Wall St Pay is like Combat Pay?

On Forbes.com several weeks ago, a former hedge fund manager (and now book author) presented the notion (in passing) that careers can end suddenly on Wall St so in a sense the high pay is like "combat" pay. <Link to Forbes item>

Well if you Wall St pukes want combat pay, I'll bring the combat live fire...

And over on the NPR Marketplace.org website,
http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/10/06/pm-letters/

"Navy veteran Ralph Staples from San Diego, Calif., has a different perspective.

RALPH STAPLES: I find any comparison between bonuses and combat pay to be completely misplaced. In the risk versus reward tradeoff, on Wall Street if I don't perform, I may not get a bonus or be fired. In combat the risk is much, much higher. It is your life, loss of limbs or mental and emotional stability at stake." <Link to NPR item>

Well said Ralph. If I made the rules, I'd pay Wall St/Finance types way less and use the money to pay Teachers way more along with Cops and Military. I'd have a hidden agenda with boosting military pay - maybe we'd use em more carefully if it was more expensive...

And that's all I have to say about that...