Tell you what: I'll lose $64 billion for HALF that

This is what utter, dismal failure gets you if you're of the monied class:

This year, thousands of Citigroup employees can expect bonuses based on their work in 2007, when the bank’s results have been less than stellar. One, however, will get a bonus based largely on his performance in 2006, which was a better year: Charles O. Prince III, who resigned under pressure as chairman and chief executive last week.

Mr. Prince, arguably the person most responsible for Citigroup’s enormous problems, can expect at least a $12.5 million cash bonus, compared with last year’s cash payout of $13.8 million.

And as he awaits his official retirement next month, Mr. Prince can rest assured that he will leave with $68 million, including his salary and accumulated stockholdings; a $1.7 million pension; an office, car and driver for up to five years — all in addition to the bonus. That is on top of $53.1 million he has taken home in the last four years, a period when $64 billion in the company’s market value has evaporated.

His $12.5 million bonus is based on a formula that adjusts the 2006 bonus for current stock performance, instead of simply awarding it on his performance during 2007, as with most everyone else. Pay experts say the unusual time-traveling maneuver effectively guarantees him a windfall.

Mr. Prince’s payout raises questions about Citigroup’s compensation philosophy at a time when Wall Street bankers are anxious about smaller bonuses and the current credit crisis. It also raises new questions for Citigroup’s board, which for years handed Mr. Prince lavish paychecks that encouraged risk-taking — and is now handing him extra money despite the billions in losses on his watch.

While the rest of us are told that there are no jobs for us because we "lack the necessary qualifications" at the same time as companies are clamoring for increases in H-1B visas, and while the rest of us are subject to employer whim or the financial realities of our employers, these guys who run companies into the ground never have to worry about a cent for the rest of their lives WHEN THEY FAIL. With this kind of reward for failure, where's the incentive to succeed?