Over 70 percent of Americans say big bonuses should be banned from this year on Wall Street firms

Over 70 percent of Americans say big bonuses should be banned from this year on Wall Street firms that taxpayer bailout, a survey of National Sample.

One in six favored slapping a 50 percent tax on premiums of over $ 400,000. Just 7 percent of U.S. adults say that bonds are a good incentive and return for Wall Street to financial soundness.

A large majority also wants to tax on gains on Wall Street to reduce the federal budget deficit. A tax on financial services companies is the best choice among more than a dozen deficit cutting options presented to respondents.

With the U.S. unemployment 9.8 percent, the resentment of the bonds and bank profits unites Americans across political, gender, age and income groups. Among the Republicans, who are generally skeptical of regulation of companies, 76 percent support the government's ban on big bonuses to beneficiaries of rescue, which is higher than support among Democrats or independents.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon has a bond package for 2009 worth $ 17 million and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. 's Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein received a bonus of $ 9,000,000 all actions last year, down from his Wall Street record $ 67.9 million in 2007.

"The American people bought them and immediately went to pay their employees big bonuses," said survey respondent Michael Robertson, 43, of Wayne, Michigan. "I do not think they should have a bonus at all for a while."

'Bitter About Wall Street'

Robertson lost his job in the management of retail auto parts industry three years ago, when workers cutting company and is now in electronic computers in the school studying. "Of course I'm bitter about this thing on Wall Street," he says.

cash bonuses to employees in the securities industry in New York rose 17 percent to $ 20.3 million, for work in 2009, according to estimates in a report last month by the Office of the State of New York Comptroller. While the cash bonus for 2010 will probably be smaller, the average bonus may be larger because after the loss of jobs the money is divided among fewer employees, according to the report.

As managers of Wall Street preparing decisions year-end compensation, Morgan Stanley told employees at U.S. Bank sixth largest bank by assets investment bonds expected to decline 10 percent to 30 percent. The Council of Institutional Investors last month, said that among the six largest U.S. banks, only in New York, Morgan Stanley and San Francisco, Wells Fargo & Co. have changed compensation practices set bonuses depending on the long-term performance.

Webb Proposal

U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, this year proposed a 50 percent tax on premiums of more than $ 400,000, but failed to win support from Congress or the Obama administration.

The 700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, enacted in October 2008 to avoid a collapse of the U.S. financial system, provided the money to prop up financial services companies, including American International Group Inc. Some receivers, as Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Corp., have already returned the money.
A survey of 1,000 adults aged 18 years reflects the continued public hostility to the rescue, which became a powerful political issue that helped defeat dozens of lawmakers from both parties in legislative elections this year.

The unpopularity of the TARP program persists even after a report by the Congressional Budget Office last month said the program would end up costing taxpayers about $ 25 billion, well below initial estimates.

The rescue of Finance

Seven in 10 Americans say it's time for Wall Street to help rescue the Treasury governments, support a tax on gains on Wall Street as a way to reduce the deficit of $ 1.3 billion. In comparison, 43 percent in favor of a freeze in spending for items like education and medical research, 33 percent would reduce farm subsidies, 25 percent back a new tax on gasoline and 15 percent would reduce benefits in the health insurance program of Medicare for the elderly.

"I know some of the taxes I pay to buy gas for my car, and my income, it was written somewhere in a check to keep these companies imploded," said survey respondent Steven Preville, 33, a worker maintenance of Harrisonburg, Virginia. "There's an incredible amount of money on Wall Street. It would be great if we could have some of that money and reinvest in the country."

The survey of Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer & Co. was held December 4 to 7. It has a margin of error of percentage points plus or minus 3.1.

Fourth largest gains

Encouraged by the bailout, Wall Street earned 61.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, almost three times more than in 2006, according to the report from the office of New York State Comptroller. earnings this year, projected at $ 19 billion, would remain the fourth largest industry, the report said.

The average salary of the securities industry in New York fell more than 20 percent last year to $ 311,000. That was still five times the average salary for other private sector jobs in the largest U.S. city, the Comptroller's Office said.

compensation expense in Goldman Sachs in the first nine months were 21 percent below a year earlier, while the payment group at investment bank JPMorgan fell 10 percent. New York companies, reduce their pool of compensation in the fourth quarter of last year as banks face pressure from regulators and shareholders on pay packages.

"We need to reach a more equal level of the people," said Melba North, 62, of Red Bluff, California, who was fired from his job as a nursing assistant. "Financial companies are rescued and then came the bonds. But people who had loans through them still have to pay, and are struggling to keep a roof over your head. Nobody is abandoning them."

Crackdown Compensation

Congress, which in 2009 considered the proposals to recover bonus money paid to executives, failed to direct repression of the compensation practices of Wall Street.

President Barack Obama, in July signed into law a broad package of financial regulation that was intended to give shareholders more say in the compensation of bank executives.

In Europe, the bankers will face limits on cash payments and the size of their bonus on the salary from the beginning of next year as European Union regulators this month passed legislation to reduce incentives for risk taking excessive.