you will likely feel less motivated to get your finances in order or make changes to your life that will help your long-term situation. That is exactly the situation the federal government finds itself in today. They have loaned out money to corporations that have failed to manage their expenses and created bonus structures that are obviously not tied to fiscal responsibility.

            The non-performance bonus model is present everywhere, and has infected everything from sports teams, to governments. There is an entitlement mentality instead of a motivating force, which is evidenced by huge contracts given to rookies who have not played a professional game and veterans who live off their reputation. Even government officials have come to expect raises and bonuses even during difficult times; this has driven the cost of government through the roof.

            A business owner is motivated by profit, and yet many business executives seem oblivious to that model. Instead of working to keep the fancy cars and jets, they only need to show up to work to enjoy a huge payday. If their respective employer goes out of business, they will have plenty of cash stashed away while employees that they lorded over struggle to live on unemployment.

            It is not the government's job to run business, but if a business takes government money or accepts government insurance from agencies like the F.D.I.C then they need to play by the taxpayers rules. Simply put, if they come to Uncle Sam's house looking for money again, they had better be riding a bicycle.