Like millions of human beings, I’ve found myself riveted to the horrors of Haiti. While watching the news at half attention this morning, President Obama’s speech on putting a tax on the companies that took part in the bailout seemed a bit jarring at first. But then I realized that the Haitian situation fits rather well with the economic message.

President Obama called the banks recent round of bonuses “obscene.” I like that word. The average Haitian lives on less than $2 dollars a day. That makes the math pretty easy-about $730 a year. I confess, I can get lost on searching the Internet. Today I did as I went looking for what obscene might mean. Just how much did the financial institutions, too big to fail, pay out in executive bonuses? The New York Times reported (01/10/10) that numbers, “six, seven, and even eight-figure sums for some chief executive and top producers…” Then I found another story on CNN that the average compensation of the CEO’s who took bailout money in 2007 was 11.1 million. Hmm, 11.1 million divided by 365 means that those poor guys have to get by on a little over $30,000 a day. Just think about that. Obscene.

The contrast is amazing. I can only hope that Americans can respond to the overwhelming human suffering in Haiti with a fraction of our financial institutions’ response to the insatiable desires of their top executives. I guess it’s too much to expect Goldman Sachs et al. to demonstrate similar compassion and generosity to the natives of Haiti.

So, what does our blog have to do with all of this? When you see pictures of people digging with their hands through concrete to reach thin limbs and muffled moans, we urge you all to take some time to count your blessings and help those less fortunate. Donate directly to an organization and watch out for scams. Partners in Health has been recommended by Tracy Kidder, author of Mountains Beyond Mountains, in an Op-Ed in NYT and our son who traveled to Haiti a few weeks ago with The United Nations Associations of Young Professionals for International Cooperation. Partners in Health trains Haitian doctors and provides medical care. You can donate at: http://www.pih.org/home.html Be careful not to donate to just “any” relief organization-check them out first. Take care and be grateful.

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Prof.Lakshman (January 15, 2010)

From Psych Central's website:
PsychCentral (January 15, 2010)

    Last reviewed: 14 Jan 2010