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Comment by formercoder | Hacker News Reader

I’m always confounded by this “banning bonuses” conversation. In any job I’ve had my bonus is an expected part of my annual compensation. If you ban bonuses, people will switch companies, and their new contracts will state the same comp at 100% salary. Setting a total comp threshold could make sense. Not sure if it should be related to what % of revenue comp is, though at airlines it’s very high.

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And? let them leave ... if there's another airline, that didn't take federal bailout money, then they should be able to hire that executive and give them whatever compensation they want. Clearly if they didn't take bailout money, then they have nothing to be limited by.

But for the airlines that take bailout money ... well, if that executive leaves, someone else will step into their place. Who cares ... you people act as if executives are some magical breed of superhuman; they're not. Sure they might have a strong business network, but nothing the new executive can't build over time.

What alternative disincentive would you propose?

Setting up this system would be really tough while making it impossible to game. For every one smart person in the public sector writing laws, there are 10 smarter people trying to work their away around them to make more money.

If only there was some kind of chain of command or responsibility we could use to hold people accountable for the actions of a firm.

Incentivize businesses to store cash.

Really? Every job I have had has bonus tied at least in some way to company performance (though I have never held a C-level job either).

There’s usually an expected range. When your bonus is 300+% of salary, getting $0 means you find a new gig.

>>If you ban bonuses, people will switch companies

That's what the finance geniuses did in 2008...it was a great job market.

Ban bonuses or go bankrupt but no board will choose to go bankrupt so who cares about what's normal during normal times.

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