Bankers will take $5 trillion from American economy over the coming decade

[onehandle]

How to succeed by failing: be a banker. From CNN World:

For the American economy – and for many other developed economies – the elephant in the room is the amount of money paid to bankers over the last five years. In the United States, the sum stands at an astounding $2.2 trillion. Extrapolating over the coming decade, the numbers would approach $5 trillion, an amount vastly larger than what both President Barack Obama’s administration and his Republican opponents seem willing to cut from further government deficits.

That $5 trillion dollars is not money invested in building roads, schools and other long-term projects, but is directly transferred from the American economy to the personal accounts of bank executives and employees. Such transfers represent as cunning a tax on everyone else as one can imagine. It feels quite iniquitous that bankers, having helped cause today’s financial and economic troubles, are the only class that is not suffering from them – and in many cases are actually benefiting.

http://boingboing.net/2011/09/05/bankers-will-take-5-trillion-from-american-economy-over-the-coming-decade.html

[Broderick]

1. And our Justice department does nothing

They get fines and then more fines on wall street but then the American taxpayer bails them out. Meanwhile bonuses grow. It's a massive bilking mechanism of the American taxpayer regardless. THEY NEED TO BE MARCHED INTO PRISON.

[Rex]

2. America is the laughing stock of the civilized world!

So powerful and yet so corrupt!

[marmar]

3. All of this from an industry that produces NOTHING of tangible value.

nt

[dkf]

4. Prior to the crisis bank trading revenues were 60-80% of revenue.

Now it is 30-50% of revenue.

So outsized profits are largely investment related, not traditional banking.


http://www.occ.gov/topics/capital-markets/financial-markets/trading/derivatives/dq111.pdf

[dkf]

5. It's ironic this is co-authored by a hedge fund manager who competes with banks for clients.

Hedge funds manager compensation is more ridiculous than trader compensation. I lol at that.

Also it's not like hedged funds haven't been bailed out before. Look at long term capital.

[JDPriestly]

6. Wish I could K&R this 10,000 times today.

This craziness has to stop.

That's our tax money, our pension funds and our life savings they are stealing.