No more private jets. That, for Wall Street executives, is "The New Reality." It's not unlike "The New Frugality."
In his testimony before Congress today, Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit had to do some fancy footwork about that (now canceled) post-TARP private jet that ignited the tempers of millions.
From the WSJ's live blog:
11:00: Pandit addresses the $42 million airplane. He says that Citi did not understand the new reality of TARP, and cancelled the plane delivery once he did. “I get the new reality,” Pandit says. “My goal is to return Citi to profitability as soon as possible and I have told our board of directors that my salary should be $1 a year with no bonus until we return to profitability.”
A buck a year? That sounds an awful lot like Lee Iacocca, a man who took bailout money before bailouts were cool, and gave himself a $1 salary back in 1979.
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