"if they care about staying in New York that much."
You've got to be kidding. As it is NY taxes are so high they might jump ship just for that reason.
And now in addition you expect a private company to pay for Homeland Security?
But the Exchanges are still in NYC.
The City gives each and every one of those firms enormous tax BREAKS, just to stay.
And with modern communications, you don't need to be right next door to the exchange to do business (I know, I'm a fomer systems programmer who built automated trading systems for 20 years).
So, if the sky high tax rates were an issue, there wouldn't even be a Wall Street, at least not in Manhattan. They stay in New York for reasons that go beyond taxes.
You don't NEED to be in New York to conduct business on the Exchanges anymore. Where the exchange is, or where you are in relation to it, is no longer important with modern communications.
As to WHY they stay in New York, it has very little to do with actual business, per se. In a place like New York, you are guarenteed of finding the experienced, educated, driven, technically savvy work force that you need, whereas in a place like Bismark (for example), you won't (at least not in the numbers you need them).
So staying in New York is a compromise; you don't strictly need to be there to conduct business, but it is where you'll find your employees, in sufficient numbers and with the required credentials.
And who said anything about hiring private contractors? What I meant was that the brokers, bankers, etc could simply write a check to the City of New York and make up the Homeland Secutiy shortfall. Employing private firms would simply result in confusion, turf battles, duplication of effort, etc, and would defeat the purpose. Pay the NYPD/FDNY, not someone else,to do the job because they already can.
As far as it being an expensive proposition, these firms waste more cash on any given day having fresh fruit trucked into the Executive Dining Room than would be required to make up the shortfall. The trick, however, is to ensure that some Congresscritter from East Buttf*ck, Wyo. doesn't get it in his head that since Smith-Barney paid to train the NYPD in chemical response, that his tiny municipality should get the money the NYPD should have gotten from the feds, and to keep this from becoming a habit.
And why shouldn't they pay for it? The citizens of this city are paying to keep them here (with huge tax breaks), so why should this be a one-way street; NYC has bent over backwards for Walkl Street, Wall Street should take some responsibility (at least this once) for it's own protection.
NY taxes high? Sure they are, but the firms are stillpaying them, aren't they (for the reasons stated above)? If high taxes were a detriment to their business, they'd pull up stakes and move elsewhere (as many have). The vast majority have not, so that tells you what high taxes mean to their bottom line. They can absorb (or pass on) that cost in their stride.