$38 Billion Christmas Bonuses for Wall Street
Wall Street shells out $38 billion for Christmas bonuses. Damn Folks, I never knew you could make so much money by losing billions of other peoples money. What an obscene sweet racket these guys and gals have.
Estimates are that the subprime mortgage housing market debacle alone will cost investors hundreds of billions of Dollar before it is over. The numbers are so big that no one fully understands them yet or the damage that the losses and resulting credit crunch will do to the US and world economies.
I guess that the Wall Street crown wants to get all that they can while they can. Next year a number of them may be less fortunate as crowds of outraged investors catch up with them. Tar and feathers, anyone?
“The connection between merit and pay disappeared a long time ago,†writes Eric Fry in the Rude Awakening, helping us break the numbers down. “As recently as 10 years ago, the bonus pool for New York City’s finance company employees totaled less than 90% of the net income of NYSE brokerage firms. Today, the relative size of the bonus pool has doubled, to about 180% of net income.
“$38 billion is more money than Wall Street’s five largest brokerage firms — combined — earned during the last 12 months; $38 billion is also more than the combined earnings of these five firms during all of 2004 AND 2005.
“It is more than the annual GDP of Guatemala or Costa Rica. It is seven times more than the annual budget of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), America’s principal agency for cancer research.
“Looking beyond our own shores, $38 billion is three times more money than the entire world spent on humanitarian aid last year. $38 billion is twice the sum necessary to provide basic health care to every child in the world, and three times the sum necessary to provide clean drinking water to every child in the world.â€
But as the Wall Street brokers , hedge fund managers, and investment bankers know what’s good for Wall Street is good for Wall Street. To hell with the investors. That is as long as they keep on pouring in money into the Wall Street coffers without demanding much in return other than assurances that all is fine.
And fine it is for those who are splitting up $38 billion.
