Obama chews out bank Execs over Bonuses

[Crossroads Inc.]

From yahoo News

Obama calls $18B in Wall St. bonuses 'shameful'
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Digg Facebook Newsvine del.icio.us Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks Print By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer Ben Feller, Associated Press Writer – 23 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama says it is irresponsible and shameful for Wall Street bankers to be paid huge bonuses at a time when the American public is dealing with economic hardship. The president reacted harshly Thursday to reports that corporate employees got paid more than $18 billion in bonuses last year.

Said Obama: "That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful."

The president said he and new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will have direct conversations with corporate leaders to make the point.

Obama said there is a time for corporate leaders to make profits and get paid bonuses but now is "not that time."

EDIT: for whatever reason my computer isn't let me rightclick to copy the link from yahoo news, ill try and get link up as soon as i can

[The Guid]

Maybe your computer is an Apple, and frustratingly has no right click.

[Dark Hellion]

Maybe your computer is an Apple, and frustratingly has no right click.

I used my macs right click to quote you.

As for the article itself, I really am liking Obama. I didn't have the messianic expectations of him that many seem to have had, but he is damn near living up to them.

I am half expecting him to announce that he was actually born in Anatolla in 9000BCE and proceed to single-handedly lead the U.S. in a crusade against orks from space.

[Aratech]

Maybe your computer is an Apple, and frustratingly has no right click.

I am half expecting him to announce that he was actually born in Anatolla in 9000BCE and proceed to single-handedly lead the U.S. in a crusade against orks from space.

It almost sounds like you're saying that as if it was a bad thing.

OT, my faith in the U.S. Government is slowly being restored.

[Admiral Valdemar]

Sen. Dodd wants the money clawed back too. Good luck with that.

Gotta love how the Masters of the Universe are able to actually do this and then express shock when people start rioting in the street (well, the French at least). "Who? Me?! But I EARNED this money!"

[Mayabird]

Not to burst your bubbles, people (well, kinda yes) but this chewing out doesn't really do anything. They get talked down, but they still have their money, they're not giving it back, and there's nothing to keep them from doing it again and again. It's just a symbolic gesture. It's probably better than nothing, and maybe/hopefully it'll get followed up with something substantial to it, but right now it's just a gesture.

[Admiral Valdemar]

It is symbolic. A hearing or two, maybe, but in the end, they are contractually obligated to have this money. If the guv'mint comes and takes it off them, then they're basically setting the precedent of being able to seize peoples' cash assets "because they say so". Last I checked, being pissed off about audacity from rich fuckers who managed to do what the entire Soviet Union couldn't (screw America so fine) was not a good argument for the courts.

[D.Turtle]

Here are the full remarks:

Shameful

$18 billion.

That’s what Wall Street bankers pulled down in bonuses over the past two months, according to a report from the New York State comptroller -- even as many of these institutions received billions in taxpayer dollars.

"That is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful," President Obama said today, following a meeting with Vice President Joe Biden, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and the rest of the economic team.

Read the President’s full remarks below.
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
AFTER MEETING WITH THE VICE PRESIDENT
AND THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
The White House, Oval Office
January 29, 2009

THE PRESIDENT: Well, it's good to see you guys. I just had a terrific conversation with my Secretary of the Treasury, the Vice President, as well as the rest of our economic team, about the steps that we need to move forward on -- not only on the economic recovery and reinvestment package, but also on making sure that we begin the process of regulating Wall Street so that we can improve the flow of credit, banks start lending again, so that businesses can reopen, and that we can create more jobs -- but also to make sure that we never find ourselves in the kind of crisis that we're in again, that we've seen over the last several months.

And Secretary Geithner is hard at work on this process. We expect that even as the reinvestment and recovery package moves forward -- as I said, that's only one leg of the stool, and that these other legs of the stool will be rolled out systematically in the coming weeks so that the American people will have a clear sense of a comprehensive strategy designed to put people back to work, reopen businesses and credit flowing again.

One point I want to make is that all of us are going to have responsibilities to get this economy moving again. And when I saw an article today indicating that Wall Street bankers had given themselves $20 billion worth of bonuses -- the same amount of bonuses as they gave themselves in 2004 -- at a time when most of these institutions were teetering on collapse and they are asking for taxpayers to help sustain them, and when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that if they don't provide help that the entire system could come down on top of our heads -- that is the height of irresponsibility. It is shameful.

And part of what we're going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility. The American people understand that we've got a big hole that we've got to dig ourselves out of -- but they don't like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they're being asked to fill it up.

And so we're going to be having conversations as this process moves forward directly with these folks on Wall Street to underscore that they have to start acting in a more responsible fashion if we are to together get this economy rolling again. There will be time for them to make profits, and there will be time for them to get bonuses -- now is not that time. And that's a message that I intend to send directly to them, I expect Secretary Geithner to send to them -- and Secretary Geithner already had to pull back one institution that had gone forward with a multimillion dollar jet plane purchase at the same time as they're receiving TARP money. We shouldn't have to do that because they should know better. And we will continue to send that message loud and clear.

Having said that, I am confident that with the recovery package moving through the House and through the Senate, with the excellent work that's already been done by Secretary Geithner in consultation with Larry Summers and Paul Volcker and other individuals, that we are going to be able to set up a regulatory framework that rights the ship and that gets us moving again. And I know the American people are eager to get moving again -- they want to work. They are serious about their responsibilities; I am, too, in this White House and I hope that the folks on Wall Street are going to be thinking in the same way.

If I was one of those execs, I would be very careful what I do from now on. Having the US President be pissed off about you is not a good thing - especially if you need his money.

[Garlak]

Can't they be sued over... something? Criminal negligence? Incompetence?

I mean, we'd all like it if that the money Bush set on fire would be returned, but we expect that all that will happen is disapproval and investigations...

Is there any way to get the money back?

Somebody pointed out that those bankers did what the Soviet Union couldn't and put USA in a financial hole. If I were a leader and saw that some of my people had *managed to do what an enemy couldn't*, I'd probably skip "negligence/corruption/incompetence" and go straight to freaking treason. I mean... if these guys hurt us more badly then an enemy did, they shouldn't get a stern lecture and a slap on the wrist...

Maybe put some kind of fines on them or raise taxes or sic the IRS on them??

[Justforfun000]

Jesus Murphy.....I don't understand why this had to be a problem in the first place! If it was me giving the money out as the President of the US, I would damn well be sure that part of the conditions attached were NO profits of this nature were allowed to be given to individual fatcats until the damn TAXPAYERS were paid back. It's unconscionable.

[Sea Skimmer]

From what I read in the paper, most of the bonus money has in fact gone to low level employs, the people that do actually make corporations function however badly, and for all its scale at 18 billion, its going to a huge number of people at the same time. This amount is about 40% less then last year, not ‘almost the same’.

The big thing though, is that much of the bonus money is also contractual, and the TARP contract contains no provision to invalidate contractual obligations. It just vaguely ruled out large bonuses for top executives. So if Obama is so pissed, well, he was part of drafting that bill, he should have done something then.

[Justforfun000]

From what I read in the paper, most of the bonus money has in fact gone to low level employs, the people that do actually make corporations function however badly, and for all its scale at 18 billion, its going to a huge number of people at the same time. This amount is about 40% less then last year, not ‘almost the same’.

Well if this is true then again the newspapers are at fault for slanting the facts. I hate finding out that if reported just a little more honestly that the story would look completely different. Obviously partisanship rules newspapers as much as political parties.
Mind you I still think "bonuses" are a little ridiculous when the taxpayers have literally threw undeserved money at them to stay afloat. They really SHOULD be payed back first. I'm not suggesting people working for the companies don't make a dime, but for heaven's sake, don't rub multi-billion dollar extra's going into people's pockets when even the minimum wage worker's at McDonalds collectively donated a portion of their money to these people. What are they getting back?

[Tanasinn]

I'd probably skip "negligence/corruption/incompetence" and go straight to freaking treason.

Treason is very specifically defined in U.S. law in response to rather less strict definitions in Europe when the U.S. came about.

[phongn]

Mind you I still think "bonuses" are a little ridiculous when the taxpayers have literally threw undeserved money at them to stay afloat. They really SHOULD be payed back first. I'm not suggesting people working for the companies don't make a dime, but for heaven's sake, don't rub multi-billion dollar extra's going into people's pockets when even the minimum wage worker's at McDonalds collectively donated a portion of their money to these people. What are they getting back?

Wall Street "bonuses" in this case are not quite the same as the usual type: they're something of a deferred performance-adjusted lump salary payment given at the end of the year.