Sure, the solution may seem simple: move to Brooklyn or Hoboken, put the children in public schools and buy a MetroCard. But more than a few of the New York-based financial executives who would have their pay limited are men (and they are almost invariably men) whose identities are entwined with living a certain way in a certain neighborhood west of Third Avenue: a life of private schools, summer houses and charity galas that only a seven-figure income can stretch to cover.Boo Hoo Hoo! Executives don't like rules. They certainly don't like the new rules that would limit their pay at companies that accept government bailout money. Vacation homes, chauffeurs, personal trainers, private schools and tutors. They may have to cut back. Maybe Bob Geldof can organize a benefit concert.
Just a couple of months ago the case was made not to bail out the ailing Big Three automakers. Labor costs were out of control we were told! Those union auto-workers -- with all those perks like health-care and pensions -- were earning close to $80 an hour! Except it was all misinformation. In 2006 a typical UAW-represented assembler at GM earned $27.81 per hour.
Sometimes I get the distinct feeling that arrogant, under-worked executives think they're better than everybody else. Who wouldn't feel superior when you're better off than royalty of old?