Wall Street bonus results are in (drumroll)

Posted by Marc Hodak on January 28, 2009 under Economics, Executive compensation, Politics | Read the First Comment

OK, Andy, you can stop hyperventilating now about how much certain other New Yorkers are making.  The media and politicians have been fretting about how much Wall Street bonuses would be this year.  The nominees were:

1)  Up three percent (!)

2)  It should be zero (Barney Frank)

3)  Down about 25 percent (Alan Johnson, Wall Street comp specialist)

4)  Down 30 to 50 percent (yours truly)

And the correct answer is (drumroll, please):  down 36.7% per worker; 44% overall

I’d like to think that our AG’s obsession with how much these bankers make has contributed a little to this comeuppance.  Alas, the market’s work is swift while the wheels of justice grind on at their deliberate pace.  I’m sure Andy and Co. will press ahead, however, making it as difficult as possible to pay anything to those greedy bastards on Wall Street, tamping those bonus dollars down for as long as possible.  Of course, Andy’s own job is secure.  It’s up to his compatriots to figure out what to do with the $1 billion in state tax revenue and $275 million in city taxes that have evaporated with those bonuses.