Wall Street bonuses due to set record

Wall Street bonuses due to set record

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE

January 15, 2006

NEW YORK – Alan G. Hevesi, the New York state comptroller, said last week that Wall Street bonuses are estimated to hit a record $21.5 billion for 2005, surpassing the previous record of $19.5 billion, set in 2000.

The 2005 bonuses were driven by record profits at many of Wall Street's major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.

The Street's munificence will be felt throughout New York: Hevesi estimated that New York state would collect $1.5 billion in tax revenue and New York City will receive about $500 million from those bonuses. "Wall Street continues to be critically important to the economies of both the city and the state," he said.

The average bonus of $125,000 was also a record, surpassing the previous high in 2004, of $114,270.

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Find this article at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060115/news_1b15bonuses.html

I read a while back that the houses in NYC were taking longer to sell and people were being forced to cut their asking price.

at some point the market ran out of people who can afford the high priced homes. I also read that 2005 was the year that many houses put up for sale were overpriced.

it seems like it was a correction in the market. To be expected I guess.

It'd be nice if there was a 2% sales tax on the sale of all that human property. After all, if I have to pay a 6% sales tax when I buy a Big Mac, why not a 2% sales tax when somebody buys a part of MacDonalds itself?? Even better, let's make it a 6% sales tax and use 4% to give the employees bonuses - something useful, like health care.

discourage new businesses.

:(

"The business of America is business!"

Oh, they were the roaring 20s, until they ran off into the ditch of the Depression following Cool Cal's Reign of Error.

The same conditions prevail today. Wall Street is happy, but American are sucking wind in a stagnant economy that offers no hope to anyone who is not highly capitalized.

remained flat during the year. So what is the justification for a bonus?

Disgraceful.