I’m tired of the term ”bailout”.  While the origins of the term are varied, in 2009 it has become synonymous in the U.S. with a government-led cash infusion into troubled businesses.  We could debate whether the recent government actions should have occurred.  That notwithstanding, I have grown weary of hearing about them.

So you would understand my dismay at seeing the following headline:  Google Employees Get A Bailout.

I had to read this.  Thankfully it wasn’t what I thought.  With the market slide, many of Google’s employee stock options have become “underwater”.  This means that the strike price of the option to purchase Google stock is below the current market price.  The options are worthless unless the stock price improves.  So the company has offered employees another “option”, to trade-in their current options for others that have a strike price equal to the current market price of Google stock.

The conversion is not free to the employees, as they must agree to a new vesting schedule.  But it is refreshing to see a “bailout” without governmental involvement.  Well, until the tax bill comes…