As an American Taxpayer I am disgusted that my tax money is being used to give wealthy Bankers holiday bonuses that are far more than three times my annual income. This is the same elite group of financial saboteurs who are responsible for wrecking the American Economy. Working families who have to scrimp to make ends meet shouldn't have have their pockets picked to chip in for bonuses for these colossal failures who have never heard of scrimping.
Bailed-Out Banks Dole Out Bonuses
"Bonuses across Goldman Sachs will be down significantly this year," a bank representative told ABC News. The spokesman refused to disclose the size of the bonus pool or how much of the compensation fund of $10.93 billion was planned for bonuses, but some employees are reportedly being given more than $200,000 in cash.
Paulson's faith based approach of trusting the same financial wizards who created this crisis to do what's best for the economy and the country is just as naive as Greenspan's misplaced faith in banks to do what's in their long term best interests, instead of doing what will bring in short term profit.
Morgan Stanley is in the same boat, having received $10 billion in government money. Their bonus pool this season is around $2 billion, according to a report in the New York Times. That figure is down 50 percent from last year.
Many people wonder why the banks' bonus pools would even be $1 this year.
"The banks are broke. They shouldn't be paying out bonuses this year," said Peter Morici, economist and business professor at the University of Maryland. "They're begging at the Treasury door. I don't understand why a waitress in Indiana should send her money to fund a million-dollar bonus on Wall Street."
"It looks like Goldman Sachs is treating this as business as usual," said compensation expert James Reda. "They are taking our taxpayer money. They should be able to account for that money."
By now we all know how resistant the Bush Regime is any kind of accountability, and Paulson is no exception. Congressional leaders promised when the T.A.R.P was passed that the program included rigorous accountability and oversight provisions.
Now we can see that we were lied to again. How can we give any credibility to our congressional leaders when they can't even keep something as big as the T.A.R.P. from turning into Paulson's personal slush fund for bankers to maintain their lavish lifestyles.
Now Paulson wants the Congress to give him the remaining $350 Billion in the T.A.R.P.
Will Congress have enough sense to tell him that until there is a full accounting of how our first $350 Billion was used, Paulson won't be getting his hands on the rest of our T.A.R.P. money?
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UPDATE: I thought I'd add a small bibliography on this subject:
Thomas Frank's One Market Under God: Extreme Capitalism, Market Populism, and the End of Economic Democracy
Marjorie Kelly's The Divine Right of Capital: Dethroning the Corporate Aristocracy