For health

There won't be any column this Friday for health reasons. The blog's got a virus.

I am told, Virus is a Latin word used by doctors to mean, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Some just don't care

I wonder, when most companies are retrenching in current times, how many top management positions are taking a cut in their salaries. I wonder how many CEOs are foregoing their bonuses. I wonder how many of them will take a salary cut. I wonder.

Top bosses at America’s financial firms that received bailouts last year, irresponsibly and shamefully paid themselves lavish bonuses. A country where ‘super-size’ is a way of life, loves to indulge itself when millions are still struggling to find a job, and million other trying to keep theirs.

The new President has cut their super-sized emoluments down to a reasonable size. Top executives at firms receiving extraordinary help from US taxpayers will have their compensation capped at $500,000 – a fraction of the salaries that have been reported recently. Just to put things in perspective, Wall Street paid out almost $20 billion in bonuses last year amid its greatest losses in history!

Bonuses of Indian CEOs have never hit the limelight for the wrong reasons. Allthough, stupendous payouts are considered extremely brackish according to the Indian palate. If not extravagant cash bonuses, our bosses are fond of exotic holiday destinations, sedans, palatial homes not just in the home country... and it goes on.

Companies are laying off employees across the board citing liquidity crunch as the main reason. Well, one can faintly make out where the liquidity is going. For one, I can see our cricketers and the cricket board certainly is pouring in a lot of liquid.

Our corporate honchos who are downsizing at one end are making statements such as Recession won’t hurt the IPL (Indian Premiere League) and there won’t be lavish bashes, but there will be bashes.

Some never learn. Some never want to. And some just don’t care.