‘Lonely’ Billionaires Are ‘Going to Vomit’ Over ‘Imbecile Crap’

It’s a tough time to be a part of the 1 percent—it seems people just won’t stop talking about income inequality, transparency, and accountability.

But thankfully, both bankers and billionaires were able to come together recently to share their feelings and defend themselves from criticism stemming from the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Tom Golisano, the billionaire founder of Paychex Inc., said he thinks it’s “ridiculous” to place the blame for inequality on the rich.

“If I hear a politician use the term ‘paying your fair share’ one more time, I’m going to vomit,” Golisano told Bloomberg.

But it’s not only nauseating at the top—it “feels lonely,” too, according to John Allison, a director of BB&T Corp.

Allison and Staples co-founder Thomas Stemberg shared with Bloomberg their common aversion to Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a provision that would require companies to disclose the ratio of CEO-to-worker pay for a median employee. Section 953(b) caused little controversy when the act was originally debated, but critics like Stemberg and Allison are now calling the rule “incredibly wasteful” and “insane.”

Considering that CEO compensation shot up by a median of 27 percent in 2010 (and 36.5 percent for S&P 500 CEOs), greater pay transparency seems to be anything but insane. A majority of Americans agree, with two-thirds of polling respondents telling Bloomberg that they want to see more taxes on the rich.

The ten highest earners, according to a new GMI survey cited by the Guardian, brought home more than $770 million in total in 2010. Beyond their hefty salary increases, S&P 500 leaders also enjoyed an 11 percent increase in perks. And some of those highest executive earners were actually retired or terminated but still raking in money.

While some top investors have rallied behind the Occupy Wall Street movement’s message, “one-percenters” like Jamie Dimon, the head of JP Morgan Chase, hedge-fund manager John Paulson, and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, have formed a public-relations group to defend themselves from Occupy demonstrations and criticisms. Called the “Job Creators Alliance,” the group develops talking points and messaging aimed at “shaping the national agenda,” according to its website.

Dimon is credited with starting the inequality discussion among wealthy attendees at an investor’s conference, according to Bloomberg, when he said: “Acting like everyone who’s been successful is bad and because you’re rich you’re bad, I don’t understand it. Sometimes there’s a bad apple, yet we denigrate the whole.”

Maybe Bernie Marcus should start with fine-tuning his own messaging instead of relying on the alliance. When asked by Bloomberg if he was worried about becoming a target of Occupy protestors, he replied:  “Who gives a crap about some imbecile? Are you kidding me?”

Emily Wathen is an online communications associate at Campus Progress.

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