The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a survey of how top Wall Street executives spend their multimillion dollar annual bonuses. The February 23 article, "What, Me Save? Wall Streeters Put Bonuses In Homes, Art, Not Banks; Not a 'Generous' Group" (paid subscription - no link), is chockablock with references to things like $31,000 watches, $345,000 cases of wine, and hobbies including flying, horses and "mistresses."
One Morgan Stanley banker and, I'm sure, all-around delightful fellow, is quoted as follows: "I work 18-hour days, six days a week. I'm sitting on planes for 20 hours straight and I'm dealing with high-pressure decisions...I deserve rewards."
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The interesting thing is that this proud master of the universe* declined to go on the record, as did all of the other masters interviewed. While he probably chose anonymity for security reasons (although it's easy enough to glean a list of a bank's top bankers from its Website), I also wonder if, in his heart of hearts, he feels a bit ashamed, if not of earning a grotesquely excessive amount of money in the first place, then of spending it on a load of expensive crap. I hope so, for his sake and for society's. (The "not a generous group" part of the article's title, by the way, refers to the fact that the bankers gave only 4% of their incomes to charity. Hard to find the funds to be charitable, I guess, after paying for all those mistresses...)
Nicely counterpointed with this story is one from the February 24 New York Times (also paid subscription) on a new anti-consumerist movement called The Compact (named after the Pilgrims' Mayflower Compact), whose members pledge to buy and consume and waste as little as possible over the coming year - and many of whom find liberation and joy in doing so. "It's about mindful consumerism, not depriving ourselves," the article quotes Compacter Marlaina Abbott-Ross.
In contrast to the bankers, all of the Compactors chose to be quoted on the record.
I wonder why?
For more on the Compact visit http://groups.yahoo.com/... . The listserv is fun and inspiring, and filled with tips for saving money and living more lightly upon the earth.
*Master of the Universe was a nickname the bond trader protagonist of Tom Wolfe's classic Wall Street novel, The Bonfire of the Vanities, coined for himself. A great read!
Hillary Rettig is the author of The Lifelong Activist: How to Change the World Without Losing Your Way. Read SusanG's review of it here.
Crossposted at www.lifelongactivist.com.