Executive Responsibility

The recession still seems to be hanging around.

The culprits seem to be deregulation, irresponsibility and greed, from the homeowners who used refinancing to live beyond their means to corporate executives who oversaw the financing of risky mortgages in pursuit of returns. Homeowners who overextended themselves may face financial ruin. On the other hand, the corporate executives who led their firms to financial disaster lose their jobs, but they walk away with severance packages of $10 million, $20 million and up. Kerry Killinger, in charge of our own Washington Mutual, walked away with $23 million while hundreds (if not thousands) of employees faced unemployment with the sale of WaMu to JPMorgan. More recently in the news was the demise of the Hostess bakeries - no more Twinkies! :>o But Hostess executives made millions while workers were asked to take pay cuts.

QUESTION:

What's you view on the multi-million dollar severance packages extended to top-level CEO's who lead their firms to disaster? Should executives walk away empty-handed if their firms fail? Should they be penalized? Or is a hefty severance package a requirement for attracting top-level talent?