Tsunami of Greed: poor count their dead, Wall Street basks in riches

[Stone_Spirits]

Village Voice, Mondo Washington
by James Ridgeway, with Nicole Duarte

A Tsunami of Greed
As the poor of Asia count their dead, Wall Street basks in riches

December 28th, 2004 5:25 PM

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."

-continues-
http://www.villagevoice.com/print/issues/0452/mondo2.php

[G_j]

1. but..

they are not responsible, they are not even an "entity".
Just a faceless "system", can't expect compassion from a system.

>*a wee bit of sarcasm<

[xchrom]

2. tsunami or not tsunami

those bonuses are made on the backs of the workers.
if they ddin't suffer through layoffs, longer work hours, housing bubbles and it's fall out, fuel price run-ups and their 1st cousin price reductions, inflation, deflation, etc -- thes folk make a amazing amount of money provided by people they will never meet to say thank you even.