John Thain: American Hero

It's been a rough couple of months for the financial sector. And in an industry accustomed to fat year-end bonuses, Christmas may be looking a little bleak this year. But John Thain, CEO of Merrill Lynch, wasn't about to let his stocking go empty this holiday. So earlier this week, Thain recommended to the Merrill compensation committee that he receive a $10 million performance bonus. After all, under Thain's guidance Merrill only lost $11.7 billion this year. And while similarly staggering losses forced several competing firms to fold outright, Merrill has sold out to Bank of America.

So maybe Thain deserves some credit for blunting the impact of the economic crisis on his firm. But a $10 million bonus? Have we truly regressed to such an entitled, everybody-gets-a-trophy society that this guy honestly believes his firm can lose almost $12 billion dollars and he should be rewarded? Isn't that sort of like giving a bonus to the airline pilot who manages to save half the passengers in a crash? "Yeah, we know it's not your fault that the wings fell off, but that's a hell of a crash landing. Here's an extra 10%."

After several days of very public ridicule, Thain withdrew his bonus recommendation. But let's take a moment to acknowledge a seminal moment in corporate greed and entitlement. John Thain, we salute you.