Lou...
These guys on Wall Street weren't running around investing their money in creating jobs...they bought 2nd homes in Montana, joined clubs like Sand Hills, bought yachts....they created lots of wealth moving money and phony paper around, but created nothing of value.
The "poor jeweler" gets it....he knows it is his taxpayer dollars that is bailing out the poor performance....and in some cases out right fraud....that these guys perpetrated. When it's his tax dollars paying their salary and keeping their bank open ...he has every right to demand compensation more in line with performance...if the poor baby CEO can't live on $500,000 let me know...I will shed a tear for him.
UMMMM.... I think buying a second home and joining a club (or for that matter buying a jet) does create jobs.
As for living on $500,000 a year and living in NYC-don't forget that roughly half goes to Federal,State, and city taxes.
and a 3 bedroom coop/apt is going to run you 1.5-3 million minimum.
A president dictating salaries is a joke and won't matter because no competent CEO will be sticking around (some may argue that's a good thing)
Look some people did some crooked things-they should be jailed, and the SEC is an absolute joke, but let's fix those problems, not run the talented people out of town and replace them with people willing to work for substantially less than a reasonable,responsible CEO with a family can afford to live on in NYC.
As for trickle down, don't you think reducing salaries of CEO's will trickle down to all who make their living in resort/service areas of NYC and surrounds? It already has-that's fine if it happens due to the inevitable nature of boom and bust-let's not fan the flames with socialism.
and while I'm at it-I have no interest in paying for someone's mortgage who refinanced to buy a jet ski,boat, and a lexus-and that's exactly what's about to happen on my block.
meanwhile,propping up property values with PLANS DOOMED TO FAIL ANYWAY-keeps values from falling to true(lower) levels .
This prohibits responsible people who have saved for a downpayment and have appropriate income from taking over these hosues from those who stretched, lied, or were fooled into bad decisions and will eventually cough up the homes anyway(thus delaying the problem and delaying the solution).