DeSantis's Blatant Grandstanding


Jake DeSantis's resignation letter published today in the NYT (http://bit.ly/desantis) is a case of blatant grandstanding. Perhaps unwittingly, the former AIG executive agrees that he has probably been overpaid over the years. An unexpected acknowledgement, albeit in the form of a major understatement. And yet, he isn't willing to pass up his massive bonus during a year that has been horrible not just for AIG but for the entire world! This is nothing but greed. There is no sacrifice involved in his resignation and the associated donation. He is already stinking rich and will probably get an excellent offer from somewhere, especially now that he is a celebrity of sorts. I don't doubt that there might have been government missteps (i.e. the WSJ article). However, those don't absolve multimillionaires from the added responsibility to give something back from the huge rewards they raked in during the supposed good years. Extraordinary situations call for extraordinary measures. If the elite can be overpaid during boom times, then it is also reasonable to expect them to bear an extra share of the burden during tough times.

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