<p>somehow my post got made twice… </p>
<p>d’oh!</p>
<p>Returning to the original theme of the thread…all the calculations about cost of living and how far the NYC salary would go in Houston are leaving out an important element. When you pay $2800 a month for a 1-bedroom in Manhattan, you get to live in Manhattan. The reason the same apartment is $700/month in Tulsa is that Tulsa is totally boring. In Manhattan, you have the world at your feet. You get back every penny of the difference in utility, or else people wouldn’t pay it.</p>
<p>The main reason I live in Chicago is that Chicago is about 80% as cool as New York, at less than 50% of the price. A good bargain in my book.</p>
<p>^^ To each his own. I wouldn’t live in Manhattan if someone paid for me to do so! AND- after 5 years in Chicago (which I agree is a wonderful city), I got out as fast as I could get a job in the south!</p>
<p>Those who are getting grief from the press and making the headlines may have to lie low for a while,but you are absolutely wrong about those who who made it under the radar. They were smart enough to get jobs that paid them very, very well despite failing. They were able to get the money despite the situation. Heck, Cuomo was warning them back last year not to pull this stuff, yet they still did it, knowing that the consequences were worth the big dollars. They did it because they could. They are likely to find other jobs that are lucrative too. There is a reason why they could command that kind of money and that kind of job.
The government should have bought the bank’s assets back then, but no one could figure out how to do it quickly and effectively. Even then, if compensation contracts were firmly in place, some bonuses may have had to have been paid. They could just make those guys fight for the money in the courts, which could mean more money for the banks.</p>
<p>At least some of the law firms would still be in business…lol</p>
<p>Law firms are laying off like crazy. It’s like a death watch.</p>
<p>Finally, an ivy leaguer with common sense:</p>
<p>Mr. Geithner, who will announce the broad outlines of the plan on Tuesday, successfully fought against more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid. </p>
<p>He resisted those who wanted to dictate how banks would spend their rescue money. And he prevailed over top administration aides who wanted to replace bank executives and wipe out shareholders at institutions receiving aid.</p>
<p>Let the flames begin.</p>
<p>I’m happy for you Hmom5.</p>
<p>It’s not me Dstark, I’ve just accepted a teaching job for the Fall and am winding down. I definitely think it’s for the greater good to keep the good people in place and so does Geithner.</p>
<p>As the Times pointed out today, 4 kids in NYC private schools is $128K/yr before taxes.</p>
<p>So? Are you going to work in California? At a UC?</p>
<p>CA yes, not a UC though.</p>
<p>Congratulations.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Then his boss, another Ivy league, has been lying or is it all talk.</p>
<p>I think Obama, like many including many within the banks, was genuinely outraged by the extent of bonuses. Then reality kicked in. He came to understand many were contractual and to also understand that a $500K salary cap would drive away too many critical people.</p>
<p>Thanks Dstark, I’m excited. CC has been instrumental to getting me in University mode. Who would have thought how auspicious my timing would be when these plans were hatched. This is a mess I’m happy to see in my rare view mirror. Of course good luck to us selling in NYC anytime soon…</p>
<p>The market did not react well to Mr. Geithner’s news today. One wonders why, if it benefits those on the street so…</p>
<p>Geithner said nothing about salary caps today, that was leaked info that will be announced later.</p>
<p>Hmom, good luck in your new position!</p>
<p>I’m quite sure that if salary caps were imposed, the companies in question would end up with better, smarter, more honest, and more highly qualified executives to replace any who chose to leave because of the salary caps. They would get people who were more motivated by the challenges or intellectual stimulation of the job and less by personal greed; individuals who would be more likely to make decisions based on the collective interests of the organization rather than their own personal interests. </p>
<p>There are, in fact, some top executives of some companies receiving bailout funds who currently are working for salaries of $1 a year. For those few, I think we can be confident that they will be highly motivated to get their companies back on track and that they fully appreciate the seriousness of the current situation.</p>
<p>Those who expect to be receiving large bonuses or salaries in excess of the caps while working for companies that have received millions of dollars of taxpayer money in bailout funds simply are demonstrating that they have no appreciation of the seriousness of the current situation – and continued employment of those short-sighted, self-absorbed individuals cannot possibly be good for the companies who employ them, their shareholders, or the taxpayers who are now supporting the bill. None of those people would get the financial renumeration that they somehow think they “deserve” if their companies folded – and they might find it hard to collect on contractual promises for severance pay, etc., in bankruptcy court. (They’d learn that in bankruptcy, the creditors come first). If they don’t know or understand these basic facts… then it is hard to see how they even have the minimum level of competence to work for a financial institution, much less expect that they somehow deserve a greater level of compensation than the Chief Executive of the United States. </p>
<p>There will be no problem replacing those who leave, given the current rate of unemployment – there are plenty of people who have lost their jobs who will be happy to take an offer with a 6 figure salary, even if if is far less than they were earning before. Some people are smart enough to understand that $400,000 is more than 0. Those who aren’t should be given the opportunity to learn.</p>
<p>Thanks Zoosermom, as a fellow New Yorker you probably understand the love/hate relationship DH and I have with this place, maybe it’s a good thing we’ll have to hold onto out place for awhile!</p>
<p>Where do you think the executives that work for $1 year get the money to pay their bills?</p>