Diverting our attention with million-dollar bonuses after a trillions-dollar looting?
Also see: Obama's Big Bad Wolf Impression
"Geithner vows to recoup bonuses; Tells Congress AIG must repay Treasury" by Laurie Kellman, Associated Press | March 18, 2009
WASHINGTON - As anger intensified over the $165 million in post-bailout bonuses paid to AIG executives, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said yesterday that any bonus payments that the Treasury cannot recoup will be recovered by requiring AIG to repay the Treasury an amount equal to the remaining bonuses.
The Treasury also would deduct an amount equal to the payments from AIG's latest $30 billion credit line from the government, Geithner wrote in a letter to congressional leaders.
On Capitol Hill, livid Democrats issued the insurance giant an ultimatum: Give back the bonuses, or watch Congress tax it away with emergency legislation.
Pffft! Why didn't you limit the awards in legislation before giving them the money, dick weeds?
Outrage has been building across the country and official Washington over the bonuses, which went Friday to employees of AIG's Financial Products division, the unit primarily responsible for the meltdown that forced it to take more than $170 billion in taxpayer bailout funds....
Cuomo, who is trying to determine whether the payments constitute fraud under state law because company officials knew that it could not afford them, said the top individual bonus at AIG was more than $6.4 million, the top seven received more than $4 million each, and the top 10 received $42 million combined.
"Again, these payments were all made to individuals in the subsidiary whose performance led to crushing losses and the near failure of AIG," Cuomo wrote. "Thus, last week, AIG made more than 73 millionaires in the unit which lost so much money that it brought the firm to its knees, forcing a taxpayer bailout. Something is deeply wrong with this outcome."
And the contracts written last March guaranteed employees 100 percent of their 2007 bonus amounts for 2008, "despite obvious signs that 2008 performance would be disastrous in comparison to the year before," Cuomo wrote.
"AIG also claims that retention of individuals at Financial Products was vital to unwinding the subsidiary's business," the attorney general wrote to Frank. But AIG has been unwilling to provide their names, despite his subpoena for the list, making it impossible to test that claim, Cuomo said....
Congressional Republicans, meanwhile, said President Obama's administration should have done more to stop the bonuses in the first place, raising sharp questions about Geithner's role in particular....
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday that Obama has full confidence in Geithner. Administration officials say he found out about the bonuses last Tuesday, called Liddy on Wednesday to protest, and told the White House on Thursday. Asked whether Obama is satisfied that he found out about the bonuses in a timely fashion, Gibbs replied: "Yes, the president is satisfied."
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Senate Democrats were preparing legislation to levy a 91 percent excise tax on the bonuses to put pressure on the company. "If you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you," said Senator Chuck Schumer of New York.
See: Slimy Schumer
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You know, I'm tired of the feigned outrage by scum-shits like Schumer, et al. Tired od the fooleys, tired of the lies. Time to start taking some heads off -- especially after this:
"Outrage on bonuses is fair, bailout official says; But he backs AIG's stance that contracts are binding" by Beth Healy, Globe Staff | March 18, 2009
Yup, even though their would have BEEN NO BONUSES had the TAXPAYER NOT FOOTED the BILL!!!!!
The chief executive of the company that is administering the government bailout fund for banks said he understands why Americans are outraged over bonus payments at American International Group and elsewhere.
"I think there's a lot of emotion around bonuses, and legitimately so," said Robert P. Kelly, chairman and chief executive of Bank of New York Mellon Corp. "If you think about the average American, their house price is down, and they don't have the same level of job security that they had in the past, so people are angry."
You are DAMN RIGHT we are! This angry:
But Kelly said increased scrutiny should be directed at top executives and policy makers at companies, not "revenue producers" like traders, who are effectively following the orders of higher-level managers. He also said companies are bound to honor contracts they signed with employees, as AIG has argued.
Unless it is with a UNION!!! Just go ask the UAW!!!!
Kelly's comments came on a day when lawmakers in Washington were lashing out at AIG, the New York insurer that has received $170 billion in federal rescue funds paid for by taxpayers and which is paying $165 million in retention bonuses to employees....
At Bank of New York Mellon, top executives did not receive bonuses in 2008, because the company received a $3 billion capital infusion from the government in the first wave of such taxpayer investments last year. Kelly received $13.3 million in total compensation for the year, down from $20.1 million in 2007....
Kelly, whose company manages $928 billion in investments and provides accounting and other services to large investors, said it's uncomfortable for bankers to be subject to so much public scrutiny over compensation, but he believes the bailout program was critical to restoring confidence in the financial system and helping turn around the economy....
Awww, the POOR, LOOTING BANKERS in the SPOTLIGHT are sooooo uncomfortable!! You guys are lucky we haven't disemboweled you!!!!!!!!!
He believes the program, called the Troubled Asset Relief Program, must now do what it was originally intended established for: buy troubled mortgage assets from banks.
What GIVE the BANKS MORE MONEY for what we wre told they needed it for after we have ALREADY GIVEN AWAY TRILLIONS?!!!
"The sooner we do that, the sooner the financial system will be healthy again," Kelly said. "It's not a should be, it's a must be."
I'm so sick of being sold that shit!
Kelly said he is optimistic the economy will improve within nine to 12 months. "America to some degree got the world into the issues it has right now. And I honestly think we're going to help get the world out of it," he said.
Says one of the guys who has been wrong the whole time as they have purposefully done this. I'm tired of linking and arguing about it, folks!!!
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