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The Plague banquet: Wall Street foretastes record bonuses
Published: 30 December, 2009, 00:41
Edited: 30 December, 2009, 06:36
TAGS: Scandal, Crisis Chronicle, USA, Big deal
The heart of America's financial system, Wall Street, is reporting record profits this year, which means average bonuses for bankers might rise as high as 40% from last year - all this despite a depressed global economy.
America is still going through a desperate period of a jobless economy and watching the fact that some figures on Wall Street are still becoming fatter is not something Americans want to see.
Wall Street is benefiting from record profits after being bailed out. Profits are expected to be about $US 50 billion, which would lead to unprecedented bonuses increase by 40%. All this comes while unemployment nationally has reached a remarkable 10% and still declining – something one cannot fail to notice.
President Barack Obama did promise Americans relief and recovery and these struggles are very much visible on the streets and people are still looking for the promises that have been made to them. But it has been nearly a year and seeing those Wall Street bankers be rewarded for the current situation is something beyond understanding.
Those who are rich are still spending money on luxury goods while getting a loan for something as simple as education is still a struggle. And this gap between rich and poor is only getting deeper because savings are declining, too.
Earlier in December President Obama hosted a lunch with the CEOs of the top banks and from what has been reported, the heads of Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs did not even show up, something that is not normally seen when a president of the United States invites somebody for lunch, particularly in time of an economic crisis.
Moreover, Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, was recently named by the Financial Times as Banker of the Year while Time magazine named Ben Bernanke, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Person of the Year. This means that those believed to be responsible for the crisis are being presented as the heroes right now and the rewards are pouring down on Wall Street.
29.12.2009, 22:37
2 comments
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Yes, and now with the health "reform" they are going to force the unemployed and young people to pay around $5,000 a year, which is even more than property taxes in New Jersey, for INSURANCE. Let me explain. Last time I was unempoloyed (in 1999) they offered me a health plan called COBRA for $600 a month. Well, the Unemployment Insurance was $375 a week, so the health INSURANCE would have been almost half of my "income". Of couese,I said no because my child and I had to eat and pay the rent. Luckily, we had no health problems. At the time, it cost about $100 to see a doctor and that much for most pharmaceuticals. So I figured unless I got hit by a truck I would be better off not having it. But now by this "reform" I will be FORCED to "buy" this insurance by the government. Believe it, we are being forced by the government to buy INSURANCE. This is not EVEN a car that will get me to work or a refrigerator that will help me be more healthy and productive...this is essentially a FINANCIAL product and if the past is any indication, these insurance companies will not pay. I myself have regular insurance and was sent a $1,000 bill that the health insurance would not pay my doctors, that they had paid before for the same problem! Our leaders are picking on the most vulnerable among those of us to pay for a sick, vicious, cruel 'industry" that Michael Moore exposed in his movie, SICKO. Howard Dean said that 27% of the money we are forced to pay will go to the CEO level salaires!
Keep the poor, poor and unhealthy. Once they pass away they are no longer a burden and also you control the votes if those that appose you have bigger issues to think about or no longer exist but the ones whose pockets you have filled will continue to vote with you. Obama is not lacking intelligence but he is power hungry and now also has access to money that he does not comprehend. The US would have destroyed itself eventually anyway but Obama will speed that process up by ten fold. There is nothing that can be done about it, the US citizens no longer have a voice and soon access to internet will become limited to only what Obama deems ok. And during more vital transitions all communications outside the US will be completely cut off. Yes the US is at war, government against citizens the only problem is that most of the citizens are unaware of the war.