Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Options

I’ve been thinking about this Wall Street 9/11 options scandal which has been coming out as of late. Frankly, it doesn’t really surprise me.

Writing from the perspective of someone who was on a US Navy vessel out to sea and was part of the plane guard for Washington DC on 9/11 I can say that my position is probably skewed.

To me, the sad thing is not so much that there are a few corrupt executives out there. This isn’t much of a surprise to me. What is surprising are the people who have lined up defending the actions of what should be scorned by everyone. Now, just for a moment, think if George Soros had done this, or a Warren Buffet? The Professor Bainbridge’s of this world would line up and be shocked; shocked I say, how these liberal investors hate America and they are seeking its destruction by any means possible.

Frankly, the good professor and his friends should be ashamed of themselves. It should never be the case where, speaking as the position of an economist, where anyone would want to profit under the guise of added incentive to perform in the face of a disaster. I understand his arguments; however, if these firms were performing well prior to 9/11, then they should perform well after 9/11. If the executives were not being compensated adequately prior to 9/11 then they should have been compensated prior to 9/11.

By the good professor’s logic, these firms should have offered these same options to every employee of said firm to give them an incentive to recover after the disaster.

Frankly, I am disgusted by this whole ordeal.