[News] A TSUNAMI OF GREED

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A TSUNAMI OF GREED
As the poor of Asia count their dead, Wall Street basks in riches



>THE VILLAGE VOICE
>Mondo Washington
>December 28th, 2004 5:25 PM
>http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0452/mondo2.php
>by James Ridgeway, with Nicole Duarte
>
>WASHINGTON, D.C.--Despite Secretary of State Colin Powell's insistence that
>the U.S. is not a "stingy" nation--a charge leveled Monday by a frustrated
>U.N. relief coordinator, then taken back Tuesday--American contributions to
>the tsunami recovery effort seem modest by any standard. Relief workers
>need to get help to 10 nations, where more than a million people are
>believed to be homeless, where whole villages were swallowed by the
>earthquake-induced tidal wave last weekend, and where the death toll has
>crossed 50,000 and is still climbing.
>
>So far, the U.S. is sending $4 million to the International Red Cross and
>perhaps $40 million in other aid funds, along with a handful of planes,
>some bearing supplies and some to be used for patrols. The Japanese are
>sending $30 million for starters, and the EU $40 million.
>
>Miffed at the U.N. official's comment, Trent Duffy, White House deputy
>press secretary, said, the U.S. is "the largest contributor to
>international relief and aid efforts, not only through the government but
>through charitable organizations." He added, "The American people are very
>giving."
>
>The money being put up by the U.S. is nothing when compared to what's going
>on in the corridors of Wall Street, where year-end bonuses for the
>securities industry are the big story in New York. Readers of The New York
>Times were greeted Tuesday morning with above-the-fold images of
>destruction in Asia and below-the-fold accountings of personal riches.
>
>This year the New York state comptroller reports bonuses are estimated to
>total $15.9 billion. In a press release, the comptroller reports, "The
>$15.9 billion to be paid in 2004 divided among the approximately 158,000
>securities industry employees in New York City works out to an average
>bonus of $100,400. This is slightly higher than last year's average of
>almost $99,700, and just short of the record of $101,000 paid in 2000 at
>the peak of the last Wall Street boom."
>
>And what are the rich financiers going to do with their money? According to
>the report in Tuesday's Times, one senior investment banker said, "I have a
>sailboat, a motor boat, an apartment, an S.U.V. What could I possibly
>need?" Then he thought of something: "Maybe a little Porsche for the
>Hamptons house, but probably not."
>
>Another said he bought his wife a mink coat, but explained he wasn't buying
>homes or boats. "We are more relaxed and generous on the small things," he
>said.
>
>For the plutocrats on Wall Street, who so often make millions shunting
>money in and out of cheap-labor Asia, the horrid catastrophe in the Indian
>Ocean must seem very far away. But one never knows--perhaps the disaster
>will turn into an enticing investment opportunity in the days ahead. And in
>any event, donations for the charity relief effort could spell a big tax
>break.
>
>Copyright © 2004 Village Voice Media, Inc. All rights reserved.

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