Why was Wolfowitz paying off his girlfriend?

Question

I saw a picture of her, and she should have been paying him.

Answer 1

He was not. His appointment as Pres. of the Bank created a conflict because his girlfriend was working there. She had a 200k a year tax free deal. (*actually, a tax "top up" to make her salary equivalent to the actual tax free deals that non-US employees have by treaty.) Pursuant to contract they would have had to pay her a huge severance package. To avoid that The Board of Directors and she agreed she would seek another comparable job. Wolfowitz originally offered to stay out of her job search and salary negotiations, but the Board expressly asked him to help negotiate her salary with an employer, which he then did - negotiating an equivalent salary with the new agency that was far above the usual level to compensate for the former tax free. The Board and everyone else had full knowledge of what was happening.

Wolfowitz was originaslly opposed for his the position by long term bank staffers who (a) universally opposed the Iraq invasion of which he was an architects, (b) resented his bringing his own assistants with him from DOD & (c) who had been collecting their huge tax free salaries for years while flying around the world doing business the same old way with the same old crooks. The blow-up came when Wolfowitz began stepping on staffers toes regarding deals made without sufficient controls and with what he regarded as corrupt governments. Suddenly they bagan lobbying for his removal and calling the Newspapers with the alleged improprieties.

In short, Wolfy is the victim of a lynching by the World bank bureaucracy.

Answer 2

If Wolfowitz had a girlfriend on the payroll, he was acting unethically. He should go. It is a scandal that makes the World Bank look bad.

I think such conduct would not be tolerated in most modern corporations.