Results tagged “wallstreetbonus”

Perhaps trying to tweak his rumored 2010 rival Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Governor Paterson said yesterday that maybe Wall Street bonuses aren't so bad. The Daily News reports that over the past few days, the governor has said things like "At the end of the day, when they shut those bonuses down, they were shutting New York State down... That's where we got our taxes," "I understand why the President is mad, but there are actually New York State officials screaming about the bonuses [and] they're killing our tax money...I'll bet if they knew that, they'd stop saying it," and "I'm not saying that anyone did or didn't deserve those bonuses, I'm saying New York State deserves its taxes." Of course, Cuomo has delivered blistering criticism of executive compensation over the past half year. Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf tells the News that if this is Paterson's way of winning support, it's a terrible idea: "If you said to the average New Yorker, 'Let's have pity for Wall Street guys,' they'd say: 'Are you kidding? Let's hang 'em.' Going after AIG and Wall Street is a lot more popular than worrying about state tax dollars."

After President Obama added his voice to the outrage over Wall Street bonuses (2008 was the 6th biggest year for them), Wall Streeters are speaking out on the bum rap they are getting and the NY Times was ready to listen. An investment banker said, "People come here because they want to work hard and get paid a lot for working hard. I think there’s a disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street," while an insurance broker offered, "My bonus is ‘shameful’ — but I worked hard to get it. I’m a HENRY. High Earner but Not Rich Yet.” And a lawyer added his spin, "The way we pay our taxes is bonuses. The only way that we’ll get any of our bailout money back is from taxes on bonuses. I think bonuses should be looked at on a case by case basis, or you turn into a socialist.” Related: Bank of America is looking to spread out its 2008 bonuses over three years, with the first payment coming next year.

President Obama slammed the bonuses handed out by Wall Street firms, calling them "shameful" and the "height of irresponsibility." He was referring to NY State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's report on the bonus situation: While total 2008 bonuses were down 44% versus 2007, the $18.4 billion doled out was still the 6th largest bonus year ever. The average bonus was $112,000 per recipient; Obama said, "Part of what we're going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility. The American people understand that we've got a big hole that we've got to dig ourselves out of -- but they don't like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they're being asked to fill it up."

While many think Wall Street executives don't deserve bonuses, given the mess the economy's in, State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says it's actually not great that Wall Street bonuses fell 44% last year. Why? Because that means to the state—and $275 million less to NYC. According to the AP, "Mr. DiNapoli estimates in a report released Wednesday that the securities industry paid its New York City employees roughly $18 billion in bonuses for 2008, compared with nearly $33 billion in 2007." Wall Street bonuses, before the fallout of last fall, "accounted for up to 20% of state tax revenues and 12% of city tax revenues." Another thing that'll hit the city: Tax incentives to financial firms headquarters in NYC added up to "a tax credit of $31.3 billion for 2008, which will reduce the firms’ future tax payments for years to come."

The big real estate brokerages released their 2008 4th quarter reports, and here's how the NY Times put it: "For those New Yorkers who wondered what the Manhattan real estate market might be like without the ever-rising bonuses of Wall Street’s elite, the answer is now emerging: an abrupt decline in transactions, tottering prices and buyers who are still looking but unwilling to sign a contract. "