Why fringe benefits?

I recently attended some graduate-level presentations at the personal financial planning department of Texas Tech University. These bright young financial planning candidates really knew their stuff. They worked through the arcane issues of split-dollar life insurance and executive bonus plans, and they quoted all the right code sections and financial tables.

My only criticism is they had trouble putting these fringe benefits into context: why employers would be interested, why the benefits would motivate employees. So, in less than 1,000 words, here is my overview of fringe benefits: What They Are, Why They Are Used.