Bankers Quote by Felix Salmon
“In a Bloomberg poll, 88% of respondents said that Wall Street bonuses should either be banned outright or taxed at 50%. Just 7% said they should remain an incentive. To put that 7% figure in perspective, 6% of Americans believe the moon landings were a hoax; 7% believe Elvis lives; 24% believe that Barack Obama is a secret Muslim; 41% believe in ESP; and 48% believe in creationism. Americans will believe anything, it seems-except the idea that incentivizing bankers at systemically important institutions to take big risks makes any sense at all.”
About This Quote
Source Article: Bloomberg, 2021
The data highlights public skepticism toward financial incentives and various conspiracy beliefs, showing inconsistency in rational judgments.
In simple terms: People often distrust incentives and believe many unrelated conspiracies.
Key Takeaway
Question the logic behind incentives.
Themes
public opinion
financial ethics
conspiracy theories
Mood
skeptical
analytical
Type
journalistic
informative
When to use this quote
- policy making
- financial regulation
- media literacy
- public education
Key Concepts
cognitive bias
risk perception
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do people distrust Wall Street bonuses?
- How can we improve public understanding of risk?
A Different Perspective
Simplistic surveys may miss nuanced views.
![“What I think is bugging this guy [Steven Lerner] is the belief that debt - forced debt upon middle-class people, students (i.e., student loans and so forth) - has made Wall Street bankers and financial people excessively, unfairly, out-of-proportionally rich.” quote by Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f15/rush-limbaugh-28_bankers_what-i-think-is-bugging-this-guy-steven_28590.jpg)
