CNBC's Cramer Plays Populist: Wall Street Execs 'Should Be on the Chilean Copper Mine Diet'

Newsbusters ^ | October 13, 2010 | Jeff Poor

[Rufus2007]

So we’re back to this again? We’re 21 days out of the midterm elections and the media are back looking to capitalize on anti-Wall Street sentiments.

On the Oct. 13 broadcast of NBC’s “Today,” host Matt Lauer referenced an Oct. 12 Wall Street Journal report to his guest, CNBC’s Jim Cramer, about Wall Street pay hitting a record $144 billion. Lauer, of course, just looked at the headline without examining exactly why pay on Wall Street reached that level. (The Journal cites “firms, benefiting from low interest rates and strong international markets” as a reason.) Instead Lauer argued that executives were somehow solely responsible for the financial collapse – not the irresponsible borrowers and asleep-at-the-wheel regulators – and therefore not entitled to such pay.

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[Rufus2007]

Chilean copper mine diet... It's just too soon, right?

[silverleaf]

If barry and his minions confiscated 100% of “Wall Street”s pay, it still wouldn’t even dent the $1.3 Trillion Barry spent to “create jobs”

[henkster]

Oddly enough, I agree with him, but think he doesn’t go far enough. I would add that all government officials and news media types (like Cramer) who favor an economy-wrecking cap & tax scheme, ought to embrace the Chilean miner lifestyle. They should live in caves and do away with all reliance on modern energy sources.

[Sax]

Doesn't sound too bad to me. Getting the miners hot food was never a problem.

Their meals arrive at the same time each day - breakfast at 0830, lunch at 1300 and dinner at 2100, with snacks in between. Milk and a sandwich for breakfast, roast chicken with noodles for lunch, for example, followed by fruit and beef for dinner with a sweetcorn soup. The menu varies every day but nutritional and calorific content are carefully measured to keep the men in optimum condition, ready for their escape.