I don’t know why we aren’t more outraged!

In today’s New York Times, the article, “What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses,” discusses how Wall Street workers and bankers took home huge bonuses if the face of huge losses. It seems odd to me. I always thought that bonuses were based on performance – positive performance that is.

Before I entered the convent, I was in banking. But I guess commercial lending was a different kind of banking than what we are seeing on Wall Street these days, since my bonuses were always based on performance. They had to do with the amount of revenue we were generating for the bank. No revenue – no bonus, and eventually no job. My brother Tom has always worked in sales. His bonuses, too, are based on performance – based on the amount of sales. No sales – no bonus, and eventually no job.

Today’s Gospel reading tells us ‘For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.’ He also told them, ‘Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one  who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’” (Mark 4:22-25)

Everyday there are more layoffs. Everyday more families come to St. Dominic’s parish, here in San Francisco, and in churches throughout the country looking for assistance. Everyday there are more family tragedies due to people’s inability to cope with the financial disaster that faces them.

I don’t know why we aren’t more outraged! I don’t know why we don’t demand the kind of transparency from our financial institutions that the Gospel speaks of. I don’t know how we can let our elected officials in California or in our country bicker over bipartisan issues, instead of doing their jobs, and work on behalf of the people who elected them.