According to Rudy Giuliani, it’s shortsighted not to let state-supported Wall Street firms give out massive bonuses since those bonuses help float the economy through all the luxury goods and services the Wall Street sharpies buy. (And believe me, I’ve got no beef with Wall Street sharpies. A lot of them are friends of mine. Indeed, now I feel even closer to them since a chunk of my tax dollars is going to their salaries. Sort of makes me feel like a Wall Street player.) As a resident of New York City, I think it’s probably true that those dollars do do a decent amount for New York City economy, in the form of tax dollars and supporting local businesses — though I would question its relative efficiency in stimulus terms. (And that’s in large part because it’s a lot of money in a fairly restricted geographic area.) But the government support that keeps these firms afloat doesn’t just come from New York City, does it?
This is the definition of trickle down — give huge amounts of money to a small number of individuals, most of which will be socked away but a relatively small percentage of which will be spent on luxury goods.
Amazing that this goof was once the GOP frontrunner for president.
