[Hencredible Casanova]

Food for thought....

[thegmanifesto]

(01-24-2012 08:35 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

Food for thought....

I have seen this before.

It's a bunch of crap.

"Tough Guy" conveniently forgot to mention that when they "lost" they whined like bitches and got a bailout.

Corporate socialists.

Come to the real world where I exist, where I make a mistake, and I pay for it.

If they were real capitalists like the rest of us, they would be out of a job already.

[Hencredible Casanova]

(01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:35 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

Food for thought....

I have seen this before.

It's a bunch of crap.

"Tough Guy" conveniently forgot to mention that when they "lost" they whined like bitches and got a bailout.

Corporate socialists.

Come to the real world where I exist, where I make a mistake, and I pay for it.

If they were real capitalists like the rest of us, they would be out of a job already.

Haha exactly.

I can't get over how people like whoever wrote this shit say that the Obama administration is somehow plotting to take down Wall Street. That's so far from the truth. They have squandered every single opportunity they had to regulate it. How does one even conclude that Obama and the DNC are trying to knock Wall Street "off the top of the pyramid?" That's just an outright fabrication. They're every bit as friendly to Wall Street as the Bush or Reagan administrations were. This is rubbish, man.

[thegmanifesto]

(01-24-2012 08:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:35 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

Food for thought....

I have seen this before.

It's a bunch of crap.

"Tough Guy" conveniently forgot to mention that when they "lost" they whined like bitches and got a bailout.

Corporate socialists.

Come to the real world where I exist, where I make a mistake, and I pay for it.

If they were real capitalists like the rest of us, they would be out of a job already.

Haha exactly.

I can't get over how people like whoever wrote this shit say that the Obama administration is somehow plotting to take down Wall Street. That's so far from the truth. It has squandered every single opportunity it had to regulate it. How does one even conclude that Obama and the DNC are trying to knock Wall Street "off the top of the pyramid?" That's just an outright fabrication. They're every bit as friendly to Wall Street as the Bush or Reagan administrations were. This is rubbish, man.

Yeah, that is my issue with Obama.

He is a corporate and Wall Street stooge. A fraud. He is the same as Bush. The same as Romney.

It is all the same sh*t.

Back to the letter, I love how "tough guy" threatens to take our jobs.

Like Ivy leaguer is really going to ride a jackhammer for 10 hours a day.

Or work on a scaffold 6 stories up in an elevator shaft during winter in a building with no heat.

Come on.

Ivy league guy would be crying by lunch time at his first day on the job.

These guys can go to hell.

[joehoya]

Dude should just STFU and enjoy his money. The reality is that he has virtually the entire government protecting his interests. Just do what the politicians do. Give the people some line about "I feel your pain", then ignore them.

I was talking to my buddy about this. He makes 7 figures in the financial sector. He was getting pissed with the whole occupy movement. Finally, I broke it down to him when I asked "What the fuck do you care what those protesters say? At the end of the day, politicians have YOUR BACK, not their's. As soon as the powers that be get tired of that movement, they are going to kick those motherfuckers to the curb." And that is EXACTLY what happened.

The game is over. With the "Citizens United" ruling by the Supreme Court allowing for ulimited funding of SuperPACs, the final nail in democracy's coffin got hammer in. We are now in a full on Plutocracy. The only option is to try to get as rich as possible.

[UrbanNerd]

I am not trying to preach or be all "moral" but some folks should know that when they have a "gravy train", chances are that some entity will try to reduce it or take it away and make things more "fair". In my industry (fall less money but much more than the average joe), it has be rumored/reported that Obama wants to gradually phase out many current government workers and make contractor become government workers in order to get the "real workers for government salaries". If that happens, I will not/cannot complain because even "I" will say that at times, I DO have a gravy train and I am VERY lucky.

My point...when you have been "getting extra and know it"...don't act all entitled. Nobody OWES you anything.

[Hencredible Casanova]

(01-24-2012 09:05 PM)joehoya Wrote:  

Dude should just STFU and enjoy his money. The reality is that he has virtually the entire government protecting his interests. Just do what the politicians do. Give the people some line about "I feel your pain", then ignore them.

I was talking to my buddy about this. He makes 7 figures in the financial sector. He was getting pissed with the whole occupy movement. Finally, I broke it down to him when I asked "What the fuck do you care what those protesters say? At the end of the day, politicians have YOUR BACK, not their's. As soon as the powers that be get tired of that movement, they are going to kick those motherfuckers to the curb." And that is EXACTLY what happened.

The game is over. With the "Citizens United" ruling by the Supreme Court allowing for ulimited funding of SuperPACs, the final nail in democracy's coffin got hammer in. We are now in a full on Plutocracy. The only option is to try to get as rich as possible.

I think what gets these Wall Street guys annoyed is that the growing public anger and sentiment makes for an uncertain economic and regulatory climate. There's no telling how successful an anti-Wall Street movement could get and how that could affect lawmakers and business interests. One thing the markets hate is uncertainty, and finance professionals do their best to avoid it as much as possible.

[thegmanifesto]

(01-24-2012 09:13 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 09:05 PM)joehoya Wrote:  

Dude should just STFU and enjoy his money. The reality is that he has virtually the entire government protecting his interests. Just do what the politicians do. Give the people some line about "I feel your pain", then ignore them.

I was talking to my buddy about this. He makes 7 figures in the financial sector. He was getting pissed with the whole occupy movement. Finally, I broke it down to him when I asked "What the fuck do you care what those protesters say? At the end of the day, politicians have YOUR BACK, not their's. As soon as the powers that be get tired of that movement, they are going to kick those motherfuckers to the curb." And that is EXACTLY what happened.

The game is over. With the "Citizens United" ruling by the Supreme Court allowing for ulimited funding of SuperPACs, the final nail in democracy's coffin got hammer in. We are now in a full on Plutocracy. The only option is to try to get as rich as possible.

I think what gets these Wall Street guys annoyed is that the growing public anger and sentiment makes for an uncertain economic and regulatory climate. There's no telling how successful an anti-Wall Street movement could get and how that could affect lawmakers and business interests. One thing the markets hate is uncertainty, and finance professionals do their best to avoid it as much as possible.

These guys aren't "annoyed", they are scared as sh*t.

I have seen some of the interviews, I think Jamie Dimon was one, these guys are legitimately scared.

Trust me, when sh*t really pops off, I am going to be right up front slitting throats and drinking blood.

Although, I might just get out of dodge and sit on a beach somewhere with a bunch of drugs and girls.

Haven't made my decision yet.

We still have time.

[BTman]

(01-24-2012 08:51 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

[quote] (01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Food for thought....

Back to the letter, I love how "tough guy" threatens to take our jobs.

Like Ivy leaguer is really going to ride a jackhammer for 10 hours a day.

Or work on a scaffold 6 stories up in an elevator shaft during winter in a building with no heat.

Come on.

Ivy league guy would be crying by lunch time at his first day on the job.

These guys can go to hell.

I'm not going to comment on the bailout, Obama administration, etc but I worked on wall street for a few years out of college and trust me that we worked our asses off. While you are right we have no idea how to handle a jackhammer, people that go to wall street are hungry, far hungrier than the average joe. A typical 1st analyst at wall street bank works 85+ hours a week and if you looked at his hourly rate it's quite average (around $20-$25 an hour)

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that? Construction workers? Nope, they'll go crying to their union or go on strike. The reason that some people are in the position to be a banker and others are not is because the banker probably worked harder to get into that position. I'm not saying the system is right or wrong, but don't go around marginalizing the work ethic of people that work harder than 95% of the country.

[Deluge]

(01-24-2012 09:53 PM)BTman Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:51 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

[quote] (01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Food for thought....

Back to the letter, I love how "tough guy" threatens to take our jobs.

Like Ivy leaguer is really going to ride a jackhammer for 10 hours a day.

Or work on a scaffold 6 stories up in an elevator shaft during winter in a building with no heat.

Come on.

Ivy league guy would be crying by lunch time at his first day on the job.

These guys can go to hell.

I'm not going to comment on the bailout, Obama administration, etc but I worked on wall street for a few years out of college and trust me that we worked our asses off. While you are right we have no idea how to handle a jackhammer, people that go to wall street are hungry, far hungrier than the average joe. A typical 1st analyst at wall street bank works 85+ hours a week and if you looked at his hourly rate it's quite average (around $20-$25 an hour)

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that? Construction workers? Nope, they'll go crying to their union or go on strike. The reason that some people are in the position to be a banker and others are not is because the banker probably worked harder to get into that position. I'm not saying the system is right or wrong, but don't go around marginalizing the work ethic of people that work harder than 95% of the country.

Big difference between working all summer in a cushy office and working all summer on a construction site.

[thegmanifesto]

(01-24-2012 09:53 PM)BTman Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:51 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

[quote] (01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Food for thought....

Back to the letter, I love how "tough guy" threatens to take our jobs.

Like Ivy leaguer is really going to ride a jackhammer for 10 hours a day.

Or work on a scaffold 6 stories up in an elevator shaft during winter in a building with no heat.

Come on.

Ivy league guy would be crying by lunch time at his first day on the job.

These guys can go to hell.

I'm not going to comment on the bailout, Obama administration, etc but I worked on wall street for a few years out of college and trust me that we worked our asses off. While you are right we have no idea how to handle a jackhammer, people that go to wall street are hungry, far hungrier than the average joe. A typical 1st analyst at wall street bank works 85+ hours a week and if you looked at his hourly rate it's quite average (around $20-$25 an hour)

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that? Construction workers? Nope, they'll go crying to their union or go on strike. The reason that some people are in the position to be a banker and others are not is because the banker probably worked harder to get into that position. I'm not saying the system is right or wrong, but don't go around marginalizing the work ethic of people that work harder than 95% of the country.

Since I have done both, and can actually speak from experience on the matter, trust me, Construction work is a million times harder than financial work.

When was the last time a wall street guy fell from a scaffold and ended up paralyzed at work?

And although I don't have any official statistics to back it up, I would bet the "marginalizing" happens way more often in the matter of that letter than the other way around.

Quote:

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that?

Furthermore, you are making my point.

Real capitalists ie entrepreneurs ie people that don't get bailouts when they lose, they work all year without a day off.

The guy who wrote that letter can get off his high horse.

Before I kick him off.

[BTman]

(01-24-2012 10:16 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 09:53 PM)BTman Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:51 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

[quote] (01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Food for thought....

Back to the letter, I love how "tough guy" threatens to take our jobs.

Like Ivy leaguer is really going to ride a jackhammer for 10 hours a day.

Or work on a scaffold 6 stories up in an elevator shaft during winter in a building with no heat.

Come on.

Ivy league guy would be crying by lunch time at his first day on the job.

These guys can go to hell.

I'm not going to comment on the bailout, Obama administration, etc but I worked on wall street for a few years out of college and trust me that we worked our asses off. While you are right we have no idea how to handle a jackhammer, people that go to wall street are hungry, far hungrier than the average joe. A typical 1st analyst at wall street bank works 85+ hours a week and if you looked at his hourly rate it's quite average (around $20-$25 an hour)

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that? Construction workers? Nope, they'll go crying to their union or go on strike. The reason that some people are in the position to be a banker and others are not is because the banker probably worked harder to get into that position. I'm not saying the system is right or wrong, but don't go around marginalizing the work ethic of people that work harder than 95% of the country.

Since I have done both, and can actually speak from experience on the matter, trust me, Construction work is a million times harder than financial work.

When was the last time a wall street guy fell from a scaffold and ended up paralyzed at work?

And although I don't have any official statistics to back it up, I would bet the "marginalizing" happens way more often in the matter of that letter than the other way around.

Quote:

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that?

Furthermore, you are making my point.

Real capitalists ie entrepreneurs ie people that don't get bailouts when they lose, they work all year without a day off.

The guy who wrote that letter can get off his high horse.

Before I kick him off.

Really? So you have worked on Wall Street and done construction work?...interesting... If we were to venn diagram those 2 groups you would probably be all alone in the middle....and not sure really sure how an intern that works his butt off is helping make your point...my point was people who actually work on wall st are willing to work harder than 95% of people in this country...and i stand by that point

[BTman]

(01-24-2012 10:14 PM)P Dog Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 09:53 PM)BTman Wrote:  

[quote] (01-24-2012 08:51 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

[quote='thegmanifesto' pid='148679' dateline='1327455684']
[quote='Hencredible Casanova' pid='148674' dateline='1327455307']
Food for thought....

Big difference between working all summer in a cushy office and working all summer on a construction site.

one difference is 30+ hours a week.

[defguy]

Im more inclined to agree with BTman... 99% of Wallstreet works way harder than 95% of of the US (not everyone is an investment banker, each firm has only a handful and everyone else helps that executive run the firm). I know credit analysts working for basic salaries that arent even on wall street outperforming 95% of the workforce in many random cities in the US. The CEO's getting bailouts and bonuses arent Wallstreet, so dont make that confusion.

However the letter wasnt written by someone on Wallstreet, it is wrong for 1 reason, wall street is full of geniuses (people leave NASA to work on Wall Street), Wall Street is the 5% that are smarter and work harder than the other 95% the last thing they are going to do is work our jobs, they will create a new industry to work in. These guys invented mortgage back securities and many other forms of securities many of us cannot even comprehend. Theyll have no problem creating some sort of service industry in which they can fit in and still maintain their place on the top of the heirarchy, and rightfully so.

IF you woke up tomorrow and the whole world was the same as that movie IDIOCRACY would you feel bad for everyone else or would you capitalize on the fact that you are smarter and you can live way better if you use your knowledge and you put in just a little bit (or a lot) more effort?

[Basil Ransom]

1. If the money weren't there, the guys wouldn't be working as hard. They work hard because that's what it takes. Not that everyone could work as hard as they do, but they will not work as hard in a normal job.

2. Working hard =/= being productive. I could break my back digging holes with a soup spoon in my backyard, doesn't mean I've done dogshit for anyone. So these claims that "Wall Street works harder than anyone" may be 100% true and still completely irrelevant. That's why Wall Street guys get so defensive - the idea that their work is worthless seems incredible, ludicrous even, because "I work so many damn hours, that's impossible. Of course this stuff is valuable, why do you think we get paid so much?"

Credit is very important to a well-functioning economy, but financiers, due to their privileged position and expertise, often extract more value than they create. They're transferring wealth from other people to themselves. Why? Because they can. They aren't stealing it - but we're dependent on them, and they take as much as they can get, just like anyone else. But their place in the economy makes it a whole lot easier for them to do it successfully.

[Brian]

(01-25-2012 09:10 PM)basilransom Wrote:  

1. If the money weren't there, the guys wouldn't be working as hard. They work hard because that's what it takes. Not that everyone could work as hard as they do, but they will not work as hard in a normal job.

2. Working hard =/= being productive. I could break my back digging holes with a soup spoon in my backyard, doesn't mean I've done dogshit for anyone. So these claims that "Wall Street works harder than anyone" may be 100% true and still completely irrelevant. That's why Wall Street guys get so defensive - the idea that their work is worthless seems incredible, ludicrous even, because "I work so many damn hours, that's impossible. Of course this stuff is valuable, why do you think we get paid so much?"

Credit is very important to a well-functioning economy, but financiers, due to their privileged position and expertise, often extract more value than they create. They're transferring wealth from other people to themselves. Why? Because they can. They aren't stealing it - but we're dependent on them, and they take as much as they can get, just like anyone else. But their place in the economy makes it a whole lot easier for them to do it successfully.

There is money in pretty much any industry if you bust you ass and get good at what you do. You can look at a guy who owns a sandwich shop down the street who doesnt do more then slap salami on bread but if he runs his business efficiently and expands he could quickly become a multi unit owner and be making bank, then start buying the real estate and be worth a fortune. people on wall st do well because they are smart and driven, and if you took them away from Wall St many of them would become successful entreprenuers.

[thegmanifesto]

(01-25-2012 08:24 PM)BTman Wrote:  

Really? So you have worked on Wall Street and done construction work?...interesting... If we were to venn diagram those 2 groups you would probably be all alone in the middle...

Not on Wall St. physically. (to clarify the record).

Quote:

and not sure really sure how an intern that works his butt off is helping make your point

It makes my point because he/you actually thinks that is something special to work 3 months straight.

Entrepreneurs work years straight.

Quote:

one difference is 30+ hours a week.

Another difference is in construction, you can have a wall topple over on you and splatter your brain on the concrete.

[UrbanNerd]

(01-25-2012 08:36 PM)defguy Wrote:  

Theyll have no problem creating some sort of service industry in which they can fit in and still maintain their place on the top of the heirarchy, and rightfully so.

What makes their place "rightfully so"??

[The_CEO]

(01-24-2012 09:53 PM)BTman Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:51 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

[quote] (01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Food for thought....

Back to the letter, I love how "tough guy" threatens to take our jobs.

Like Ivy leaguer is really going to ride a jackhammer for 10 hours a day.

Or work on a scaffold 6 stories up in an elevator shaft during winter in a building with no heat.

Come on.

Ivy league guy would be crying by lunch time at his first day on the job.

These guys can go to hell.

I'm not going to comment on the bailout, Obama administration, etc but I worked on wall street for a few years out of college and trust me that we worked our asses off. While you are right we have no idea how to handle a jackhammer, people that go to wall street are hungry, far hungrier than the average joe. A typical 1st analyst at wall street bank works 85+ hours a week and if you looked at his hourly rate it's quite average (around $20-$25 an hour)

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that? Construction workers? Nope, they'll go crying to their union or go on strike. The reason that some people are in the position to be a banker and others are not is because the banker probably worked harder to get into that position. I'm not saying the system is right or wrong, but don't go around marginalizing the work ethic of people that work harder than 95% of the country.

who cares? their compensation has nothing to do with how "hard they work" or the hours they're putting in.
they get bonuses based on the profits they generate, not because they put in 'x' hours per week like a bus boy in high school.

[CGS]

I posted my story elsewhere on here. I have worked damn hard in a "blue collar" job... working more hours in a week than any banker likely ever has. Being involved in high finance is harder work, period. You have to be both smart and driven. Anyone can swing a hammer, teach etc. In finance, if you suck you get fired, if you have a bad year, you get fired, if your results are only okay you get a shitty bonus. The comment about working hard =/= being productive is true, but not on wall street. If you are unproductive and just turn the wheels, your performance will be lacking and you will be fired.

The best minds in the world are trying to get these jobs. You go to HBS, Wharton, Chicago, MIT Sloan and ask who the smartest dudes in the graduating class are, the response will unequivocally be the dudes going into I-Banking, Private Equity, Hedge Funds and trading jobs.

The comment about bailouts is a bit selective no? Didnt the UAW get all the american automakers bailed out? And the auto industry in america is shit. Ford, GM, and Chrysler are garbage. They should have been left to fail if you think that wall street should have been left to fail.

[Brian]

(01-25-2012 10:06 PM)The_CEO Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 09:53 PM)BTman Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:51 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

(01-24-2012 08:44 PM)Hencredible Casanova Wrote:  

[quote] (01-24-2012 08:41 PM)thegmanifesto Wrote:  

Food for thought....

Back to the letter, I love how "tough guy" threatens to take our jobs.

Like Ivy leaguer is really going to ride a jackhammer for 10 hours a day.

Or work on a scaffold 6 stories up in an elevator shaft during winter in a building with no heat.

Come on.

Ivy league guy would be crying by lunch time at his first day on the job.

These guys can go to hell.

I'm not going to comment on the bailout, Obama administration, etc but I worked on wall street for a few years out of college and trust me that we worked our asses off. While you are right we have no idea how to handle a jackhammer, people that go to wall street are hungry, far hungrier than the average joe. A typical 1st analyst at wall street bank works 85+ hours a week and if you looked at his hourly rate it's quite average (around $20-$25 an hour)

I had a friend who was a just an intern at a bank and got 1 day off the whole summer(that means working 7 days a week for 3 months straight). Who on here is willing to do that? Construction workers? Nope, they'll go crying to their union or go on strike. The reason that some people are in the position to be a banker and others are not is because the banker probably worked harder to get into that position. I'm not saying the system is right or wrong, but don't go around marginalizing the work ethic of people that work harder than 95% of the country.

who cares? their compensation has nothing to do with how "hard they work" or the hours they're putting in.
they get bonuses based on the profits they generate, not because they put in 'x' hours per week like a bus boy in high school.

if they aren't putting in the hours they wont be around to collect their bonus at the end of the year. if you think you can work at an Inv Bank on Wall St and roll in at 9:30 and leave at 4 because your numbers are good you probably wont last long.

[Timoteo]

It's the justification of the bonuses that I find hilarious. Because they need to be able to draw the "top talent," they need those kinds of bonuses as an incentive. And it's that top talent that made the very decisions that created the mess! And then took some of that bailout money and kept paying the bonuses...

It's the attitude that somehow they should "tighten their belts" while the rest of us chumps have to work for whatever our employers are paying, or not work at all. If the banks are paying smaller bonuses, well...that's what they're paying, and if you want to work, you have to suck it up like the rest of us. And we're STILL talking about bonuses that are several times more than what the average person makes in a few years.

[Brian]

I agree with everything you are saying Timoteo. somehow the 'top talent' keeps running the place into insolvency.

some of my arguments aren't meant to defend the banks, alot of them deserved to fail, but more so the banks employees. for a company like Lehman or Merrill Lynch 98 or 99% of the people had nothing to do with the decisions that led to their bankruptcy.

[gringochileno]

(01-26-2012 12:25 AM)Timoteo Wrote:  

It's the justification of the bonuses that I find hilarious. Because they need to be able to draw the "top talent," they need those kinds of bonuses as an incentive. And it's that top talent that made the very decisions that created the mess! And then took some of that bailout money and kept paying the bonuses...

It's the attitude that somehow they should "tighten their belts" while the rest of us chumps have to work for whatever our employers are paying, or not work at all. If the banks are paying smaller bonuses, well...that's what they're paying, and if you want to work, you have to suck it up like the rest of us. And we're STILL talking about bonuses that are several times more than what the average person makes in a few years.

The thing is, society would probably be better served if that "top talent" became doctors, scientists, or engineers instead of spending their days devising clever schemes to make money by moving worthless assets around until someone decides to rate them AAA. Maybe it would be best to disincentivize these people from going into finance.

[Hencredible Casanova]

(01-26-2012 01:45 AM)gringochileno Wrote:  

(01-26-2012 12:25 AM)Timoteo Wrote:  

It's the justification of the bonuses that I find hilarious. Because they need to be able to draw the "top talent," they need those kinds of bonuses as an incentive. And it's that top talent that made the very decisions that created the mess! And then took some of that bailout money and kept paying the bonuses...

It's the attitude that somehow they should "tighten their belts" while the rest of us chumps have to work for whatever our employers are paying, or not work at all. If the banks are paying smaller bonuses, well...that's what they're paying, and if you want to work, you have to suck it up like the rest of us. And we're STILL talking about bonuses that are several times more than what the average person makes in a few years.

The thing is, society would probably be better served if that "top talent" became doctors, scientists, or engineers instead of spending their days devising clever schemes to make money by moving worthless assets around until someone decides to rate them AAA. Maybe it would be best to disincentivize these people from going into finance.

I agree. But as one of the last things that the US does well (finance makes up around 40% of our GDP), it seems unlikely that there will be any change to the status quo anytime soon. Obama has handed out a free pass to the banks and they are now back to profitability and paying out big bonuses.