James Surowiecki argues that John Thain, CEO of Merrill Lynch, deserves the $10 million bonus he asked for this year. Surowiecki’s argument on Thain’s performance makes sense, but it underscores how weird Wall Street’s “bonus” culture is. Why does Thain deserve $10 million extra dollars for doing his job? And, on a broader level, this is a guy who, in 2007, made $83 million, and was named the highest-paid CEO in America. Asking for an extra $10 million bucks this year makes him look like a villain from Dickens. Even his board couldn’t see its way to granting the request. Some people, it turns out, don’t want to be first against the wall when the revolution comes…

Ezra Klein is a former Prospect writer and current editor-in-chief at Vox. His work has appeared in the LA Times, The Guardian, The Washington Monthly, The New Republic, Slate, and The Columbia Journalism Review. He’s been a commentator on MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and more.