Washington Post:
Why does Wall Street make the big bucks? A nation with 10 percent unemployment is understandably puzzled and outraged when the very people at the center of the financial crisis seem to be the first to recover and are pulling down fabulous pay packages. At Goldman Sachs, the average bonus for 2009 has been estimated at nearly $600,000; at J.P. Morgan Chase's investment bank, it's been reckoned at slightly below $400,000. These averages conceal multimillion-dollar bonuses for top traders and investment bankers; underlings get smaller sums....
With unemployment so high, does it matter that one candidate for office in Ohio has worked as a bank lobbyist? Republican Steve Stivers, a candidate for Ohio's 15th district, was a bank lobbyist for Bank One (now part of Chase). Does it matter that John Kasich, a Republican candidate for governor, was an investment banker with the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers?
Ohioans will have to decide which candidates will represent constituents and which candidates will side with banks, oil companies, and big corporations.
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In case you haven't noticed, there has been a lot of grumbling in Republican circles because of Kasich's choice of Mary Taylor as his running mate. Taylor, currently serving as the State Auditor, is the only Ohio Republican holding statewide office. With Taylor not running for re-election, a Republican candidate for State Auditor will have to start at the very bottom to raise money for a campaign. Meanwhile, David Pepper, a Democratic candidate for State Auditor, has already raised over $300,000 (see David Pepper's website).
