How much should one person gain from another person's suffering?

This is the question I always ask in class when discussing pricing, especially of pharmaceutical drugs.
Today, I read in the NYT that "Citigroup gave Vikram S. Pandit, its chief executive, a compensation package valued at more than $38.2 million for 2008, even as the bank posted five consecutive quarters of multibillion-dollar losses and turned to the government three times for help.

Mr. Pandit’s compensation, disclosed Monday in Citigroup’s proxy statement, stems largely from stock and option awards that were part of his starting package last year and comes on top of the nearly $80 million he earned from selling his hedge fund to Citigroup in 2007.

The value of his stock and option awards has since fallen sharply with the price of Citigroup’s shares and, adjusted for Friday’s closing price of $1.78, it would be worth about $2.9 million, according to Equilar, an executive compensation firm.

Mr. Pandit, who declined a 2008 bonus, has said he would accept a base salary of $1 until the company returns to profitability.

Also, according to the proxy, James A. Forese, a co-head of Citigroup’s markets division, received $20.9 million in stock and cash bonus awards. Stephen R. Volk, a Citigroup vice chairman, was paid more than $13 million. Ajay Banga, who oversees Citigroup’s Asian operations, was awarded $10.9 million. Gary L. Crittenden, the chief financial officer who also declined a 2008 bonus, was paid about $10.6 million, largely from guaranteed stock awards to make up the difference of what he left behind at American Express."

The fact that the stock price declined since the bonus was awarded makes no difference- when the bonuses were granted they were valued as reported. Citi is one of the blighters on the landscape that made away with a lot of taxpayer money.