Having Fun With Your Tax
Dollars
Another bumper year for hedge fund billionaires A quote...."Amid mass unemployment, swelling poverty rates and falling wages, Wall Street hedge fund operators once again raked in astronomical pay packages last year. Four hedge fund managers each made over $1 billion in 2012. All told, the top 25 took in $14 billion, roughly equivalent to the gross domestic product of Jamaica, a country of three million people." - bold by website editor - posted 04-16-13 Cash bonanza anticipated for [Britain's] Goldman's workers as firm sets aside £2.75bn pay and bonus pot A quote...."Bankers at Goldman Sachs - including its 6,000 London staff - are in line for another bumper year as results this week are forecast to show average pay packets of £85,000 for the first quarter alone. -- The figures from the high-paying investment bank are expected to show that it has set aside about $4.2billion (£2.75billion) to cover salaries, bonuses and other benefits for staff for the period." - bold by website editor - posted 04-16-13 As Bank Profits Plunged In 2011, Banker Bonuses... Rose A quote...."It will come as no surprise to many but everyone's favorite enemy #1, the US banker, decided to give himself a well-earned pay-rise in 2011 - according to data from Moody's Analytics (via Crain's). What is perhaps a little more surprising is the sheer gall of it given that the financial industry profits plunged over 70% from $27.6bn in 2010 to a mere $7.7bn in 2011. While the rise in salaries is not large, and the average man on the street actually saw a bigger rise, the critical point is that for two years in a row - from 2009 to 2010, and now from 2010 to 2011 - banking industry profits have dropped like a stone but the average salary of those oh-so-deserving 'Wall-Street'ers has risen." - posted 08-31-12 Reckless: The Inside Story of How the Banks Beat Washington (Again) A quote...."One year ago, the largest financial institutions on Wall Street were desperate to show off their strength by paying out, or raising, dividends for the first time since the Great Recession. After conducting a secretive test of the banks' health, the Federal Reserve granted most of their requests in March 2011 -- over loud objections from economic luminaries in Washington and across the country. Now, for the first time, we tell the story of why the Federal Reserve caved, and how Wall Street still owns the place." - Well to start, the "Federal" Reserve is a private consortium of banks owned by the very people who wanted to be paid these dividends and bonuses in the first place. - mpg - posted 03-03-12 JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to be paid $23m A quote...."Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, has been awarded a $23m (£14.7m) pay and bonus package despite continued trans-Atlantic focus on executive remuneration." - posted 01-23-12 Fannie, Freddie Execs Score $100 Million Payday A quote...."NEW YORK - Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received the biggest federal bailout of the financial crisis. And nearly $100 million of those tax dollars went to lucrative pay packages for top executives, filings show. -- The top five executives at Fannie Mae received $33.3 million in 2009 and 2010, while the top five at Freddie Mac received $28.1 million. And each company has set pay targets of as much as $17 million for its top managers for 2011." - Source CNNMoney - posted 11-16-11 Goldman Execs Stay Fat And Happy On Huge Bonuses Despite Down Year For Profits A quote...."The investment bank had a lousy third quarter, but employees will still take home billions in bonuses. Goldman Sachs earning reports provides a valuable lesson on how things really work inside Wall Street’s largest investment houses. Goldman Sachs had an awful three months, losing $428 million in the third quarter of 2011, and yet it continued to shovel billions into the bonus pool it will share with its employees at year’s end. -- Through the first nine months of 2011, Goldman set aside $10 billion in its compensation fund. If Goldman’s 30,000 employees split that bounty evenly, that would work out to $333,000 per person—plus the billions more Goldman will no doubt set aside in the last few months of the year." - Source: TheDailyBeast - posted 10-21-11 Blankfein Reaps $19 Million As Bonuses Return To Goldman Contains Video - A quote...."April 4 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein’s $19 million compensation for 2010, almost double the prior year, ended two years in which the firm’s top executives gave up cash bonuses. Blankfein’s pay included $5.4 million in cash, $12.6 million in restricted stock, a $600,000 salary and about $464,000 in other benefits, a proxy statement from the New York-based firm showed." - Source: Bloomberg - posted 04-20-11 One helluva boost: JPMorgan CEO sees compensation jump 1,500 per cent to $20.8million A quote...."He has piloted America's second biggest bank through the financial crisis and come out the other side relatively unscathed. -- And now Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co, is being extremely well rewarded for his efforts. -- Dimon's total compensation package was a mere $1.3million in 2009 but in 2010 it jumped nearly 1,500 per cent to $20.8million, based on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's compensation formula, a regulatory filing showed." - posted 04-09-11 Bankers' 2011 bonuses to rise 10-15 percent: expert A quote...."(Reuters) - Bankers can expect their bonus packages in 2011 to be 10 percent to 15 percent richer on average than last year, a widely followed compensation expert said on Friday on Reuters Insider." - posted 03-05-11 Is Your Senator A Member Of The Bankster Party? List - Action Alert - Related Article - A quote...."The one main benefit to the financial reform effort so far is that it helps further do away with the false paradigms of "left" or "right" and "Democrat" or "Republican" - fewer and fewer people are falling for those lies anymore. Try to get an ideological conservative to explain why Republicans love spending and so eagerly give welfare to banks. Try to get your local liberal to explain why it was a good idea to make backroom deals with abhorrent corporations and drill, baby, drill. Heck, even try to get a Tea Partier to explain choosing bailout-lover Sarah Palin to keynote their convention, especially when that movement once had at least some pre-astroturf roots in protesting government giveaways. -- What we have now is a group of politicians with shifting alliances on a case-by-case basis to the special interests who fund them. And currently, the most damaging one to our nation is the rise of the Bankster Party. Thankfully, we can now better identify its members." - posted 03-05-11 "A Banking Banana Republic": Wall Street's Record $130 Billion Bonus, FCIC Report - Michael Lewis & Dylan Ratigan -- Video - Alt - (YuTb - 7m36s - Feb 11, 2011) - Source: MrBernardLMadoff -- A quote...."The real unemployment rate hovers above 22%, new job creation is stagnant, but Wall Street pay is up 5.7% this year to $130 billion. - All thanks to you, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer." - posted 02-24-11 How the financial elite have dismantled the American middle class A quote...."Top 1 percent share of wealth at levels not seen since the Great Depression. Goldman Sachs offering average bonuses of $430,000 while a record 43,200,000 Americans receive food stamps." - posted 01-19-11 Goldman Officers to Reap $111 Million Payout From 2007, 2009 A quote...."Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s top executives will get about $111.3 million in stock next month in a delayed payout from last year and their record-setting 2007 awards, even as Wall Street prepares for lower bonuses. -- Chief Executive Officer Lloyd C. Blankfein, 56, is poised to receive about $24.3 million in January, based on the closing share price on Dec. 14, while President Gary D. Cohn, 50, will get about $24 million, company filings show." - posted 12-16-10 New York Comptroller Anticipates Larger Average Wall Street Bonuses In 2010 A quote...."While it appears that the cash bonus pool will be smaller than last year, the average bonus paid to employees in the securities industry in New York City may be a bit larger, since the pool will be divided among fewer workers given continued staff reductions". - bold by website editor - Hope all you people out there who voted for Demos OR Repubs are happy that Wall Street's Banksters are probably going to get even bigger bonuses than they did last year. All the while you lose your jobs and get thrown out of your homes. In this case you'll not only gets what you paid for -- with your tax dollars -- you get what you voted for too. Next time vote for somebody other than a Demo or Repub. - mpg - posted 11-16-10 All the banksters are chillin', cuz we robbed your punk asses for $700 billion" Music Video - (This one's for all you Banksters out there) - Alt - A quote...."A hip hop celebration of Corrupt Capitalism w/ DADDY OINK OINK the Banking Bailout Rappin' Pig" - By the way, it's more like Thirty Trillion Dollars, although most of it is in the form of buy-outs and buy-backs of toxic "assets", various guarantees, swap programs, insurance programs, ZIRP4'eva support policies, and "mark to fantasy" rules which are "expected" (no, not really, it's just what they say to placate the public) to allow some of these "assets" to eventually be "recouped". In the end however the actual unrecovered costs will probably be north of ten trillion, possibly even fifteen trillion. (in deflated-depreciated dollars of course) - posted 11-12-10 Wall Street Pay: A Record $144 Billion -- Haaaaaa! Haaaaaaaa! Haaaaaaaa! Americans are so STUPID! A quote...."Wall Street Pay: A Record $144 Billion 11 Oct 2010 Pay on Wall Street is on pace to break a record high for a second consecutive year, according to a study conducted by The Wall Street Journal. About three dozen of the top publicly held securities and investment-services firms--which include banks, investment banks, hedge funds, money-management firms and securities exchanges--are set to pay $144 billion in compensation and benefits this year, a 4% increase from the $139 billion paid out in 2009, according to the survey." - posted 10-12-10 Report rubber-stamps bonuses - On Wall Street, crime pays very well A quote...."In a report issued Friday, a federal “special master” found that 17 big financial firms awarded nearly $2 billion in bonuses and retention payments to top executives during the period when they were receiving bailout funds from the US Treasury under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)." - posted 07-26-10 Goldman Sachs sets aside $3.5bn for staff bonuses, pay as quarterly profits tumble A quote...."Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street investment bank, set aside another $3.8bn (£2.5 billion) for its annual staff pay and bonus pool as second-quarter profits dropped 82pc, hit by the UK bonus tax, a record US fine and volatile markets." - posted 07-23-10 The Guy Who Brought Down AIG - and Maybe the World Economy - Gets Off Scott-Free, and Gets to Keep $315 Million in Loot -- A quote...."Jospeh Cassano, the guy who brought down AIG - and maybe the world economy - with trillions in risky derivatives deals which AIG couldn't back up, is getting prosecuted ... and the government will claw back all the money he made, right? -- Uh, no. -- In reality, Cassano is walking away scott-free with $315 million." - posted 04-10-10 Top US hedge fund managers took in $25.3 billion A quote...."The top 25 managers of US hedge funds took home a record $25.33 billion in 2009, according to the new issue of the industry journal AR: Absolute Return+Alpha. The unchecked moneymaking in 2009 marked a dramatic reversal from the crisis year of 2008, when the top 25 took home “only” $11.6 billion. It surpassed even the heady days of 2007, when they combined for $22 billion." - posted 04-01-10 Bonuses up 17 percent on Wall Street A quote...."Bonuses paid to Wall Street securities industry employees in New York rose 17 percent to 20.3 billion dollars in 2009, state officials said Tuesday. -- New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said total compensation at the largest securities firms grew even faster and industry profits could hit a record amount after unprecedented losses in 2008." - posted 02-25-10 AIG pays out $100 million in bonuses A quote...."The giant insurance firm AIG (American International Group) paid out $100 million in year-end bonuses to traders in its financial products division on Wednesday, according to company sources. Elsewhere, it was reported that Bank of America and Morgan Stanley awarded their top personnel record or near-record pay for 2009. Bank of America paid out $4.4 billion and Morgan Stanley dispensed $14.4 billion." - posted 02-04-10 JPMorgan investment bankers to see record payday A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) on Friday announced a record $9.3 billion payday for its investment-banking employees, setting the stage for competitors like Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) to also make eye-popping payouts." -- also posted at Yahoo - posted 01-15-10 Wall Street’s payout for 2009: $145 billion A quote...."If you still needed statistical proof that the folks on Wall Street have become entirely detached from reality in the wake of the massive taxpayer-funded bailout of their colossal mistakes, here it is. -- The 38 largest financial institutions on Wall Street will pay out a total of $145.85 billion in compensation for 2009, an 18 percent increase over 2008 and "slightly more than in the record year of 2007," the Wall Street Journal reports." - bold by website editor - posted 01-14-10 Three top Wall Street banks to award $49.5 billion in year-end bonuses A quote...."The US media has been virtually silent on the colossal year-end bonuses for 2009 that will shortly be handed out by major American banks and financial firms. This is doubtless a deliberate response by the corporate-controlled media to popular anger over the financial gains reaped by Wall Street executives, who have been bailed out at taxpayer expense while working people have been left to face depression levels of unemployment and mounting home foreclosures, hunger and poverty." - posted 01-04-10 Big Paydays For Fannie and Freddie Bosses A quote...."Top executives at mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which have been under government control since last year, received millions of dollars in pay in 2009, according to documents filed by the companies Thursday." - posted 12-26-09 Obama pay czar OKs $4 million raise for AIG executive Awww look, The Obama administration gave Robert Benmosche a Christmas present....what did you get for Christmas folks? - mpg -- A quote...."As Wall Street prepares to announce some $30 billion in year-end bonuses—a near-record—it has been handed an additional bit of Christmas cheer from Kenneth Feinberg, the “special master for compensation” appointed by the Obama administration ostensibly to rein in bankers’ pay." - posted 12-24-09 Report: 237 millionaires in Congress A quote...."Talk about bad timing. -- As Washington reels from the news of 10.2 percent unemployment, the Center for Responsive Politics is out with a new report describing the wealth of members of Congress. -- Among the highlights: Two-hundred-and-thirty-seven members of Congress are millionaires. That’s 44 percent of the body – compared to about 1 percent of Americans overall." -- also posted at BLN - posted 11-09-09 Top bailed-out banks to pay $30 billion in bonuses Related Article - A quote...."Three of the largest Wall Street firms -- which together received $45,000,000,000 in taxpayer bailouts -- are on track to hand out $29,700,000,000 in bonuses this year." - also posted at BLN - posted 11-09-09 Wall Street bonuses to rise by 40 percent Related Article - A quote...."The authors of the biggest financial catastrophe in world history—executives and traders at US investment and commercial banks—will see their year-end bonuses rise by an average of 40 percent compared to last year, according to a report issued Wednesday by Johnson Associates, a Wall Street-based compensation consulting firm." -- posted 11-06-09 Public must learn to 'tolerate the inequality' of bonuses, says Goldman Sachs vice-chairman A quote...."In remarks that will fuel the row around excessive pay, Lord Griffiths, vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs International and a former adviser to Margaret Thatcher, said banks should not be ashamed of rewarding their staff." -- That's real nice, but how about that US-NRE tax-payer funded twenty four trillion dollars in back-stops, guarantees and bail-outs? How about that? How quickly the wealthy (now a lot wealthier) forget, hand them twenty four trillion and the next day it's "you have to tolerate the fact that we have your money and you don't." But he's got a point, people in this country voted for the politicians that gave them all that money, and they got exactly the government they voted for. Next time around they might want to think about saving themselves twenty four trillion tax payer dollars and vote for someone other than a DemoRepub. – mpg -- posted 10-21-09 Another Goldman executive named to key government post as its profits skyrocket Special Note - A quote...."Apparently, the U.S. government didn't have enough Goldman Sachs executives in key financial and regulatory positions, so the following happened this week:...." -- also posted at CommonDreams -- posted 10-18-09 Goldman Exec Named First COO of SEC Enforcement Related Article -- A quote...."The money is so dirty now, the gains so ill-gotten, that the most diabolical of ALL Wall Street firms needs to create a PRIVATE exchange because the existing bogus securities laws (WorldCom, Enron, blah blah) are too cumbersome and time consuming!?" -- posted 10-18-09 Bailed out insurance giant AIG plans $198 million in new bonuses A quote...."American International Group, which has received nearly $200 billion in bailout funds from the federal government, is slated to pay 400 employees in its financial products division another $198 million, according to a report published Wednesday by the Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)." -- posted 10-18-09 A record year for Wall Street pay A quote...."According to the Wall Street Journal, the major US banks and financial firms are on track to hand out a record $140 billion in compensation this year. This is a 20 percent increase from 2008 and $10 billion more than the previous record, set in 2007." -- bold by website editor -- posted 10-14-09 Geithner Aides Reaped Millions Working for Banks, Hedge Funds A quote...."Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Some of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s closest aides, none of whom faced Senate confirmation, earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other Wall Street firms, according to financial disclosure forms." -- posted 10-14-09 Less than half of AIG bonuses returned A quote...."American International Group Inc. employees have returned less than half of the $45 million in bonuses they promised to repay in a good-will gesture after the company received tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer aid, according to the Treasury Department's independent watchdog." -- posted 10-14-09 Citigroup spins off subsidiary to pay trader $100 million It will never stop until the "people" stop voting for DemoRepubs. - mpg -- A quote...."Citigroup announced Friday plans to sell its energy-trading subsidiary Phibro to Occidental Petroleum, the fourth largest US energy company, by the end of 2009. The $250 million sale appears largely designed to fulfill Citigroup’s obligation to pay one energy trader, Andrew Hall, a promised $100 million bonus." -- posted 10-13-09 Goldman Sachs 2009 bonuses to double 2008’s; $23 billion.... Haaaa haaaaaa haaaaa! All you poor peons out there. One wonders what the ObamaTrolls think of this. - mpg -- A quote...."Yesterday, we brought you the insurance company that wouldn't insure a 17-pound infant because he was too heavy. Today, we bring you the investment bank that manages to double its bonuses during the worst recession since the Great Depression." -- also posted at BLN & OhBummer - Look at the photo of all those newly minted green backs folks. That's the utter debasement of the currency in YOUR bank accounts, the dollars in YOUR pockets and the reason the entire world is dumping the dollar like a hot potato. - mpg -- posted 10-13-09 CEOs at bailed out banks got $13.8 million apiece last year Table - A quote...."Executives at financial firms bailed out by the government received on average $13.8 million in compensation last year, according to a study of bank earning statements released last week. -- This figure is 37 percent higher than the average CEO income in the S&P 500, which stood at $10.1 million last year. The study found that CEOs stand to benefit even further after their companies granted them stock options at their low points in early 2009." -- posted 09-06-09 AIG CEO Gives Uncle Sam (and Us) the Finger (Financial Services Industry Arrogance Watch) A quote...."Tim Duy pointed out this priceless remark from AIG's new CEO, Robert Benmosch -- Benmosche told employees that he “had the luxury to say to the government, I’m not going to rush to do this. I’m appalled at how much pressure has been put on all of you to just sell it no matter what, because the Fed wants out, or the Treasury wants out. If they want out in a hurry, they shouldn’t have come in in the first place.” -- posted 08-20-09 New AIG head to get at least $7 million annually A quote...."In a regulatory filing Monday, American International Group (AIG) disclosed that it would pay its new CEO, Robert H. Benmosche, at least $7 million a year. The 65-year-old former head of the giant insurance and investment firm MetLife will get $3 million in cash and $4 million in stock annually, and be eligible for another $3.5 million in stock as part of an incentive plan." -- posted 08-19-09 So Just What Did Happen to all that TARP Money? Special Note - Data Base -- A quote...."NY AG Andrew Cuomo has reported that more than 4,700 employees of the 9 top banks that received Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money, have been given bonuses in excess of $1 million dollars. 836 of them received more than $3 million." -- posted 07-30-09 Banks Paid $32.6 Billion in Bonuses Amid U.S. Bailout (Update4) A quote...."July 30 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and seven other U.S. banks paid $32.6 billion in bonuses in 2008 while receiving $175 billion in taxpayer funds, according to a report by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo." -- also posted at RogueGov -- posted 07-30-09 Study: Bank Bonuses Far Exceeded Profits A quote...."(CBS) Several financial giants that received federal bailout money in the last year paid out bonuses to employees in 2008 that greatly exceeded the amount of profit generated by the banks, according to a study on executive compensation released by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo Thursday." -- also posted at RogueGov -- posted 07-30-09 Citigroup is considering paying a $100 million bonus — to one guy Think of it this way folks, at least American taxpayers were able to make one guy really, really, happy. Makes you taxpayers out there feel better about the whole situation....no? If it doesn't, and who knows, maybe this is a nation full of selfless, masochistic, taxpayers who want to watch their children starve while giving Banksters their hard earned money, perhaps in the future, everyone should stop voting for DemoRepubs. It's just a suggestion, might save you guys out there a lot of money. - mpg -- A quote...."This is the same Citigroup that received $45 billion in bailout money. The same Citigroup that will soon be 34% owned by the U.S. government. The same Citigroup that has lost 95% of its share value since 2007." -- posted 07-29-09 Morgan Stanley sets aside 72% of revenue to pay bonuses Ha, ha, haaaaa. It's gotten funny again.....for the moment. - mpg -- A quote...."Morgan Stanley is setting aside a huge sum to pay out bonuses despite posting its third consecutive quarterly loss and admitting it is disappointed with key departments. -- The US bank's latest results show it is allocating $3.9bn (£2.36bn) for paying out to staff, 72% of its net revenues. That dwarfs the percentage of revenue set aside by arch rival Goldman Sachs, where workers are on track for large bonuses after record results last week." - also posted at BLN -- posted 07-23-09 Bank of America, bailout in hand, continues lobbying efforts A quote...."WASHINGTON — As Bank of America faces intensifying congressional oversight during the nation's worst economy since the Great Depression, the company has spent more than $1.5 million lobbying on Capitol Hill. -- Bank of America. the recipient of $45 billion in taxpayer bailout money from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program, has worked to sway lawmakers on more than two dozen pieces of legislation in both the House and Senate." - bold by website editor -- posted 07-22-09 AIG bonuses: $235 million to go - It's not a joke folks....than again, maybe it is, but it's on you. - mpg A quote...."NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Bailed-out insurer AIG again found itself in the crosshairs of bonus rage on Friday over its plans to pay $2.4 million in executive bonuses next week. -- But the larger issue is how AIG will deal with its obligation to pay roughly $235 million still owed to employees of its crippled financial products division." -- posted 07-11-09 "Breaking -- AIG Is Preparing to Pay New Round of Bonuses --The payments coming due next week include $2.4 million in bonuses for about 40 high-ranking corporate officers at AIG. 09 Jul 2009 American International Group is preparing to pay millions of dollars more in bonuses to several dozen top corporate executives after an earlier round of payments four months ago set off a national furor. The company has been pressing the federal government to bless the payments in hopes of shielding itself from renewed public outrage. The request puts the administration's new compensation czar on the spot by seeking his opinion about bonuses that were promised long before he took his post." -- Paragraph posted at CLG -- Haaaaaa Haaaaaa Ha!!! All you Obamatrolls, you really are STUPID! - mpg -- posted 07-09-09 Goldman to make record bonus payout A quote...."Staff at Goldman Sachs staff can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year, sparking concern that the big investment banks which survived the credit crunch will derail financial regulation reforms." -- posted 06-21-09 Morgan Stanley to Boost Executive Salaries as Bonuses Decline A quote...."May 23 (Bloomberg) -- Morgan Stanley, the sixth-biggest U.S. bank by assets, will increase some executive salaries and double Chief Financial Officer Colm Kelleher’s pay as bonuses come under scrutiny from the Obama administration and lawmakers." -- posted 05-22-09 US treasury secretary rejects limits on A quote...."Timothy Geithner, US treasury secretary, said on Monday he opposes caps on executive pay in companies receiving bailouts from the federal government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)." -- posted 05-19-09 Banks Use Life Insurance to Fund Bonuses A quote...."Banks are using a little-known tactic to help pay bonuses, deferred pay and pensions they owe executives: They're holding life-insurance policies on hundreds of thousands of their workers, with themselves as the beneficiaries." -- posted 05-19-09 Subprime lobbyists in $370m battle A quote...."The top 25 US originators of subprime mortgages – the risky assets that sparked the global financial crisis – spent almost $370m in Washington over the past decade on lobbying and campaign donations as they tried to ward off tighter regulation of their industry, an investigation has shown." -- posted 05-08-09 AIG reveals $454 million in 2008 performance bonuses A quote...."WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Embattled insurer American International Group paid some $454 million in previously undisclosed performance bonuses to employees for 2008, the company said in answers to questions from a U.S. lawmaker that were released on Tuesday." -- posted 05-05-09 Wall Street pay back to pre-crash levels Special Note - Ha, Ha, Haaaaaa! And you poor peons thought Obama worked for you? -- A quote...."The New York Times reported Sunday that compensation at six of the largest US banks is on track to return to the record levels that preceded last year’s financial crash." -- posted 04-28-09 Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac plan [$210 Million] in bonuses - It's just not funny anymore. - mpg A quote...."More than 7,600 employees of US government-rescued mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are to receive 210 million dollars in bonuses to keep them in their jobs, according to documents released by a lawmaker Friday." -- posted 04-03-09 The Righteous Rage of Dennis Kucinich Video -- A quote...."(We reported on this very issue a couple days ago. It's just as ugly as Kucinich describes in the video.)" -- Regarding Merrill Lynch's $3.6 billion bonus payouts. - mpg -- posted 04-02-09 Kucinich to probe $3.6 billion in Merrill Lynch bonuses - It leaves one at a loss for words, it's no longer funny. A quote...."After TARP funds set, 696 employees got bonuses of $1 million or more -- Even as Merrill Lynch & Co. bled money and warily eyed a merger with Bank of America, company executives were preparing for a windfall. -- Following the federal government's promise of $10 billion in TARP funds to buoy the ailing firm through it's roll-up, Merrill paid out $3.6 billion in bonuses: a package 22 times larger than compensation given by AIG, said Congressman Dennis Kucinich's offices in a Monday release." -- bold by website editor - posted 03-30-09 TARP funds come back to Washington as campaign donations Otherwise known as the never ending circle-jerk. When will voters in this country finally GROW-UP and STOP voting for these criminals? What is WRONG with them? If they would just simply never, ever, vote for a DemoRepub again, all of this would stop. - mpg -- A quote...."Recent filings in the Federal Election Commission's database revealed that in the first two months of this year, at least $250,000 of bail-out funds returned to Washington in the form of campaign finances. -- NBC's chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd reported yesterday that both Democrats and Republicans have been receiving donations from bail-out firms. Two of the most vocal opponents of the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief." -- posted 03-28-09 AIG Bonuses Could Be Closer to $450 Million A quote...."AIG employees might be taking home $450 million in bonuses, rather than the $185 and $232 million figures tossed around last week, according to the co-chairs of the Connecticut banking committee and the state's Attorney General." -- posted 03-27-09 AIG bonuses $218 million, not $165 million, A.G. says A quote...."AIG Financial Products handed out $218 million in bonuses, not $165 as had been previously reported, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said this morning." -- posted 03-21-09 Obama maneuvers to protect Wall Street bonuses Obama™ Update -- A quote...."Following the passage Thursday of a bill by the House of Representatives that would tax some bonuses at a handful of companies that have received government bailout money, the Obama administration is seeking to discourage passage of a similar bill by the Senate, even as Obama feigns indignation over $165 million in bonuses awarded by the bailed-out insurance giant American International Group (AIG)." -- posted 03-20-09 Obama defends Wall Street as anger grows over bonuses, bailouts - Obama™ Update -- A quote..."In a statement to the press as he left the White House Wednesday, and at a town hall meeting in Southern California later the same day, President Barack Obama defended his policy of bailing out Wall Street financial interests, including those directly responsible for precipitating the current economic crisis." -- posted 03-19-09 The sanctity of AIG's contracts - Article also posted at ICH Must Read - (For the scathing logic of Greenwald's argument) -- A quote...."Apparently, the supreme sanctity of employment contracts applies only to some types of employees but not others. Either way, the Obama administration’s claim that nothing could be done about the AIG bonuses because AIG has solid, sacred contractual commitments to pay them is, for so many reasons, absurd on its face." -- also posted at CommonDreams -- posted 03-16-09 AIG Bonuses Total $450 Million and $105 Billion of Their TARP Bailouts Went to Off-Shore Banks A quote...."The Obama administration tried to paint a rosey picture of the economic forecast this weekend, partly because the story of the AIG bonuses had come out. What was originally reported was that $170 million in bonuses had been paid to their CEOs and executives so that these “talented” business leaders wouldn’t take their collective “skills” else-where. But as it turns out, that was only half the story. -- The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that nearly a half a billion dollars was paid out this weekend in bonus money at AIG!" -- posted 03-16-09 Before the Fall, AIG Payouts Went to Washington A quote...."As long as everyone's talking today about AIG's payouts to its executives and foreign banks, let's remember the payouts AIG has made over the years to politicians. In the last 20 years American International Group (AIG) has contributed more than $9 million to federal candidates and parties through PAC and individual contributions. That's enough to rank AIG on OpenSecrets.org's Heavy Hitters list, which profiles the top 100 contributors of all time." -- posted 03-16-09 Citigroup CEO awarded $10.8 million Well, they ain't stopping, despite all that supposed 'outrage' by Obama they're just gonna keep right on doing it to all you folks out there. - mpg -- A quote...."NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc awarded Chief Executive Vikram Pandit $10.82 million of compensation in 2008, a year when the government propped up the bank with $45 billion of capital." -- posted 03-16-09 AIG pays $450 million in bonuses after bailout (updated from $165 million) after being (updated from $100 million) Must Read - (For the absolute hilarity of it all) -- Hahhhhh, Hahhhhhh, Hahhhhhh, Ho, ho, ho, heeeeeeeee....(snicker, snicker). You're killing me here folks, I'm rolling on the ground with both arms and legs in the air, heeeeeee, hee, hee.....I’m gasping for breath here folks....oh man this is just beee-you-tea-full...oh this feels good. – mpg -- A quote...."Ailing insurance giant AIG is planning to give out $450 million in bonuses this week to executives who led the firm to a $99.3 billion dollar loss in 2008. -- Although AIG has agreed to cut back on multi-million-dollar bonuses for its highest ranking officers, the firm's lower-ranked employees are still set for a massive pay day. The bonuses are for staff at AIG's London subsidiary, AIG Financial Products, which helped trigger the collapse, the Wall Street Journal reports. -- The payments have dismayed the US government, which has already given the American International Group $170 billion in federal bailout money and now holds an 80% ownership stake in the company." -- Welcome folks....to the "Capitalist System", where every day it's heads they win and tails you lose. Like a slot machine that NEVER pays off for the "little guy". Now you know what it feels like to be one of those "little brown people" starving in some third world country after the Maximum Leader receives buco bribes from the banksters backed by the likes of the IMF or World Bank to sign his nation up for loans carrying interest rates that would make a loan shark blush. - mpg -- posted 03-14-09-- For more on this issue see....Having Fun With Your Tax Dollars Wall Street’s $18.4 Billion Bonus A quote...."After getting $125 billion in taxpayer bailouts, the top officers at Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and three other banks agreed to forgo their 2008 bonuses. Now they’re awarding billions to their troops. Can government “claw back” that money?" -- posted 03-09-09 Bailout Money - Instead of Being Used to Stabilize the Economy or Even the Bailed-Out Companies - is Just Going to Line the Pockets of the Wealthy -- A quote...."The bailout money is just going to line the pocket of the wealthy, instead of helping to stabilize the economy or even the companies receiving the bailouts...." -- posted 03-05-09 Key Obama aide Larry Summers took ride from bailed-out Citigroup A quote...."Top White House economic adviser Larry Summers hooked a freebie flight on a posh Citigroup corporate jet mere months before he began weighing the bank’s fate with other policymakers trying to save the banking system." -- posted 02-16-09 Merrill bonuses made 696 millionaires: probe A quote...."WASHINGTON (AFP) — Merrill Lynch quietly paid out at least one million dollars bonus each to about 700 top executive even when the investment house was bleeding with losses last year, a probe has revealed. -- They were part of 3.6 billion dollars in the firm's bonus payments in December before the announcement of its fourth quarterly losses and takeover by Bank of America, the investigation by the New York state Attorney General's office showed." -- posted 02-11-09 Wall Street CEOs, investment bankers charged prostitutes on corporate cards, madam says A quote...."Investment bankers racked up $100,000s in prostitution charges -- Visa, Mastercard or American Express? Or maybe a credit card from JP Morgan Chase? -- Wall Street CEOs, lawyers, bankers and media executives chalked up thousands of dollars in prostitution charges on their corporate credit cards -- swiping their cards for $2,000 an hour prostitutes, according to a New York madam who pleaded guilty last year." -- posted 02-06-09 TARP Recipients Paid $114 Million to Lobby Lawmakers A quote...."Recipients of the $700 billion federal bailout package in the finance and auto sectors may view their contributions and lobbying as the smartest investments made in years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. -- More than half of the 300 companies helped by the federal government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) have dished out $114.2 million for politicking, with $77 million spent on lobbying last year and $37 million spent on federal campaign contributions for the 2008 election." -- posted 02-05-09 Bankrolling charitable gifts A quote...."Financial firms and other companies receiving billions of dollars in federal bailout money spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for meetings and charitable gifts on behalf of lawmakers." -- posted 02-03-09 What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses A quote...."By almost any measure, 2008 was a complete disaster for Wall Street — except, that is, when the bonuses arrived. -- Despite crippling losses, multibillion-dollar bailouts and the passing of some of the most prominent names in the business, employees at financial companies in New York, the now-diminished world capital of capital, collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year." -- posted 01-31-09 Merrill Lynch paid billions in bonuses before bailout A quote...."Merrill Lynch, the loss-making Wall Street bank, paid its staff billions of dollars in bonuses even as it prepared to be taken over by the US government-backed Bank of America. -- Merrill's move took as much as $4 billion out of the bank days before it became part of Bank of America, which last week said it would get $20 billion from the US Treasury." -- posted 01-24-09 AIG Said to Offer Retention Payment to Bigger Group of Workers A quote...."Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc., the insurer under fire for paying 168 executives not to quit after a government takeover, is giving retention awards to at least 2,000 more employees, according to a person familiar with the matter." - bold by website editor -- posted 12-15-08 AIG Says More Managers Get Retention Payouts Topping $4 Million -- Will it ever end? - mpg A quote...."Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc., the insurer whose bonuses and perks are under fire from U.S. lawmakers, offered cash awards to another 38 executives in a retention program with payments of as much as $4 million. " -- posted 12-10-08 Merrill Lynch boss seeks 10-million-dlr bonus: report - It's your tax dollars folks, you gave it to them. - mpg A quote...."The chief executive of troubled Wall Street firm Merrill Lynch is seeking a 10-million-dollar bonus this year in the midst of a financial crisis which plunged his company into dire straits, US media reported Monday." -- posted 12-08-08 AIG Gives "Retention" Pay After Scrapping Bonuses Special Note - And here's WHY there will always be an "L" Curve, "L" being old english for suckers or chumps. - mpg -- A quote...."American International Group Inc., the insurer that said yesterday it scrapped bonuses for top executives after a U.S. bailout, will still pay 130 managers "cash awards" to stay with the firm, including $3 million to retirement services chief Jay Wintrob. - bold by website editor Obviously AIG has learned how to twist the English language from the Bush administration’s ceaseless and remorseless perversion of it. The whole thing would be really funny if it wasn't so sad. Just think of it this way, tens of millions of hard working Americans are barely scrapping by, many of whom are about to be thrown out of their homes, all the while they’re handing over their hard earned tax dollars to a bunch of fat piggy executives’ so these executives can live it large at their expense. To all you people out there who voted for Obama (a man who fully supported all of these bail-outs by the way) there's no other way to tell you this except straight up....you're stupid, it's the only way to describe your collective behavior....you're not only stupid, you're a bunch of dumb, politically lazy, TV fixated morons and you're all going to pay dearly for it and so will your children. – mpg -- posted 11-29-08 ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ========== ==== AIG execs at posh Phoenix resort after $85 billion bailout - While at the exact same moment they're haveing fun. A quote...."08 Nov 2008 The 2008 Asset Management Conference held this week at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix included many senior managers at American International Group, or AIG--recipients in September of more than $85 billion from the federal government. AIG made significant efforts to disguise the conference, making sure there were no AIG logos or signs anywhere on the property. An AIG spokesperson said there were no AIG markers in order to minimize signage costs and to lower the company's profile. A hotel employee told ABC15, "We can't even say the word [AIG]." The ABC15 Investigators went undercover at the resort and found AIG executives having poolside meetings while drinking coffee and working out at the spa while other attendees were in conference rooms for seminars. We also watched as half a dozen of the executives went to dinner at McCormick & Schmick's at the Camelback Esplanade, racking up a bill of more than $400 for drinks, appetizers, and meals." -- Paragraph quoted from CLG -- posted 11-08-08 Taxpayers may pay legal bills for mortgage execs So if the government sues them for malfeasance, it'll have to pay for their lawyers....isn't that just wonderful? - mpg -- A quote...."WASHINGTON (AP) — When the government took over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers inherited more than just bad debts. They're also potentially on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in legal fees for the executives at the center of the housing market's collapse." -- posted 11-08-08 "It's Hard to Live on Just a Half Million a Year" Wall Street Bonus Madness - posted at CounterPunch A quote...."You created an economy that is so unstable that the bankruptcy of a few big firms would mean worldwide catastrophe. - Your policies lost the world $10 trillion on stock markets in the last month alone. - You've started a worldwide recession/depression that will go on for years. - So for a punishment we're giving you $20 billion in bonuses." -- Haa, haa, haaaaa....it really, truly is, totally hilarious. - mpg -- posted 10-30-08 Goldman Sachs ready to hand out £7bn salary and bonus package... after its £6bn bail-out A quote...."Goldman Sachs is on course to pay its top City bankers multimillion-pound bonuses - despite asking the U.S. government for an emergency bail-out. - The struggling Wall Street bank has set aside £7billion for salaries and 2008 year-end bonuses, it emerged yesterday. - Each of the firm's 443 partners is on course to pocket an average Christmas bonus of more than £3million." - For more on this issue see....AIG, Goldman Sachs, Paulson And Buffet -- posted 10-30-08 This Is How The Bail Out Will Screw You - video - (YouTube - 5 min 7 sec - Added: September 22, 2008) Missed this one -- posted 10-21-08 Wall Street banks in $70bn staff payout -- Hah, ha, ha, ha, ha....Americans are such rubes, it's really sad. - mpg Special Note - A quote...."Pay and bonus deals equivalent to 10% of US government bail-out package -- Financial workers at Wall Street's top banks are to receive pay deals worth more than $70bn (£40bn), a substantial proportion of which is expected to be paid in discretionary bonuses, for their work so far this year - despite plunging the global financial system into its worst crisis since the 1929 stock market crash, the Guardian has learned." -- posted 10-17-08 [British] Bankers' £16bn bonus bonanza - Hah, ha , ha....the British are rubes too. - mpg Special Note - A quote...."City bankers have not lost a penny of their multimillion-pound bonus packages so far, despite the credit crunch which has caused the worst financial crisis in 80 years, new figures show. -- Official statistics reveal that, in the financial year to April, City workers took home £16bn, almost exactly the same as in 2007." -- posted 10-17-08 For insensitivity, Wachovia refuses to be outdone A quote...."As ailing Wachovia Corp. waits to see whether it will be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. or Citigroup Inc. -- possibly with taxpayers paying the tab for hundreds of billions of dollars in bad loans -- some of the company's top brokers are preparing to depart Saturday for an all-expenses-paid cruise of the Greek Isles." -- posted 10-09-08 First Bailout Results Known - The National REPUBLICAN Congressional Committee has received $8 MILLION from Wachovia Bank. -- Full quote...."Credit crunch? Unsecured loans impossible to find? -- Chris Bowers at OpenLeft writes that, in the short term, this is effectively an $8 million donation to the NRCC from Wachovia at a time when Wachovia is supposedly in dire straits, about to be bought out by other banks, and will receive money from the government via the bailout. The Bush administration is about to start handing out taxpayer cash for bad debts, and suddenly the NRCC gets $8 million from Wachovia. Come on. How blatant can it be?" -- posted 10-09-08 AIG, Castigated for Resort Event, Plans Another One (Update2) A quote...."Oct. 8 (Bloomberg) -- American International Group Inc., castigated by the White House, Congress and Barack Obama for hosting a $440,000 conference days after an $85 billion federal bailout, plans to hold another gathering for brokers next week." -- posted 10-09-08 Lehman sought millions for execs while seeking aid A quote...."The now-bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers arranged millions in bonuses for fired executives as it pleaded for a federal lifeline, lawmakers learned Monday, as Congress began investigating what went so wrong on Wall Street to prompt a $700 billion government bailout." -- posted 10-06-08 AIG subsidiary parties in style in OC, two weeks after bailout -- Hah Hah Haaaaaaaaa.....it just never ends!! mpg A quote...."Financial crisis? What financial crisis? -- Less than two weeks after Uncle Sam gave American International Group (AIG) an $85 billion loan - staving off financial collapse - execs from one of its insurance subsidiaries, AIG American General, gathered for a conference at the uber-swank St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort, billed as “California’s only Mobil Travel Guide Five-Star Resort,” where ocean-view rooms start at $565 a night and “world class luxury” is the rule." -- posted 10-03-08 WaMu CEO could get $13.65 million for 18 days work - Haa, haa, haaaaaa....it's just simply toooooo funny. mpg Special Note - (for the hilarity of it all) -- A quote....."NEW YORK (Reuters) - The chief executive of the failed savings and loan Washington Mutual Inc (WM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) could get $13.65 million for the 18 days he was on the job, a regulatory filing shows." - bold by website editor" -- posted 10-02-08 Fury at $2.5bn Lehman bonus - Hah, hah, hah, haaaaah! Ho, ho, ho, hee, hee.....it's SOOOOO FUNNY! - mpg Special Note - A quote...."STAFF at Lehman’s New York office who helped to cause the world’s biggest corporate bankruptcy are to share in a $2.5 billion bonanza." -- posted 09-21-08 |
