Late last year, I talked about a study that looked at the knock-on effects of CEO pay.

The study found that largesse of overpaying the boss flowed through the organisation. If the boss was overpaid, there was a good chance his henchmen were cleaning up too.

Now that theory is borne out by the latest developments at Goldman Sachs. The firm's two co- presidents, Gary Cohn and Jon Winkelried, got bonuses of about $52.5 million each for the 2006 fiscal year, and that was in addition to their $600,000 salaries, reports the International Herald Tribune.

Just over $27,00 an hour, close to obscene.

True, Wall street firms like Goldman Sachs have been cleaning up in the boom market. But it's a reminder about the enormous gap between Wall Street and the ordinary world of subways and supermarket queues. In the end, it creates corporate leaders who have no idea about the resentment ordinary people have for those soaring pay levels. And that is a problem for business.