Tearing into Wall Street

WHILE President Barack Obama stewed over Wall Street’s US$18bil (RM65bil) bonuses, the average American has long felt nothing but scorn for what is largely considered the source of the people’s misery.
A California-based company has been marketing T-shirts with messages such as “Investment Bankers – The New Al-Qaeda” and “Wall Street – Weapon of Mass Destruction”.
Its website, zazzle.com, also says: “Mr Obama, tear down this Wall $treet”.
Another website sells T-shirts that leave nothing to the imagination: “I Hate Investment Banking”.
These days, “I Hate Wall Street” T-shirts are the rage and the public anger isn’t fading away any time soon.
Fact to chew on: median household income in the US is less than half the average Wall Street bonus of US$112,000.
American consumers have lost their swagger; their unbridled spending is history now.
Frugality is in. The despair of losing their jobs is among the factors that drove the rate of personal savings the past few months to its highest level in six years.
The news gets gloomier by the day.
It has been a rocky ride into the Year of the Ox as US companies cut at least 100,000 jobs last week; and Macy’s, which prides itself as the world’s largest store, laid off 7,000 employees.
Macy’s, however, is largely middle-class America. The swanky stores such as Bergdorf Goodman tell of a different kind of belt-tightening.
“I’m switching from having my facials and massages in a wine-serving yoga spa to a been-in-business-forever place that only old people and gay men go to,” said a 40-something woman, known only as Cathy.
“I’ll do it once every six weeks instead of monthly, and it is one-third the price of the facials at the spa.”
Cathy made the public admission through a blog called Dating A Banker Anonymous (DABA), which is devoted to women whose relationships have been affected by the economic slump.
“Are you or someone you love dating a banker? If so, we are here to support you through these difficult times,” DABA (www.dabagirls.com) says in its introduction.
DABA, in essence, is a place for “women who like to date successful men and anonymously dish on it”.
The blog gained attention last week when it was featured in The New York Times. DABA women who gathered occasionally as a support group, shared how the men in their life were always checking their “Black-Berry, Bloomberg and CNBC”, how they were told to forget about expensive dinners and holidays, and that even bedroom habits had changed.
Another woman resorted to checking the daily stock market performance to gauge her man’s mood.
But such a sisterhood gains no sympathy from some people.
“I hope each woman who attends these meetings remains single and unwanted when this economy goes through its eventual recovery,” Brown, a male banker wrote to the NYT. When he was single, he said, he would not mention his career to a woman or spend more than US$100 on a date until he really knew her.
A female reader said: “After reading this, I am ashamed of being a woman. Whatever happened to being proud of supporting yourself?
“You’re not going to get a date now that everyone knows all you are good for is the swiping of someone else’s credit card.”
Amber Chia, Malaysia’s own top model who has been wooed by men made of money, has this take on the subject.
“When you love someone, you accept the bad times as well as the good,” says Chia, who is in New York to attend acting classes at the New York Film Academy.
Here in Gotham, Chia says she prefers to shop at factory outlets where the merchandise is cheaper.
“I buy everything with my own money.”
The 27-year-old actress and model recalled being propositioned by someone with a diamond ring and how, during an assignment in Indonesia, she met businessmen who tried becoming suitors.
But it was a “no, thank you” from Chia.
“I’m happy with my life and my work. I don’t need so much money because when you are too wealthy, there’s another set of problems,” says Chia, whose 11-year relationship with her boyfriend ended two years ago.
The modelling industry back home had not been spared by the financial meltdown, she says. Fees per show for models have been slashed by up to 50% and fashion shows which previously hired almost 50 models would now only take about 20.
Chia, however, has always believed in saving for a rainy day.
“Especially now that I am back to being a student,” she says. “I have no income now. I take the subway or just walk if I can, instead of taking a taxi.”
But DABA girls believe in humour, too.
“If your monthly Bergdorf’s allowance has been halved and bottle service has all but disappeared from your life, lighten your heart with laughter,” says the blog, which was started by two young women “whose relationships tanked with the economy”.