It seems like everybody loves to whine about how much CEOs earn, especially when they bank after screwing up big time. Some recent examples include E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC)'s Mitchell Caplan securing $11 million, Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC)'s Angelo Mozilo corralling $110 million, Citigroup (NYSE: C)'s Chuck Prince snagging $140 million and Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER)'s Stanley O'Neal pocketing a cool $161 million. Boo hoo, what about the poor shareholders?

Forget the shareholders, I say more power to these CEOs! That's right, quit your whining and accept it -- Wall Street is all about taking as much as you can, there's no compassion involved and anybody who thinks differently is in for a big surprise.

Maybe you should be congratulating these executives on their ability to get to the top and get paid for their efforts. So what if their stocks drop and all their plans go up in flames -- why shouldn't they be compensated for all their hard work and the sacrifices they've made over the years? Over the past two decades, you lazy buy-and-hold shareholders have been spoiled with excess returns, and now that you're losing, you're angry that not everyone is down in the pits with you.

Of all the egregious executive pay situations out there, the most offensive has to be the huge severance packages handed out to executives who were miserable failures.

Case in point: Former E*Trade (NASDAQ: ETFC) CEO, Mitchell Caplan, who stepped down as CEO after the company reported massive losses on subprime loans it had no business speculating in, will receive $10.9 million in severance pay -- two times his 2006 base salary and bonus.

How could he possibly deserve it? The stock is down to around $3.50 from its 52-week high of $26.08, and it's all because of horrible investments the company made. The CEO should be responsible for those mistakes.

In addition, Caplan's severance package and bonus in 2006 were in all probability inflated as the company had not yet marked down its subprime loans. Exorbitant severance packages combined with big options and restricted stock packages induce executives to take unwise risks with shareholder capital. The ability to reap huge windfalls from gambles that pay off and the huge pay these guys receive when they fail, leads to a decision making process that goes something like this: "Heads, I win and my options are worth millions; tails, I lose and I get $10.9 million and I don't have to work anymore."

Executive pay structures that reward failure threaten the future of our economy. E*Trade shareholders should be demanding the resignation of the entire board of directors that approved this parody of capitalism.