THE PROBLEM 問題
I work for a US bank in London and have just been given a bonus for 2008, which was 60 per cent of my 2007 bonus. It is a sign of the respect my managers have for me and I am grateful for it. However, my bank has received billions of dollars from the US government, so that my bonus is being paid for by taxpayers - which seems wrong. What should I do? Give it back? Give it to charity? Resign? Or keep it on the grounds that the bank is entitled to pay staff what it needs to keep them?
我為一家設(shè)在倫敦的美國銀行工作，剛剛收到2008年的獎金，金額是我2007年獎金的60%。這表示主管對我的尊重，我對此心懷感激。不過，我所在的銀行接受了美國政府數(shù)十億美元的財政支持，因此我的獎金是納稅人支付的--這似乎不太對勁。我該怎么辦？退還？捐給慈善事業(yè)？辭職？還是留著它，理由是銀行有義務給想留住的員工支付獎金？
LUCY'S ANSWER
It is a sign of how low your trade's reputation has fallen that most Financial Times readers assume I've made you up. A banker with a conscience is not a creature they can understand.
這是一個信號，表明你所在的行業(yè)的信譽下降到何種程度，以至大多數(shù)《金融時報》讀者懷疑我是在炒作你。一個有良知的銀行家不是他們所能理解的。
The few who credit you with existence do not credit you with sense: they think your guilt is misplaced.
少數(shù)相信你確有其人的人，不相信你在用腦子，他們認為你愧疚錯了地方。
I don't agree. It is right and proper to feel queasy about this money being dumped in your lap. It does not matter how good your performance was last year; banks that have been rescued should not be paying out bonuses at all. You suggest bonuses could be justified to stop bankers from jumping ship, but where are the safe harbours they are meant to jump into?
我不同意這種看法。這么一大把錢扔到你懷里，感到不安是正確而合理的。你去年表現(xiàn)有多好不要緊；說到底，接受紓困資金的銀行就不應該發(fā)獎金。你提出說，獎金是用來阻止銀行從業(yè)者跳槽，這么做合情合理，但他們想往哪兒跳，哪里是他們的避風港呢？
In spite of all this, I don't think you should give the money back. For a start, you may find it impossible to do so for bureaucratic reasons. Most banks are hopeless at processing payments that are irregular; it would not surprise me if no one could even tell you which account to pay the money into. Even if you cleared that hurdle, you still should not pay it back because the bank would almost certainly lose it - just as it has lost its shareholders' money.
拋開所有這些，我真的不認為你應該把錢退還給銀行。首先你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，出于官僚主義的原因，這么做是不可能的。大多數(shù)銀行在處理非常規(guī)薪酬方面心力憔悴；如果沒人能告訴你該把錢退到哪個賬戶，我一點也不覺得奇怪。即使你掃除了這一障礙，你仍不應該退錢，因為銀行幾乎肯定還是會損失這筆錢--就像他們損失了股東的錢一樣。
What should you do with your ill-gotten gains? You suggest giving it to charity, but as charities were not the victims of your bank's incompetence, I don't see why they should be beneficiaries of your act of reparation. The victim was the economy, and so you should take your bonus, pay your tax and spend the rest in empty shops.
你該怎樣處理你的非正當收益？你提出捐給慈善事業(yè)，但慈善團體不是你銀行不當行為的受害者，我看不出為何它們應該成為你補償行為的受益人。受害人是經(jīng)濟，所以你應該拿著你的獎金，上完稅，然后把剩余的錢全部花在空蕩蕩的商店里。
If you feel the need to protest against this rotten remuneration system, you need strength in numbers. I suggest you start a support group for bankers with a conscience. You would be making history as the first trade union devoted to reducing its members' income.
如果你感到有必要對這個腐敗的薪酬體系提出*，你需要數(shù)字方面的支持。我建議你為有良知的銀行家設(shè)立一個支援組織。你將創(chuàng)造歷史，成為建立行業(yè)組織致力于減少其成員收入的第一人。
I work for a US bank in London and have just been given a bonus for 2008, which was 60 per cent of my 2007 bonus. It is a sign of the respect my managers have for me and I am grateful for it. However, my bank has received billions of dollars from the US government, so that my bonus is being paid for by taxpayers - which seems wrong. What should I do? Give it back? Give it to charity? Resign? Or keep it on the grounds that the bank is entitled to pay staff what it needs to keep them?
我為一家設(shè)在倫敦的美國銀行工作，剛剛收到2008年的獎金，金額是我2007年獎金的60%。這表示主管對我的尊重，我對此心懷感激。不過，我所在的銀行接受了美國政府數(shù)十億美元的財政支持，因此我的獎金是納稅人支付的--這似乎不太對勁。我該怎么辦？退還？捐給慈善事業(yè)？辭職？還是留著它，理由是銀行有義務給想留住的員工支付獎金？
LUCY'S ANSWER
It is a sign of how low your trade's reputation has fallen that most Financial Times readers assume I've made you up. A banker with a conscience is not a creature they can understand.
這是一個信號，表明你所在的行業(yè)的信譽下降到何種程度，以至大多數(shù)《金融時報》讀者懷疑我是在炒作你。一個有良知的銀行家不是他們所能理解的。
The few who credit you with existence do not credit you with sense: they think your guilt is misplaced.
少數(shù)相信你確有其人的人，不相信你在用腦子，他們認為你愧疚錯了地方。
I don't agree. It is right and proper to feel queasy about this money being dumped in your lap. It does not matter how good your performance was last year; banks that have been rescued should not be paying out bonuses at all. You suggest bonuses could be justified to stop bankers from jumping ship, but where are the safe harbours they are meant to jump into?
我不同意這種看法。這么一大把錢扔到你懷里，感到不安是正確而合理的。你去年表現(xiàn)有多好不要緊；說到底，接受紓困資金的銀行就不應該發(fā)獎金。你提出說，獎金是用來阻止銀行從業(yè)者跳槽，這么做合情合理，但他們想往哪兒跳，哪里是他們的避風港呢？
In spite of all this, I don't think you should give the money back. For a start, you may find it impossible to do so for bureaucratic reasons. Most banks are hopeless at processing payments that are irregular; it would not surprise me if no one could even tell you which account to pay the money into. Even if you cleared that hurdle, you still should not pay it back because the bank would almost certainly lose it - just as it has lost its shareholders' money.
拋開所有這些，我真的不認為你應該把錢退還給銀行。首先你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，出于官僚主義的原因，這么做是不可能的。大多數(shù)銀行在處理非常規(guī)薪酬方面心力憔悴；如果沒人能告訴你該把錢退到哪個賬戶，我一點也不覺得奇怪。即使你掃除了這一障礙，你仍不應該退錢，因為銀行幾乎肯定還是會損失這筆錢--就像他們損失了股東的錢一樣。
What should you do with your ill-gotten gains? You suggest giving it to charity, but as charities were not the victims of your bank's incompetence, I don't see why they should be beneficiaries of your act of reparation. The victim was the economy, and so you should take your bonus, pay your tax and spend the rest in empty shops.
你該怎樣處理你的非正當收益？你提出捐給慈善事業(yè)，但慈善團體不是你銀行不當行為的受害者，我看不出為何它們應該成為你補償行為的受益人。受害人是經(jīng)濟，所以你應該拿著你的獎金，上完稅，然后把剩余的錢全部花在空蕩蕩的商店里。
If you feel the need to protest against this rotten remuneration system, you need strength in numbers. I suggest you start a support group for bankers with a conscience. You would be making history as the first trade union devoted to reducing its members' income.
如果你感到有必要對這個腐敗的薪酬體系提出*，你需要數(shù)字方面的支持。我建議你為有良知的銀行家設(shè)立一個支援組織。你將創(chuàng)造歷史，成為建立行業(yè)組織致力于減少其成員收入的第一人。