Wall Street bonuses make me sick.....

[mahon83050]

Did you happen to see the bonuses people get who work on Wall St. I think it was 23.9 billion dollars or something and the average person got $140,000 or something.

This is disgusting. I used to work in finance, but left it because there is no personal satisfaction.

What good do these people who work on Wall St. do for humanity? Absolutely nothing. All they do is help big companies get richer and rich a-holes get richer.

What about the real heroes who should actually get lucrative bonuses. The Doctors, Fireman, Cops, Educators, EMT's, Social Workers etc.

People who work on Wall St. actually make 4X as much as others who work in NYC....very, very sad.

 

[Bible_Belt]

That's capitalism, friend. It is not fair at all, but it is the best system we have. All you can do is make the most of what is available to you. I have read that Goldman Sachs' top people are getting 10-100 million dollar Christmas bonuses. That's like winning the lottery every year. It's easy to be envious, but just as it is with women, jealousy is not productive. I am considering ditching my legal career to try to get into a top business school so that I can someday be one of those people with a Christmas bonus large enough to generate Internet discussions.

 

[diplomatic_lies]

What good do these people who work on Wall St. do for humanity? Absolutely nothing.

Um...they keep our economy running. Without finance employees (ie. stockbrokers, accountants, bankers), we wouldn't have an economy. Finance is the most important cog in any advanced economy.

You want to live in a country without finance workers...you'd have to live in a 10th century peasant village.

 

[Bible_Belt]

By 'business school' I mean MBA, and the top 30-40 programs have average starting salaries of their graduates well into the six figures. There are many big-money jobs, like investment banking, underwriting shares to be sold to the public, or managing funds. "CEO" is a wide spectrum of jobs, since numerically most CEOs run small companies. CEOs of big corporations make big bucks. A company will often look for an accounting background like CPA when choosing a CEO from among several applicants with MBAs.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

...What good do these people who work on Wall St. do for humanity? Absolutely nothing. All they do is help big companies get richer and rich a-holes get richer...

Wealthy people are good for the economy. Ever try to get the average Joe to pay about .40 of every dollar they make to taxes? Where do you think they get the funds to pay the salaries of fireman, police officers and state educators, EMT's and social workers. Physicians are screwed because they are a part of the wealthy and are in comparable tax brackets AND have have ridiculously expensive education burdens.

But out of curiosity, what do you do to give back to society?

 

[Bible_Belt]

Francisco, I think the average Joe actually does pay 40% in taxes, only many of them are hidden taxes like alcohol, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. People would scoff at the idea of a voluntary tax, but that's what these items are. Poor people always piss away what little money they do have; that's what keeps them poor more than anything. I think the government sees this and wants their share. I worked in a convenience store and saw the way that the poorest people are the ones who love the lottery the most. I have been on various college campuses for seven years now, and I have not once overheard a conversation about how excited someone was over tonight's lotto drawing. Yet, at any gas station off-campus, there will be a line of average Joes waiting to pay the voluntary tax on their own ignorance by buying a lottery ticket. It's sad.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Francisco, I think the average Joe actually does pay 40% in taxes, only many of them are hidden taxes like alcohol, cigarettes, and lottery tickets. People would scoff at the idea of a voluntary tax, but that's what these items are. Poor people always piss away what little money they do have; that's what keeps them poor more than anything. I think the government sees this and wants their share. I worked in a convenience store and saw the way that the poorest people are the ones who love the lottery the most. I have been on various college campuses for seven years now, and I have not once overheard a conversation about how excited someone was over tonight's lotto drawing. Yet, at any gas station off-campus, there will be a line of average Joes waiting to pay the voluntary tax on their own ignorance by buying a lottery ticket. It's sad.

You know, you're right. It's sad to see how much money people spend on cigarettes alone, I just can't see any redeeming value to it. Yes it pays into the state coffers but come on, what is the plus side to the smoker? And as for the lottery, I'd rather piss away my money in a video arcade because at least you get some amusement for your dollars.

I remember when I use to smoke and the cost of cigarettes was going to go up to the price of a large bottle of beer and I decided to choose that I'd rather have the beer than a pack of funky old cigarettes. Hey, I was a student and I couldn't afford both a pack of cigarettes and and beer, that would have been $3.00 plus tax!!! I am glad that I made that choice. I can't fathom how much money I saved by giving up smoking.

But the point being that the sad thing about this is that the opportunities available for this country is ridiculously high yet few take advantage of it. It's the fault that few learn how to make money and they believe that they can somehow build a fortune by saving money. It ain't gonna happen as long as they choose to work a standard 9 to 5 for a pittance of a salary. It's the innovators that can take an idea and make a mint from it and yet those who succeed are penalized for their success. Only in America.

 

[~attrACTION~]

What about the real heroes who should actually get lucrative bonuses. The Doctors, Fireman, Cops, Educators, EMT's, Social Workers etc.

People who work on Wall St. actually make 4X as much as others who work in NYC....very, very sad.

It's not sad at all. They make more money because they have more responsibility, and they chose to be at the top. Even police officers and teachers can be well off if they learn to invest in assets and actually learn about finances. I think it's sad that you feel this way. We live in the best country in the world, where anyone is free to become anything. Becoming wealthy starts with being responsible for yourself - if you keep blaming big companies, government, or other people for your financial situation, you'll never get wealthy.

There is a plethora of opportunities awaiting you everywhere, you just need to open your eyes. If anyone is poor in America, it's their own fault, unless they are somehow mentally/physically disabled (that's the only exception). If you're able to work, you shouldn't be complaining.

But the point being that the sad thing about this is that the opportunities available for this country is ridiculously high yet few take advantage of it. It's the fault that few learn how to make money and they believe that they can somehow build a fortune by saving money. It ain't gonna happen as long as they choose to work a standard 9 to 5 for a pittance of a salary. It's the innovators that can take an idea and make a mint from it and yet those who succeed are penalized for their success. Only in America.

Agreed. It's also only in America where you have all this opportunity, and people still complain. I can understand if you live in Iraq or Africa, but we're in America, not some third-world village with no running water or electricity.

 

[squirrels]

What good do these people who work on Wall St. do for humanity? Absolutely nothing. All they do is help big companies get richer and rich a-holes get richer.

Take all those people out of the world...and see what happens to our civilization.

If they weren't worth what they were getting paid, people wouldn't pay them for it. People like YOU.

How many sodas have you drank this year, lining the pockets of Coke and Pepsi? How many times have you gone to McDonalds? How many times did you drive there in your Toyota or Honda or Chevy? How many times have you come home and flipped on your Sony television so you could watch your Comcast cable, or powered up your Dell Computer with your Microsoft operating system so you could post on this forum? Then eaten a bowl of your Kellog's cereal, taken a shower with your Johnson & Johnson hygeine products, then gone to sleep in your Sealy bed, only to be woken by your Timex alarm clock the next morning that you bought at Wal Mart?

And how many times did you donate to your local volunteer fire department?

For that matter, how much did you pay your accountant at H&R Block or Prudential or whatever other big corporation to keep you paying as little as possible in tax to the government...tax that PAYS for people like cops and teachers?

THAT'S why corporate bigwigs make the money they do while civil servants get paid barely enough to survive. Because there are thousands of people who think just like you. Millions, in fact, who love to bask in the benefits of corporate America while cursing the people with the vision and drive to make the whole thing happen.

People love to cry about what's "deserved" and what's "owed" by life. Life doesn't owe anyone sh!t.

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

Agreed. It's also only in America where you have all this opportunity, and people still complain. I can understand if you live in Iraq or Africa, but we're in America, not some third-world village with no running water or electricity.

People gripe about some immigrants who come to this country and once they learn enough of the language they start a business. I say good for them, they prove that any one can do it as long as they get up off of their ass and just do it.

 

[Bible_Belt]

How much does a MBA education cost in the US, and what's a CPA?

mba runs about $20-$30,000 US per year for a top school. The mba is a 2-year program, but you need about a year of undergraduate business courses as prerequisites.

CPA is 'Certified Public Accountant' which is the test and designation that accountants get after completing a 4-year accounting degree and passing a big test.

Would it be difficult for me to get a job in the states due to my European residency?

You have to have a green card to work. It is possible to get sponsored by an employer if you are a valuable employee, or they might let you in if you have family here, but marrying an American and waiting the 1-2 years for the green card is the only certain way.

And on the other topic of 'the American dream' and so forth, afoaf works in a factory, and he says that virtually everyone he meets there has no ambition to ever do anything with their life but work at the plant and press parts on an assembly line.

 

[mahon83050]

Take all those people out of the world...and see what happens to our civilization.

If they weren't worth what they were getting paid, people wouldn't pay them for it. People like YOU.

How many sodas have you drank this year, lining the pockets of Coke and Pepsi? How many times have you gone to McDonalds? How many times did you drive there in your Toyota or Honda or Chevy? How many times have you come home and flipped on your Sony television so you could watch your Comcast cable, or powered up your Dell Computer with your Microsoft operating system so you could post on this forum? Then eaten a bowl of your Kellog's cereal, taken a shower with your Johnson & Johnson hygeine products, then gone to sleep in your Sealy bed, only to be woken by your Timex alarm clock the next morning that you bought at Wal Mart?

And how many times did you donate to your local volunteer fire department?

For that matter, how much did you pay your accountant at H&R Block or Prudential or whatever other big corporation to keep you paying as little as possible in tax to the government...tax that PAYS for people like cops and teachers?

THAT'S why corporate bigwigs make the money they do while civil servants get paid barely enough to survive. Because there are thousands of people who think just like you. Millions, in fact, who love to bask in the benefits of corporate America while cursing the people with the vision and drive to make the whole thing happen.

People love to cry about what's "deserved" and what's "owed" by life. Life doesn't owe anyone sh!t.

You are missing my point. I am not pissed at those kind of corporate people. I am strictly talking Wall Streeters....Investment Bankers, Hedge Fund Managers, Stock Brokers...etc.

For example, in order to even get in on a hedge fund you have to have a certain net worth (usually 500K or one million), So what does a hedge fund manager do? They help the rich get richer and they make $200,000 a year and get $100,000 bonuses. Same thing with investment bankers, only they help companies get richer. Now, don't you think a doctor or educator or physical fitness trainer who actually influence, save, and change people's life for the better deserve bonuses like that? Yes, NOT Wall Streeters.....

As Martin Sheen said to his stockbroker son in the movie Wall Street.

"Maybe when you can come work for Blue Star airline after prison, CREATE instead of living off the buying and selling of others."

I used to work in Finance (Stock Brokerage), albeit I was making crap money at the time. I now just got my Master's in LIbrary and Information Science.

No, I will not be making loot, but I will be HELPING and serving people, regardless if they HAVE loads of money or not.

I don't know how these Wall Streeters get any personal satisfaction out of their jobs, they are all just greedy.

 

[Demon]

Heh, doctors...

 

[diplomatic_lies]

Mahon, I'll ask you this simple question: Are you personally paying for the bonuses of these Wall Street employees?

If not, then what right do you have to complain? You're not paying their salaries. Rich people with lots of money are paying their salaries. How does the salary of a Wall St stockbroker affect you?

I now just got my Master's in LIbrary and Information Science.

No, I will not be making loot, but I will be HELPING and serving people, regardless if they HAVE loads of money or not.

So you're a librarian? That means you're a government employee. And that means your salary comes out of MY tax money. In fact, we're ALL paying your salary with our tax money. Isn't that kind of ironic?

 

[mahon83050]

Mahon, I'll ask you this simple question: Are you personally paying for the bonuses of these Wall Street employees?

If not, then what right do you have to complain? You're not paying their salaries. Rich people with lots of money are paying their salaries. How does the salary of a Wall St stockbroker affect you?


So you're a librarian? That means you're a government employee. And that means your salary comes out of MY tax money. In fact, we're ALL paying your salary with our tax money. Isn't that kind of ironic?

I'm a librarian, but I do not have a job yet. If you want to use that argument, then I pay my own salary as well...since I pay my taxes too!

Besides, librarians are for the benefit of the people, all people, not just those with money.

 

[diplomatic_lies]

Stockbrokers are NOT obliged to benefit society, because their salaries do not come from our tax money.

But cops/firemen/librarians have an obligation to society, because society pays their salary (taxes).

You understand?

 

[PRMoon]

Stockbrokers are NOT obliged to benefit society, because their salaries do not come from our tax money.

But cops/firemen/librarians have an obligation to society, because society pays their salary (taxes).

You understand?

I'd say that's game set and match for DL. If you want and believe that cops, firemen, libriarians, EMTs and such deserve more money, then propose a tax increase to your local politicians. I'm sure that'll be a popular idea.

 

[mahon83050]

I'd say that's game set and match for DL. If you want and believe that cops, firemen, libriarians, EMTs and such deserve more money, then propose a tax increase to your local politicians. I'm sure that'll be a popular idea.

I cannot believe any of you don't think what the people on Wall Street make is totally excessive. But I guess, their salaries are justified because your tax dollars aren't paying for it? I guess it does not bother you either that athletes who can barely spell their own name make $10 Million a year either?

You people are sad and greedy

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I cannot believe any of you don't think what the people on Wall Street make is totally excessive. But I guess, their salaries are justified because your tax dollars aren't paying for it? I guess it does not bother you either that athletes who can barely spell their own name make $10 Million a year either?

You people are sad and greedy

So you're saying that if you had the ability to honestly make money hand over fist by doing something you enjoy, you wouldn't do it?

 

[Francisco d'Anconia]

I'm a librarian, but I do not have a job yet. If you want to use that argument, then I pay my own salary as well...since I pay my taxes too!

Besides, librarians are for the benefit of the people, all people, not just those with money.

Hmm, I never considered a librarian as a benefactor to the people like a teacher or a doctor. I look up my books and reserve them online, I get an automatic email to tell me that my book is available at the library, I go to the library and pick it up from the reserved section. I go to the auto checkout station and swipe the barcode of the book and my library card and leave. Did I even notice the librarian? Other than stocking the shelves like a grocery clerk, what do you do that benefits society?