dojN001412.xml

dojN001412.xml

born-digital

email

yes

no

2002-01-07

Monday, January 07, 2002 11:52 AM
Recent complaints re: $250,000 cap

Dear Mr. Feinburg:

I'm still trying to make some equitable-seeming sense out of our current
system of allocating salary dollars and recompense under normal
circumstances, let alone after a unique disaster. I'm shocked and appalled,
and very disappointed, that some individuals are living in such a rare and
well-gilded ivory tower that they feel $250,000 is not sufficient
compensation for a death. Most of us, the working people of America, make
$20,000-40,000 per year, at least here in Florida, a "right-to-work" state.
The last time a man died on the job here that I'm personally familiar with,
he was an impoverished black man impaled on rusted steel rebar after falling
through a rotten roof with no safety handrails, markers, or any such. The
company who owned the roof in question paid a crew overtime to put up the
obligatory safety rails before the OSHA inspector arrived several days later.
The man's family was paid $10,000 plus medical expenses. The company is a
VERY wealthy multinational, who immediately sold the plant. This is what life
is like for many people in our country. Where do these wealthy, spoiled,
greedy, already-living-off-the-upper-end-of-the-scale folks in New York get
off, pretending that what happened to them was so uniquely horrible that
anyone related to them should be made an instant billionaire? I'm over it.
Yeah, it was unique. Yeah, it was horrible. Yeah, I sent money to help. AND
AFTER READING ABOUT THEM SUING FOR MORE MONEY, NOW I BEGIN TO REGRET IT; it's
obviously not appreciated at all! Some lawyer cutely commenting that you can
get more money for a slip'n'fall. If he can't legally be shot, at least let's
disbar him! Greedy jerks. Wake up and become aware there's a real world out
there. Get a job. Come to Florida and see how the rest of us live, and then
tell us about how $250,000 is peanuts. People around here are expressing the
views I'm presenting very loudly. Public sentiment here has turned against
these noisy people who seem to be shouting about some imaginary "ongoing
victimization" in a manner that makes no sense to any of us here, and frankly
which "smells like" false excitement drummed up for greedy personal financial
gain. Let's just go over it again. I make $20-40k/year. I live in what these
folks would consider an antique hovel. I literally don't have reliable heat,
A/C, plumbing, or automobile... and there are holes in my roof. Want to talk
about economic victimization? Guess what line of work I'm in! Same as most of
the World Trade Center victims (some of whom I was marginally acquained
with), I'm a financial services professional! In a right-to-work state, for a
small company. These New York folks already live in castles, they're already
being given more money than many of us make GROSS in 10 years...and they
DEMAND more of my tax dollars and personal donations so they'll feel more
secure and comfortable, on top of the world, have their kid's fancy college
paid for, buy another Beamer and won't have to work for a lifetime or so???
You've gotta be kidding. We were all happy to give a LOT... and they want to
whine and legally badger us for more? Fools. The world has truly gone mad. I
have a counter-proposal... how about they voluntarily give impoverished
Florida financial professionals a 10% donation out of their settlements to
help us? Since the large dollar amounts the victims made were directly caused
by the industry's centralization in New York? Since if all the big companies
and all the systems were based here instead of there, WE would be making the
big bucks, and the world would be coming to us, not them? And then we'd be a
target, and perhaps one way to look at it is that the bigger bucks are in
part "hazard pay". If some of these folks realized what it's actually like
out in the "hinterlands"... especially compared to the Big Apple fantasy-land
they've been inhabiting... I wonder if they'd change their thinking? I like
to think so anyway. I'm writing you this email because you were quoted as
expressing concern about this, and I'm hoping this feedback may be of some
interest or assistance. At the very least, for those who think $250,000 is
peanuts, perhaps you can suggest they should all move to Florida or some
similar state where their money will go about 10 times further than it will
in New York City. Regards,

Individual Comment

2002-01-07