NEW YORK—Get over it, America.
Wall Street bankers make too much money. The latest example: Goldman Sachs says it has set aside $16.7 billion so far this year for compensation — or about $530,000 per employee. Not bad for a company that a year ago received $10 billion in federal money as well as $12.9 billion from the government’s bailout of American International Group Inc.
Maddening? Sure. But forcing Goldman or any other Wall Street firm to pay employees less won’t help a single unemployed American find a job. It won’t help a single homeowner who can’t afford his mortgage. It won’t help a single credit card user whose fees keep getting jacked up.
If you want something to really make you angry, though, consider this number: $224 million. It’s a lot less than $16.7 billion but it could pack far more punch. That’s the amount the financial industry spent in the first half of this year to lobby Congress to water down regulations aimed at preventing another financial meltdown. And more money is expected to be on the way.
“There is so much happening in the financial sector to be upset about. The bonuses are the least of it,” said Barry Ritholtz, who writes the popular financial blog “The Big Picture” and is the author of the new book “Bailout Nation.” “More importantly, we can’t let the banks own Congress.”
The worry is that the money used for lobbying could lead lawmakers to back down on their promises for reform.
The Obama administration and many members of Congress have told the public repeatedly over the last year that a regulatory overhaul was needed to protect us from another financial disaster, and their constituents back home are counting on them. …
Read the original article at Boston
