People in the bank are still not happy about the very strong likelihood of no bonuses, because they budget for them, but yeah - things could be so much worse.

That's no joke though -- I was stunned when I found out that the guy I knew at Citi made more than his salary in bonus. I didn't realize it was so significant, but I guess that's how banks work.

made more than his salary in bonus

Seriously?!? Wow. And here I am at my company for 16 years, and my total in bonuses is about $250. (They really don't do bonuses in legal publishing, at least not for non-salespeople.)

Was it here that we were being somewhat judgey about octuplets woman? Because I was feeling kind of judgey about her too, until I found out that Bill O'Reilly was being judgey about her, too.

Agreeing with him in any way about this just leaves too much of a bad taste in my mouth. The woman wants to have fourteen kids, and maybe even twelve more.... have at it.

made more than his salary in bonus

Yes, that's pretty much the standard here in investment banking. I'm in IT, and it's not the case for me, but my bonus is still a significant fraction of my salary.

That's no joke though -- I was stunned when I found out that the guy I knew at Citi made more than his salary in bonus. I didn't realize it was so significant, but I guess that's how banks work.

Or in this case DON'T work.

I'm over here all "Guys, you FUCKED UP." If you expect to get it even when you run your company into the ground and need the Federal Government to bail you out that bonus isn't exactly a performance-based thing, is it?

Now, I am as concerned about the negative effect on the luxury goods economy as the next guy. Here's a thought, since I didn't run an bank into the ground I'm already more qualified for that bonus than the guy who did. Give ME the million or two and I will keep Cipriani's and Danielle in business. That's just the kind of giving chick I am.

I know a number of places used to routinely give significant bonuses. I've worked for non-profits for the last ... lotta years ... if we're not supposed to make a profit, then it's OK if we don't, right?

Basically, I think the bonus thing is a bad PR move. Just give people $300K salary, instead of $150K salary, $150K bonus.

I'm over here all "Guys, you FUCKED UP." If you expect to get it even when you run your company into the ground and need the Federal Government to bail you out that bonus isn't exactly a performance-based thing, is it?

Well, it's the "counts on tips" argument on a much larger scale. Not that I'm sympathetic when it comes to many banking salaries.

Personally, I think that the "I'm happy to have a job" attitude can be a bit self-defeating. I still better get a raise, if only because, if I don't, it essentially means my lame co-worker and I got the same raise. And that is unacceptable to me. If there is any sort-of company-wide crackdown, I still plan to negotiate for more vacation time at least.

Of course, since street sweepers in this city apparently make $20K more than me, I don't think I could do much worse salary-wise if I had to change jobs.

Timelies all!

I guess there is something to be said about being a federal employee. Fairly regular pay increases, even if the amount of the increase isn't that much, is something to be thankful for.

I'm currently making about $1000 more per year than I was six years ago. Grad student TAs here have no negotiating power at all.