Bonuses smack of 'Marie Antoinette syndrome'

A Wall Street firm loses billions of dollars, nearly destroying its business and crippling the nation's economy. But top executives still receive huge bonuses?

As crazy as that sounds to most Americans, paying such bonuses even after a company suffers big losses is common practice on Wall Street, and it's at the heart of the outrage surrounding insurer AIG.

Employees of the insurer's financial-products unit received $165 million in so-called "retention" bonuses - payments designed to keep valued employees from quitting. They are paid out no matter whether the employee had a great year or a horrible one.