Wall Street rejoiced yesterday when the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 10,000 for the first time in a year.
Meanwhile, unemployment continued to be high and more and more people were facing a future of living in cardboard boxes under highway overpasses.
And then, this morning, the Wall Street Journal reported this:
"Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their employees about $140 billion this year -- a record high that shows compensation is rebounding despite regulatory scrutiny of Wall Street's pay culture.
"Workers at 23 top investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers and stock and commodities exchanges can expect to earn even more than they did the peak year of 2007, according to an analysis of securities filings for the first half of 2009 and revenue estimates through year-end by The Wall Street Journal."
This, at a time when wages for working people are sliding...
Same old story. The rich get richer.
I'm reminded of a "Simpsons" episode in which Arnold Schwarzenegger-like actor Ranier Wolfcastle is asked how he sleeps at night and he replies, "On a huge pile of money with many beautiful women."
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