Readers: No Cash Bonuses at Goldman

You expect the economy will continue to recover in 2010. You would take a voluntary buyout package if your employer offered one. And, you believe Goldman Sachs top executives should receive bonuses in the form of, well, a seasonal commodity.

These are some of the topical issues SmartMoney.com readers voted on this week in our online polls. The results came in a five-day stretch when the stock market struggled to maintain the gains it had earned during the prior three weeks as of publication time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen a modest 0.53% for the week. Traders reacted to mixed news about the domestic and global recoveries. In the U.S., the Senate dropped plans for a government-run public health insurance option; retail sales for November surpassed expectations; and prices for imported goods kept rising. Abroad, President Obama received the Nobel Prize while remaining committed to fighting in Afghanistan; world leaders met in Copenhagen to strike a deal on climate change; and questions lingered over Greece s ability to repay its debt and whether other eurozone countries will soon follow.

Readers say a U.S. economic recovery appears to be underway. Sixty-two percent of respondents say that the economy will continue recovering in 2010, and there is some evidence to support that idea: The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep interest rates low through the first quarter of the 2010, and data released this week showed that households reduced their debt for the fourth straight quarter. Still, the extent of the recovery remains in question. The unemployment rate is projected to remain in the double digits for most of the year, and a housing recovery could get stalled with foreclosure filings projected to hit a record of nearly four million in 2009 alone, according to a RealtyTrac report released this week.

On the employment front, an overwhelming percentage of respondents said they would take a voluntary buyout package from their employer. In an effort to trim costs and rebalance budgets, employers (including corporations, universities and city councils) are offering voluntary buyout packages that typically consist of several months of pay in exchange for the employee leaving the company. Sixty-five percent of respondents say that they would leave their jobs if offered such an option, while 35% say they wouldn t. While some readers advocate these packages, others say such an option isn t realistic for their finances: I have been working full tilt, non-stop for 39 years but can t quite afford to stop teaching due to kids [sic] college expenses, wrote choirboy4. A buyout would allow a younger person to take my position.

On Thursday, Goldman Sachs said its top 30 executives won t receive cash bonuses for 2009. Instead, they will receive stock that can't be sold for five years. SmartMoney.com readers echo public sentiment that Goldman s top executives shouldn t be rewarded with cash bonuses. Just 6% of readers say that they should receive cash. Twenty-eight percent say they should get the restricted stock they ended up with, while 6% suggest vacation days, and 3% say private jets. Fifty-seven percent recommend coal.