Goldman Sachs, whose shares doubled last year as profit soared to an all-time high, awarded Blankfein a $9 million all-stock bonus for 2009, according to a Feb. 5 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Blankfein’s payment of 58,381 restricted stock units, valued at $9 million at the Feb. 5 closing price of $154.16, falls short of the Wall Street record $67.9 million Blankfein got in 2007. With the top executive in Wall Street earning significantly smaller bonuses, we should expect tax income to the State to drop dramatically. So all the teachers, firemen, cops, government workers, etc who cried foul at the huge banker bonuses seemed to forget one small detail:  When bonuses are slashed, State income is slashed as these bonuses are heavily taxed….and then jobs are slashed. We aren’t saying that excessive bonuses are a good thing, but it seems sharply reduced bonuses are a lot worse for a lot more people who cannot afford to lose their jobs…..  is the entire tax system corrupted? Lets face it: if the population quit smoking as everyone says you should, there would be a significant drop in tax revenues too….

How does this affect the luxury real estate market? We think it is doubtful that Mr. Blankfein was awaiting his bonus to buy a new home….