Obama makes Citigroup his bitch

[Ender]

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The high-flying execs at Citigroup caved under pressure from President Obama and decided today to abandon plans for a luxurious new $50 million corporate jet from France.

The decision came 24 hours after the banking giant, which was rescued by a $45 billion taxpayer lifeline, defended buying the state-of-the-art Dassault Falcon 7X -- one of nine to be flying in U.S. skies -- as a smart business deal.

The jet, the epitome of corporate prestige and privilege, can carry 12 passengers in elegant comfort.

ABC News has learned that on Monday officials of the Obama administration called Citigroup about the company's new $50 million corporate jet and told execs to "fix it."

That's awesome.

"So we hear you're trying to spend fifty mil on a new jet after we just bailed your ass out."

"Yes. Um. Well. See. It's a sound business invest--"

"Fix it."

"Yes sirs."

[Count Chocula]

Heh heh. Serves 'em right. It's like borrowing $5,000 from your friends to meet your mortgage, then spending $200 on a pair of shoes.

Did GM and Chrysler send their PR brains to Citigroup?

[Darth Lucifer]

It's pretty fucking sad that corporate assholes can justify primping themselves with a shiny new private jet with taxpayer money and it took the government to step in to say "no." Why do these executive motherfuckers still have jobs?

Major props to the Obama Administration for keeping an eye out.

[CmdrWilkens]

Am I the only one who suddenly flashed to the SNL weekend update skits with Kenan Thompson playing the economist?

[K. A. Pital]

Why do these people still have a job? It's like they have nothing to do but devise idiotic ways to spend a large fraction of the money they are given on bullshit.

And it is ironic, but the real irony is that probably most of the corporate execs are such assholes. So I doubt we're going to see the bailout money to be actually used to "save" the companies, as opposed to maintaining good face and not compromising on luxuries for the leaders of these glorious bastions of capitalism.

[Ma Deuce]

Did GM and Chrysler send their PR brains to Citigroup?

At least they're making a conscious effort not to appear showy or wasteful, deliberately exuding the impression that they're spending their loan as efficiently as possible (judging by their spartan displays and lack of glitz at the Detroit auto show). Frankly they have to because they're held to a different standard then the banks, see. While bullshit like this barely makes the news when the banks do it and few people even remember it, you know if anything remotely resembling this happened at GM or Chrysler there'd be a national outroar to crucify them, even though combined they were given a small fraction as much as Citigroup.