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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    Profits of Doom: Breaking Wall Street's Addiction to Greed

    President Obama says free enterprise should reward hard work, but that "it does offend our values" when executives get huge bonuses at the same time their companies are getting taxpayer bailouts to stay alive. So his so-called "pay czar" has cracked down on executive compensation at AIG, General Motors and five other companies.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    President Obama says free enterprise should reward hard work, but that "it does offend our values" when executives get huge bonuses at the same time their companies are getting taxpayer bailouts to stay alive. So his so-called "pay czar" has cracked down on executive compensation at AIG, General Motors and five other companies. At the same time, the Federal Reserve has issued guidelines to discourage short-term risk-taking, prevent pay practices that endanger the long-term health of American banks, and reward long-term successes. Are the real villains being punished? Will unprecedented government interventions protect against another recession or is free enterprise the best protection after all?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Is It Time Wall Street Was Paid for Performance?
    1. 0:00Tensions Run High after Deadly Day in Baghdad
    2. 7:47Profits of Doom: Breaking Wall Street's Addiction to GreedYou’re reading this
    3. 43:13Disney Offers Refunds to Parents of Non-Geniuses
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/769bca4fbf97bf022190f4813812c1e2/new-default.jpg?h=250

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • KCRW placeholder

      Karen Radziner

      Managing Producer, To the Point & Which Way LA?

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • KCRW placeholder

      Rick Newman

      Yahoo Finance

    • KCRW placeholder

      Sam Pizzigati

      Associate Fellow, Institute for Policy Studies

    • KCRW placeholder

      Tom Donlan

      Barron's

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Is It Time Wall Street Was Paid for Performance?
    1. 0:00Tensions Run High after Deadly Day in Baghdad
    2. 7:47Profits of Doom: Breaking Wall Street's Addiction to GreedYou’re reading this
    3. 43:13Disney Offers Refunds to Parents of Non-Geniuses
    Back to To the Point