Fund Loses billions in public money. Retirees worry about rent payments. Mangers rake in millions. Public is outraged.

Rinse. Repeat.

The Conventional Wisdom: As more of the world has opted against the idiomatic stick, its counterpart, the metaphoric carrot, has changed from its place as a reward for positive performance to entitlement, expectation, and a right of passage for executives. A perpetual cycle has emerged.

Michael Sabia, CEO of the massive $200 billion Caisse de Dépôt et placement du Québec (Caisse) is trying to break this cycle : Sabia has left his veggies neatly untouched on the side of his plate for 2009 through 2010 following horrendous 2008 results (where the fund lost upward of $40 billion) and less-than-stellar post-crash returns. Although not the first pension chief to forgo a bonus, his decision is, if nothing else, a token gesture of which peers will take note.

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