The big guys might have held back in order not to offend the populace, but the numbers do not lie: Financial-services workers collected more than $20 billion in bonuses in 2009, the Year of the Bailout, which is 17 percent more than last year. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli tried to explain to the AP why this news was both happy and sad: ”Wall Street is vital to New York’s economy, and the dollars generated by the industry help the state’s bottom line,” he said. “But for most Americans, these huge bonuses are a bitter pill and hard to comprehend. Taxpayers bailed them out, and now they’re back making money while many New York families are still struggling to make ends meet.” Then he added, “It’s because life isn’t fair.” (No, he didn’t.) [AP via NYT]
