What was very striking about the US bankers replies to the congressional grilling about their pay & bonuses was how they all, each & every one, talked about their pay as compensation
I wonder when this weasel word first came in to the world of human resource management. Is it limited to the boardroom, the great & good being compensated for giving up their valuable time, or do lesser workers too get compensation rather than just a wage?
I had some fun checking the definitions given in the OED
1. To make amends for.
2. To be an equivalent, to make up for.
3. To make equal return to, to recompense or remunerate a person for anything.
4. To correct an electrical device or circuit for (some undesired characteristic or effect)
5. To conceal or counterbalance a defect of character or physique, or to make up for the frustration of a tendency or desire, by developing or exaggerating some other characteristic
All in all, I think they owe some compensation to the rest of us
