Wall Street pushback

An industry isn't entirely made up of bad people. It's just that working on Wall Street these days is akin to being an American Muslim right after 9/11: The nation is in lousy shape and someone has to take the fall. Never mind that it's unfair or makes no sense - it's shoot now and ask questions later (if at all). By now, Wall Streeters are getting steamed about taking the fall, understandably so. Jake DeSantis, a commodities trader at AIG, courageously laid out his case in his resignation letter that wound up in the NYT. "None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house," he wrote. NY magazine picks it up from there this week:

In a witch hunt, the witches have feelings, too. As populist rage has erupted around the country, stoked by canny politicians, an opposite rage has built on Wall Street and other arenas where the wealthy hold sway. Its expression is more furtive and it's often mixed with a kind of sublimated shame, but it can be every bit as vitriolic. "AIG pissed some people off, and now you're gonna screw everyone on Wall Street?" rails a laid-off JPMorgan vice-president.

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It is difficult to sympathize with these people, their comments laced with snobbery and petulance. But you can understand their shock: Their world has been turned on its head. After years of enjoying favorable tax rates, they are facing an administration that wants to redistribute their wealth. Their industry is being reordered--no one knows what Wall Street will look like in a few years. They are anxious, and their anxiety is making them mad.

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"One of my relatives is a doctor, we're both well-educated, hardworking people. And he certainly didn't make the amount of money I made," a former Bear Stearns senior managing director tells me. "I would be the first person to tell you his value to society, to humanity, is far greater than anything that went on in the Bear Stearns building." That said, he continues, "We're in a hypercapitalistic society. No one complains when Julia Roberts pulls down $25 million per movie or A-Rod has a $300 million guarantee. We have ex-presidents who cash in on their presidencies. Our whole moral compass has shifted about what's acceptable or not acceptable. Honestly, you can pick on Wall Street all you want, I don't think it's fair. It's fair to say you ran your companies into the ground, your risk management is flawed--that is perfectly legitimate. You can lay criticism on GM or others. But I don't think it's fair to say Wall Street is paid too much."