They just kept heading for the cliff—because that was what they were paid to do

The NYT (via CJR) writes another monster with its newest addition to its The Reckoning series:

On Wall Street, Bonuses, Not Profits, Were Real

...While top executives received the biggest bonuses, what is striking is how many employees throughout the ranks took home large paychecks. On Wall Street, the first goal was to make “a buck” — a million dollars. More than 100 people in Merrill’s bond unit alone broke the million-dollar mark in 2006. Goldman Sachs paid more than $20 million apiece to more than 50 people that year, according to a person familiar with the matter. Goldman declined to comment.

CJR's Ryan Chittum has the logical reaction:

Let’s stop right there and just ponder that for a moment. It wasn’t just the CEO making $20 million a year at Goldman. Fifty people did. Incredible.

I'm sure the Wall Street types will call this kind of outrage "class warfare," but think about what this kind of incentive does to performance:

Get yours - and screw the long run.

I'm hoping the newest crop of Wall Street people spend some quality time staring into the abyss. They might learn something.