Yes, the median American would take over three years to make in salary what Wall Street financiers made just in bonus last year. You don’t have to be an Occupy Wall Street type to feel that this salary is a bit out of proportion. However, you should not be aiming your pitch forks at Wall Street–you should be aiming them at the Federal Reserve and the government’s aggressive stimulus. We all knew the stock market was insane when in the aftermath of Covid we saw the market reverse its steep decline and sprint to new heights. Yet that insanity was in reality the rational response to unprecedented money creation ($5T!). But as we’ve noted again and again here at BATG, the Fed is the creator of this inequality. So if you think it’s not fair that these financiers are getting such handsome bonuses when you’re struggling to pay for a tank of gas, you know who to blame. And it’s not Wall Street. It’s a four minute walk over to 44 Maiden Lane.

‘Nuff said.