Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg met with some members of Congress and urged them go to easy on regulations and taxes for Wall Street. The Post reports Bloomberg is worried the Democratic Congress may push for higher taxes on Wall Street salaries, which he says would drive business out of the city. "That's the way we pay our cops and firefighters and teachers. If we don't find a way to protect those industries [lawmakers will] tear them down."
Bloomberg apparently said New Yorkers must protect Wall Street with the zeal of Michiganders defending the auto industry—an industry now run and regulated by the federal government. Congress wasn't too impressed with his pitch. The Daily News reports Bloomberg is "not confident at all" that they would hold off on regulations, especially since the Democratic National Committee just released an ad advocating "strict new rules to hold Wall Street accountable."
Bloomberg says that regulating Wall Street won't bring down the fat cats responsible for the recession. "If that industry is hurt, it will be people at the lower end of the economic spectrum who will really feel the pain, because those are the ones who will get laid off. The high-priced producers will continue to get paid." The WFP recently proposed a 50% tax on all Wall Street bonuses over $500,000.
