Yes, I know…you can hear Prince spouting and strutting his stuff……get over it!
We are in the midst of a crushing economic crisis….well crushing if you work for a living…not so much if you are one of the hotshots on Wall Street……the news is great….well the news is skewed to appear great…..
You tell me…the wealthy are buying diamonds, luxury cars and organic dog food……Main Street is buying second hand clothes, taking the bus and eating dog food….yeah…things are truly looking up for us stiffs….
Real unemployment is sitting at about 15%….some unemployment benefits will be lost……wages are being driven down……benefits are being lost……homes are underwater……and Xmas is gonna be a bit thin for most of America…especially on Main Street……but there is good news….
well only if you are wealthy you have this to look forward to…..
Wall Street reforms were supposed to force financial firms to better align pay with performance. That doesn’t seem to be happening this year. Profit-wise the second quarter was a disappointing one for many of the large banks. After what was by all measures an amazing profit rebound in 2009, this year has been a dud. For most firms, Wall Street bottom lines are supposed to be about what they were a year ago. Some firms may even see profit drops. Not much to reward workers for, at least not a record levels as the Journal predicts, you would think. To be sure, banks have yet to make their final decisions on what they will pay in year-end checks. But the early indication is the firms plan on paying their employees well despite their ho-hum bottom line performance. A recent survey of financial firm professionals said they expect higher pay in 2010 than they received a year ago. “If the object of Wall Street pay reform was to make bonus payouts less risky, then I think that has been achieved,” says Johnson, who cites clawbacks and other pay provisions that have sought to remove the incentive for deals that create short-term profits, but can leave the firms open to much bigger losses in the future. “But if the object was to reduce the absolute level of pay on Wall Street, then I think reform has been much less successful.”Read more: http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2010/10/12/wall-street-deja-vu-lackluster-profits-equals-record-bonuses/#ixzz173cHRlME
Wait! There is more……
Despite lingering concerns about the economy, a new report from American Express Business Insights says luxury sales are up, gaining 9% in the second quarter.
While spending in each of the four categories it analyzed increased, furniture and home furnishings showed the biggest improvement — up 21% — followed by sales at luxury department stores, which rose 15% in the quarter. (Women powered those department stores sales, making 69% of purchases. And 22% of all charges came from shoppers ages 36 to 45.)
While sales also rose in the apparel and accessories (up 9%) and jewelry sectors (up 12%), the report says growth slowed in each of those categories as the quarter progressed, indicating renewed fears about the fledgling recovery. Jewelry sales gained only 3% in June, for example, the smallest increase in the last eight months.
So you see…if you are wealthy all looks pretty good….if you are struggling….then the economy does not have the same appearance as it does with some others…..and then the big fight over tax cuts…..this holds NO promise for the middle class……and the jobs that are promised if the wealthy get their extension of tax cuts will not be coming any time soon…if they do…then the whole thing was just a set up to help Repubs win elections….and if that is the case then these BASTARDS need to be executed…kinda of what the Right wants to do to Assange……
Well, you would expect the rich and their representatives to attempt to protect their own interests, wouldn’t you.
However, if (as I’ve said many times) you have a crap system like representative democracy, you will NEVER get anything except partisan politics – and THAT never represents the country as a whole, or even the broad majority, but virtually always the most powerful faction (and often the loudest one too).
As usual we agree….just wish we could more people involved in this conversation…..you and I think too much alike…lol
Also conservs keep saying that these tax cuts will be good for the economy…..but that does NOT necessarily equate to very many jobs….and jobs are what is needed more than anything else…..it is all in the way it is spun by the doctors of crap…..
Bannaanannaanananaanana Republic!
They got all the money from our increased productivity over the last 30 years, now they’re here for your safety net money.
Chris…well said!
Well, like I said, I agree with you guys, I just don’t see what’s surprising about it. We may like to think we’d behave differently in their situation, but I’d be willing to bet a lot that we wouldn’t…
Thinking about it…I probably would not be too different…..I would be a massive consumer of illegal stuff…especially hookers…..but I think I would be a little more socially conscious and caring than these pricks….
We-eeell, maybe, but I doubt it – if you had either been born to wealth, or had clawed your way up by whatever means was at your disposal (the only way if your family isn’t already rich), you’d soon have learned to be an asshole, or you’d have lost your wealth/failed to get it.
I am told that I am already an asshole……so you are probably right……
Well, it is I suppose a subjective term – like so many others 😆
Actually, I have called worse….and loved it!