Obama: Stop the Witch Hunts and Stabilize the Banks

For the second week in a row, equities managed to post a positive gain despite heavy profit-taking at the end of the week. The S&P 500 gained 1.6% to close at 769. From the early March lows the market is up 20%.

The big news is the Federal Reserve’s announcement to institute a program to buy $1 trillion worth of mortgage-backed and Treasury securities in an effort to boost economic growth. The market for mortgage-backed securities has been frozen for months. The Fed's attempt to thaw this market has been well-received. The move is designed to lower mortgage rates so many homeowners (that are not under water and have jobs) can refinance. This should increase homeowners' cash flow and reduce foreclosures. In addition, this may induce prospective buyers to begin purchasing homes, thus bolstering the battered housing market.

Unfortunately while the Fed is doing its best to prop up the markets, save the banks and jump start the economy, Washington is too busy with its own sideshows. This one comes complete with a freak show of politicians berating AIG bonus recipients. While the outrage engendered by these bonuses is understandable, the grandstanding and legislative response is not productive.

If this proposed tax on bonuses received by TARP recipients is enacted, it will surely hurt the Fed's efforts to prop up the banking system. The bonuses are egregious but it is more important to get the economy jump started than to pursue a witch hunt. Stabilizing the banks should be our first and last priority. If we cannot stabilize the banks the economy will get much worse and the credit markets will freeze up further. Stabilizing the banks and greasing the gears of the credit markets should remain the government’s focus, not sideshows and witch hunts. Punishing these bonus recipients isn’t necessary because in the end the markets will extract its own retribution in the form of reduced pay or no job at all. Sooner or later these kings of finance will find that their industry has changed and the pickings are slim to none.

I anticipate the markets will be a little choppy but the rally will continue at a slow pace. If you are not in the stock market, I highly recommend that you start dollar cost averaging back in.

Comments

[User382071:]

I don't see the connection. How does going after bonuses de-stabilize the banks? Will investor's flee because the bonuses are returned? Will the banks stop lending if they have more money on the balance sheet?

Additionally, the comment "the markets will extract its own retribution in the form of reduced pay..." doesn't work either. As long as they are using taxpayer funds to pay bonuses there is no incentive to reduce costs but rather business as usual. Had they NOT received TARP funds the banks would have had no choice but to limit bonuses and pay.

Mar 24 11:56 AM

[Responsibility:]

Correcting the problems of irresponsible behaviors at public companies is necessary to restore some trust people have in Wall Street. The FED has not done enough to put necessary regulations on public companies, particularly those in the finance sector, regulations on executive compensations are just an important part to start with.

There are not "witch hunts" by Washington this time; they are being held responsible by the enraged public. Freak shows by being run by people in the finance industry trying to continue their old ways of paying with other people's money.

Mar 24 12:08 PM

[Jamaican in...:]

I am not sure that I understand her arguments.

Is she suggesting that legislation to limit rewards to people whose poor decisions have undermined credit markets, destroyed people's life savings and caused countless economic catostrophies is a witch hunt?

Perhaps she does not realize that rewarding inappropriate conduct only encourages the misbehaving party to continue the antisocial and destructive behavior. If telling a person that they won't benefit from conduct that harms others is a witch hunt we must re-evaluate our use of words.

Our jails provide that housing for rapists, child pornographers, murderers and thieves are full of people who have harmed others. I am not suggesting that the bonus recipients be jailed (except if criminal behavior is demonstrated during a thorough investigation), but I believe that their irresponsible conduct should be discouraged.

Her logic on the other hand may be interpreted to suggest that the residents of our jails are victims of a relentless government witch hunt and society would be better off rewarding their misconduct rather than taking steps to discourage it. A pox on such logic and all who advocate it.

Mar 24 12:46 PM

[reality chk:]

The writer belongs on the same out of touch with reality island with the rest of the superstar performers. Give them bonusses when they break the system.

Mar 24 01:29 PM

[RReagan:]

Since when is this taxpayer money? Didn't the banks pay their taxes over the years? Why can't they get some back now?

Mar 24 01:53 PM

[TaurusTrader:]

reality chk .... I agree!
Wallstreet needs to get real and not try to put blame on any things that it doesn't agree.

I beleive some reality is setting in as evidenced by less and less rhetoric coming from the wall street. And, it is good for the health of stock markets ...

TaurusTrader
www.taurustrader.wordp...

Mar 24 01:54 PM

[Responsible...:]

Without regulation, the crooks will be back to work. Habits are hard to die. Institute a culture of ethics in our financial system and watch the confidence in the markets go up. Whistleblowers must be given the full protection of the law.

Mar 24 02:32 PM

[reality chk:]

It is strongly suggested that you at least look at the data and know how the system works to help make the foot easier to swallow. These superstars are have been isolated in their own little world for so long they have no clue what is like to work for a living. They have been playing with other people's money, now they are doing the same with the taxpayers money.. If they are so damn good why don't they make it on their own merits? Why did they go begging for help?


On Mar 24 01:53 PM RReagan wrote:

> Since when is this taxpayer money? Didn't the banks pay their taxes
> over the years? Why can't they get some back now?

Mar 24 02:58 PM

[RReagan:]

Its always someone else's money with a bank. Thats how you got to live in the house you are living in, and how your parents got to move out into the suburbs 40-50 years ago. Its also how you and your parents got a car loan. It was all someone elses money, so understand it and give it a rest.

Mar 24 04:11 PM

[Libby Mihalka:]

I said in the article that these bonuses are egregious. My point is these bonuses represent just 0.02% of the entire taxpayer funded bailout and yet the outcry regarding these bonuses could derail the plan. It will be difficult for Congress to allocate additional funding to the bailout if everyone is having a tantrum regarding these bonuses. This whole sidshow reminds me of last fall when everyone was saying we shouldn't help homeowners or banks because of moral hazard. Look at how well that worked out. If we had taken steps sooner we wouldn't have such high unemployment and be in such a mess. We should keep our eye on the ball and not be distracted by the freak show.

Mar 24 04:32 PM

[User 382362:]

You make the point that the amount of "bailout" monies are merely 0.02% of the funds given. So why then is it such a big deal to give up these "performance" bonuses for their bad performance instead of reward bad behavior. I never had anyone give me a bonus after the company was almost run into the ground. Restoring consumer confidence, I am sure you would agree Libby, is very important to the economy too. So why not restore the peoples confidence and give them up. The only reason this could stop the plans is because the bank execs are the ones throwing tantrums about the restsrictions, wich is exactly why Goldman Sacs is giving back theirs. Its the taxes payers money so let them tantum all they want.

Mar 24 06:37 PM

[Tony Petroski:]

I agree with the author and if the Obama administration ever gets out of campaign mode they will get with their allies on the Hill and slow down this juvenile executive bashing.

Mar 24 07:38 PM

[Jamaican in...:]

The freak show are you call the executive bonus compensation are a result of the executives own hubris. It is their outrageous conduct that threatens the whole bailout, nothing else.
Had they not persisted in demanding that taxpayers reward them with millions of dollars after they destroyed so many people's life savings there would be no outrage.
What we have here is a classical case of cause and effect, their conduct caused a storm of popular outrage. Shame on them for threatening the world's financial system and thier greedy folly which now threatens to derail efforts to efforts to repair their earlier blunders.


On Mar 24 04:32 PM Libby Mihalka wrote:

> I said in the article that these bonuses are egregious. My point
> is these bonuses represent just 0.02% of the entire taxpayer funded
> bailout and yet the outcry regarding these bonuses could derail the
> plan. It will be difficult for Congress to allocate additional funding
> to the bailout if everyone is having a tantrum regarding these bonuses.
> This whole sidshow reminds me of last fall when everyone was saying
> we shouldn't help homeowners or banks because of moral hazard. Look
> at how well that worked out. If we had taken steps sooner we wouldn't
> have such high unemployment and be in such a mess. We should keep
> our eye on the ball and not be distracted by the freak show.

Mar 24 08:58 PM

[Econ 101:]

OMG, I agree we should discourage poor behavior. That should have started with NOT bailing out AIG, BAC or C. Now we are throwing our childrens and Grandchildrens good money after bad. We are giving our future to the crooks on wall street and in congress. Then ultimaely to our creditors, the Chinese. They rattled their sabor just to fake us out. They want the US to fail, just like Reagan beat the Russians, by breaking their banks and their treasury.

I am not Chinese bashing, I am bashing the congress and wall street. These people have stolen our future and probably our freedom.

As for the author, I dont think she has a clue, there is at least one more big leg down due to unemployment, commercial real estate and oil prices. Buy this market at your peril, the DCB evaporates by Memorial Day.

Then next fall or spring 2010, hyper inflation.

Mar 25 11:13 AM

[reality chk:]

Imagine Being hooked up to a torture devise and someone cranks the handle, 480 volts go through your body but only .02% amperes. What is your level of tolerance?
The problem here is there are 73 people with in this unit of AIG that are getting a bonus of $1M or more. The typical bonus is about 20% of the base annual wage. The means that this unit has at least 73 superstars that make $5M / year and they are getting a $1M bonus for screwing up. We are not talking about the CEO or the 3 or 4 top execs we are talking about mid. level dept. and project managers. How out of touch are you? or is it just me? Who the heck is making those earnings and puts their company on death row. and then these $5M superstearr go to Mr. Taxpayer who barely making $50K /year asking for help. I did not see any AIG people offer to pay some additional tax during the good years when the company posted good earnings. How medicated do you have to be to ignore and try to justify these actions by ONLY .02% These people should be in JJAIL. NOTHING to DEBATE.


On Mar 24 04:32 PM Libby Mihalka wrote:

> I said in the article that these bonuses are egregious. My point
> is these bonuses represent just 0.02% of the entire taxpayer funded
> bailout and yet the outcry regarding these bonuses could derail the
> plan. It will be difficult for Congress to allocate additional funding
> to the bailout if everyone is having a tantrum regarding these bonuses.
> This whole sidshow reminds me of last fall when everyone was saying
> we shouldn't help homeowners or banks because of moral hazard. Look
> at how well that worked out. If we had taken steps sooner we wouldn't
> have such high unemployment and be in such a mess. We should keep
> our eye on the ball and not be distracted by the freak show.

Mar 25 12:02 PM

[User 382328:]

I said the bonuses are unfair but we need to move the debate on from here. If we don't we are only hurting ourselves.


On Mar 24 06:37 PM User 382362 wrote:

> You make the point that the amount of "bailout" monies are merely
> 0.02% of the funds given. So why then is it such a big deal to give
> up these "performance" bonuses for their bad performance instead
> of reward bad behavior. I never had anyone give me a bonus after
> the company was almost run into the ground. Restoring consumer confidence,
> I am sure you would agree Libby, is very important to the economy
> too. So why not restore the peoples confidence and give them up.
> The only reason this could stop the plans is because the bank execs
> are the ones throwing tantrums about the restsrictions, wich is exactly
> why Goldman Sacs is giving back theirs. Its the taxes payers money
> so let them tantum all they want.

Mar 25 12:52 PM

[User 382328:]

I agree that the bonuses are unfair and steps are being taken to ensure it doesn't happen again. Do these people receiving these bonuses need a reality check? Yes absolutely and I think they just got one. By focusing the debate on the bonuses and not on fixing the economy is unproductive and you only hurt yourself. Your vitriolic tirade only hurts you. Hate is as destructive as greed.


On Mar 25 12:02 PM reality chk wrote:

> Imagine Being hooked up to a torture devise and someone cranks the
> handle, 480 volts go through your body but only .02% amperes. What
> is your level of tolerance?
> The problem here is there are 73 people with in this unit of AIG
> that are getting a bonus of $1M or more. The typical bonus is about
> 20% of the base annual wage. The means that this unit has at least
> 73 superstars that make $5M / year and they are getting a $1M bonus
> for screwing up. We are not talking about the CEO or the 3 or 4 top
> execs we are talking about mid. level dept. and project managers.
> How out of touch are you? or is it just me? Who the heck is making
> those earnings and puts their company on death row. and then these
> $5M superstearr go to Mr. Taxpayer who barely making $50K /year asking
> for help. I did not see any AIG people offer to pay some additional
> tax during the good years when the company posted good earnings.
> How medicated do you have to be to ignore and try to justify these
> actions by ONLY .02% These people should be in JJAIL. NOTHING to
> DEBATE.

Mar 25 12:59 PM

[User 382328:]

The anger generated by the receipt of these bonuses will probably keep Congress from approving additional funds needed to subsidize the bailout and recapitalization of the banking system.. Anger and outrage can be destructive and have unforseen consequences. If the bailout fails we are looking at further job layoffs and possibly a depression.


On Mar 24 11:56 AM User382071 wrote:

> I don't see the connection. How does going after bonuses de-stabilize
> the banks? Will investor's flee because the bonuses are returned?
> Will the banks stop lending if they have more money on the balance
> sheet?
>
> Additionally, the comment "the markets will extract its own retribution
> in the form of reduced pay..." doesn't work either. As long as they
> are using taxpayer funds to pay bonuses there is no incentive to
> reduce costs but rather business as usual. Had they NOT received
> TARP funds the banks would have had no choice but to limit bonuses
> and pay.

Mar 25 01:07 PM

[User 382328:]

Understand the legislation Congress is proposing and its legal implications is important. These bonuses should never have been granted but Congress passed the legislation that made them possible in the first place. The horse is already out of the barn so shutting the barn door won't work. Passing bad legislation won't necessarily fix the issue either.


On Mar 24 12:46 PM Jamaican in Africa wrote:

> I am not sure that I understand her arguments.
>
> Is she suggesting that legislation to limit rewards to people whose
> poor decisions have undermined credit markets, destroyed people's
> life savings and caused countless economic catostrophies is a witch
> hunt?
>
> Perhaps she does not realize that rewarding inappropriate conduct
> only encourages the misbehaving party to continue the antisocial
> and destructive behavior. If telling a person that they won't benefit
> from conduct that harms others is a witch hunt we must re-evaluate
> our use of words.
>
> Our jails provide that housing for rapists, child pornographers,
> murderers and thieves are full of people who have harmed others.
> I am not suggesting that the bonus recipients be jailed (except if
> criminal behavior is demonstrated during a thorough investigation),
> but I believe that their irresponsible conduct should be discouraged.
>
>
> Her logic on the other hand may be interpreted to suggest that the
> residents of our jails are victims of a relentless government witch
> hunt and society would be better off rewarding their misconduct rather
> than taking steps to discourage it. A pox on such logic and all who
> advocate it.

Mar 25 01:12 PM

[User 382328:]

I did not say we should encourage bad behavior. Where did you get that! I think these bonuses are wrong but Congress passed legislation that made them possible. You can't try and close the barn door once the horse is out.


On Mar 25 11:13 AM Econ 101 wrote:

> OMG, I agree we should discourage poor behavior. That should have
> started with NOT bailing out AIG, BAC or C. Now we are throwing our
> childrens and Grandchildrens good money after bad. We are giving
> our future to the crooks on wall street and in congress. Then ultimaely
> to our creditors, the Chinese. They rattled their sabor just to fake
> us out. They want the US to fail, just like Reagan beat the Russians,
> by breaking their banks and their treasury.
>
> I am not Chinese bashing, I am bashing the congress and wall street.
> These people have stolen our future and probably our freedom. <br/>
>
> As for the author, I dont think she has a clue, there is at least
> one more big leg down due to unemployment, commercial real estate
> and oil prices. Buy this market at your peril, the DCB evaporates
> by Memorial Day.
>
> Then next fall or spring 2010, hyper inflation.

Mar 25 01:14 PM

[User 382328:]

My reality is spot on. I left Wall Street because I hated the run away greed. I do not live on an island. I work with Middle class families every day. My clients do not recieve bonuses like this and neither do I. Are the bonuses wrong. Absolutely! You missed my point. Focusing on these bonuses is counter productive. Congress should be focuses on fixing the economy and helping the Federal Reserve. Rome is burning! Let's focus on the right issues.


On Mar 24 01:29 PM reality chk wrote:

> The writer belongs on the same out of touch with reality island with
> the rest of the superstar performers. Give them bonusses when they
> break the system.

Mar 25 01:20 PM

[User 382328:]

I agree! Correcting behavior going forward is important and has already been done. The bonuses are wrong but the legislation proposed by Congress doesn't address correcting irresponsible behavior. The Federal Reserve can only do so much. Congress passes the legislation and gives the Fed its powers. Ask Congress to extend regulatory powers to the shadow banks like AIG. If this had been done in the first place these bonuses would never have been paid.


On Mar 24 12:08 PM Responsibility wrote:

> Correcting the problems of irresponsible behaviors at public companies
> is necessary to restore some trust people have in Wall Street. The
> FED has not done enough to put necessary regulations on public companies,
> particularly those in the finance sector, regulations on executive
> compensations are just an important part to start with.
>
> There are not "witch hunts" by Washington this time; they are being
> held responsible by the enraged public. Freak shows by being run
> by people in the finance industry trying to continue their old ways
> of paying with other people's money.

Mar 25 01:24 PM

[RReagan:]

Encouraging bad behavior?? Pleassseeee! Lets do away with umemployment benefits then, so those people can go get jobs, lets do away with all government subsidies so people and companies can stand on their own merit. At least the AIG people were working for a living when they got their bonuses, and if they are not good workers, then they should have been fired instead of retained with a bonus. Now with Congress playing games and spending other people's money, don't even get me started on that one!! As I said earlier, everyone who has a mortgage, owns credit cards, has an auto loan is using someone else's money to live a better life.

Mar 25 02:07 PM

[reality chk:]

Thank you for the intelegent reply. However some one started the fire that is now burning Rome. We can put this fire out at a curent cost but if we don't do something about the runaway corruption & greed we will have many more fires to put out. The get away with all you can mentality must change. Clearly it is not going to change on it's own.


On Mar 25 01:20 PM User 382328 wrote:

> My reality is spot on. I left Wall Street because I hated the run
> away greed. I do not live on an island. I work with Middle class
> families every day. My clients do not recieve bonuses like this and
> neither do I. Are the bonuses wrong. Absolutely! You missed my point.
> Focusing on these bonuses is counter productive. Congress should
> be focuses on fixing the economy and helping the Federal Reserve.
> Rome is burning! Let's focus on the right issues.

Mar 25 03:50 PM

[RReagan:]

It would be an even stronger suggestion that you check your data. See the NY Times Op-ed from the AIG employee Jake DeSantis who resigned. The real criminals (superstars) are long gone from AIG and all you are doing here is punishing the ones trying to fix the mess.
What an angry mob you are here. Congress would be proud of all of you.
Wow, just don't let the facts cloud your line of thinking!


On Mar 24 02:58 PM reality chk wrote:

> It is strongly suggested that you at least look at the data and know
> how the system works to help make the foot easier to swallow. These
> superstars are have been isolated in their own little world for so
> long they have no clue what is like to work for a living. They have
> been playing with other people's money, now they are doing the same
> with the taxpayers money.. If they are so damn good why don't they
> make it on their own merits? Why did they go begging for help? <br/>

Mar 25 04:23 PM

[reality chk:]

I don't care about Jake DeSantis or any of these multi million dollar annual wage packages. These free agent type wages have escalated to unreasonable levels because of competition, greed and manipulation. Get away from the isolated island called Wall Street and look at the real people who barely make $50K /year This disparity is not acceptable. For the past 15 years the Wall Street Vultures have been pushing the manufacturing world around until they pushed millions of people into the ocean on their way to China. Look at the earnings data for the pat 15 years. You will see a disturbing trend . Wages for the manufacturing sector have either stayed static or have declined. Even with cost of living adjustments. That means that people who work for a living are working for less and less each year. It also means that as we loose manufacturing, people loose their jobs, these same people are taking service jobs for a lot less wages further perpetuating the decline of the working class. All this while the Wall Street vultures are thriving with smoke and mirrors promoting themselves and genius, superstars demanding more and more.
I'm not sure if AIG is a good example but it is the one in front of us today. I go back to my original question: If these superstars are so damn good why can't they make it on their own merits?
Also don't you think the game changes somewhat when you go begging to the poor worker (taxpayer) for a bailout. The same worker that you are constantly see as a liability and you are pushing him to either take less or you do away with his job.
This huge disparity in the Free Market system will cause further problems when the classes are getting further apart this way. So; I don't care about Jake DeSantis or any one else of that group.
I care about the little guy who is being taken advantage everyday. These are hard times in the manufacturing world, I employ 16 people and I owe everything I have to those 16 people. I share everything I have with these 16 people. I may never be a rich man but I am a happy and content with a CLEAR conscience knowing my success did not come from someone's demise.


On Mar 25 04:23 PM RReagan wrote:

> It would be an even stronger suggestion that you check your data.
> See the NY Times Op-ed from the AIG employee Jake DeSantis who resigned.
> The real criminals (superstars) are long gone from AIG and all you
> are doing here is punishing the ones trying to fix the mess.
> What an angry mob you are here. Congress would be proud of all of
> you.
> Wow, just don't let the facts cloud your line of thinking!

Mar 25 09:18 PM

[reality chk:]

My Life and the lifes of 16 people I employ are hanging by a thread because of these criminals. You need to see the real impact of their actions not just newspaper headlines. Everything has a price, being Cavalier does not help.


On Mar 25 12:59 PM User 382328 wrote:

> I agree that the bonuses are unfair and steps are being taken to
> ensure it doesn't happen again. Do these people receiving these bonuses
> need a reality check? Yes absolutely and I think they just got one.
> By focusing the debate on the bonuses and not on fixing the economy
> is unproductive and you only hurt yourself. Your vitriolic tirade
> only hurts you. Hate is as destructive as greed.

Mar 25 09:29 PM

[reality chk:]

My Life and the lifes of 16 people I employ are hanging by a thread because of these criminals. You need to see the real impact of their actions not just newspaper headlines. Everything has a price, being Cavalier does not help.


On Mar 25 12:59 PM User 382328 wrote:

> I agree that the bonuses are unfair and steps are being taken to
> ensure it doesn't happen again. Do these people receiving these bonuses
> need a reality check? Yes absolutely and I think they just got one.
> By focusing the debate on the bonuses and not on fixing the economy
> is unproductive and you only hurt yourself. Your vitriolic tirade
> only hurts you. Hate is as destructive as greed.

Mar 25 09:29 PM

[Jamaican in...:]

Mr. Desantis was well rewarded when times were good and AIG was profitable, and that is how it should be. The organization that he helped to lead is no longer profitable and the division he is Vice President of has helped to cause economic havoc for people at home and across the globe by destroying their life savings, bankrupting their employers and weakening their governments.
He insists that tax payers, many of whom earn thier living moving garbage, fighting wars, waiting tables, confronting criminals, running into burning buildings or riding ambulances use their taxes to pay him a seven figure bonus rather than fund their local schools, fix the roads or improve their access to healthcare. Mr. Desantis clearly does not realize the magnitude of what happened to many of these people because of what his organization did.
To him, perhaps the rising unemployment, home foreclosures and hunger statistics are nothing more than abstract figures in a newspaper and not a part of his reality. He may not have made the connection between people who are victimized by the organization he helped to lead and the real economic dislocation these people face. These people have collectively said no to rewarding him and his colleagues for destroying all they have tried to save for a life time.
He now says... well it wasn't me, and the people who did it left... didn't he as a leader have a responsibility to tell the people engaging in the destructive scheme that what they were doing was wrong? He clearly did not stop thier destructive behavior, and for his inaction he wants tax-payers to subsidise his bonus because it was "promised". Did he say a word while GM contracts with hourly paid workers were re-negiotiated because the tax payers said that they had to be?
I cannot look into his heart, he may well be a good and decent person and model citizen who goes to church, supports the local PTA and helps out at the Boys and Girls Club or local soup kitchen. I believe that as well intentioned as he is, he is also out of touch with economic realities facing many Americans who came from the background that his parents did. His letter also suggests that he is not aware that he and hisorganization had a fiduciary responsibility to the IRA holders and 401K savers who are AIG shareholders and were depending on their retirement savings.
I believe that Mr. Desantis may be so insulated that he is truly unaware of the suffering his inaction or lack of vigilance as a leader at AIG has inflicted on people who are more vulnerable to economic dislocations than he is and he just does not understand why tax payers and the people who represent them are outraged.
May God bless him, and open his eyes to reality. He can give $700k to charity and walk away from a job, and his family will be fine. The people who would empty bedpans in a hospital if he were sick cannot walk away from thier $30K a year job if they want to keep their kids clothed and fed, yet he does not understand their outrage.

On Mar 25 09:18 PM reality chk wrote:

> I don't care about Jake DeSantis or any of these multi million dollar
> annual wage packages. These free agent type wages have escalated
> to unreasonable levels because of competition, greed and manipulation.
> Get away from the isolated island called Wall Street and look at
> the real people who barely make $50K /year This disparity is not
> acceptable. For the past 15 years the Wall Street Vultures have been
> pushing the manufacturing world around until they pushed millions
> of people into the ocean on their way to China. Look at the earnings
> data for the pat 15 years. You will see a disturbing trend . Wages
> for the manufacturing sector have either stayed static or have declined.
> Even with cost of living adjustments. That means that people who
> work for a living are working for less and less each year. It also
> means that as we loose manufacturing, people loose their jobs, these
> same people are taking service jobs for a lot less wages further
> perpetuating the decline of the working class. All this while the
> Wall Street vultures are thriving with smoke and mirrors promoting
> themselves and genius, superstars demanding more and more.
> I'm not sure if AIG is a good example but it is the one in front
> of us today. I go back to my original question: If these superstars
> are so damn good why can't they make it on their own merits?
> Also don't you think the game changes somewhat when you go begging
> to the poor worker (taxpayer) for a bailout. The same worker that
> you are constantly see as a liability and you are pushing him to
> either take less or you do away with his job.
> This huge disparity in the Free Market system will cause further
> problems when the classes are getting further apart this way. So;
> I don't care about Jake DeSantis or any one else of that group.
>
> I care about the little guy who is being taken advantage everyday.
> These are hard times in the manufacturing world, I employ 16 people
> and I owe everything I have to those 16 people. I share everything
> I have with these 16 people. I may never be a rich man but I am a
> happy and content with a CLEAR conscience knowing my success did
> not come from someone's demise.

Mar 26 02:57 AM

[reality chk:]

Thank YOU.


On Mar 26 02:57 AM Jamaican in Africa wrote:

> Mr. Desantis was well rewarded when times were good and AIG was profitable,
> and that is how it should be. The organization that he helped to
> lead is no longer profitable and the division he is Vice President
> of has helped to cause economic havoc for people at home and across
> the globe by destroying their life savings, bankrupting their employers
> and weakening their governments.
> He insists that tax payers, many of whom earn thier living moving
> garbage, fighting wars, waiting tables, confronting criminals, running
> into burning buildings or riding ambulances use their taxes to pay
> him a seven figure bonus rather than fund their local schools, fix
> the roads or improve their access to healthcare. Mr. Desantis clearly
> does not realize the magnitude of what happened to many of these
> people because of what his organization did.
> To him, perhaps the rising unemployment, home foreclosures and hunger
> statistics are nothing more than abstract figures in a newspaper
> and not a part of his reality. He may not have made the connection
> between people who are victimized by the organization he helped to
> lead and the real economic dislocation these people face. These people
> have collectively said no to rewarding him and his colleagues for
> destroying all they have tried to save for a life time.
> He now says... well it wasn't me, and the people who did it left...
> didn't he as a leader have a responsibility to tell the people engaging
> in the destructive scheme that what they were doing was wrong? He
> clearly did not stop thier destructive behavior, and for his inaction
> he wants tax-payers to subsidise his bonus because it was "promised".
> Did he say a word while GM contracts with hourly paid workers were
> re-negiotiated because the tax payers said that they had to be?<br/>I
> cannot look into his heart, he may well be a good and decent person
> and model citizen who goes to church, supports the local PTA and
> helps out at the Boys and Girls Club or local soup kitchen. I believe
> that as well intentioned as he is, he is also out of touch with economic
> realities facing many Americans who came from the background that
> his parents did. His letter also suggests that he is not aware that
> he and hisorganization had a fiduciary responsibility to the IRA
> holders and 401K savers who are AIG shareholders and were depending
> on their retirement savings.
> I believe that Mr. Desantis may be so insulated that he is truly
> unaware of the suffering his inaction or lack of vigilance as a leader
> at AIG has inflicted on people who are more vulnerable to economic
> dislocations than he is and he just does not understand why tax payers
> and the people who represent them are outraged.
> May God bless him, and open his eyes to reality. He can give $700k
> to charity and walk away from a job, and his family will be fine.
> The people who would empty bedpans in a hospital if he were sick
> cannot walk away from thier $30K a year job if they want to keep
> their kids clothed and fed, yet he does not understand their outrage.
>
>
> On Mar 25 09:18 PM reality chk wrote:

Mar 26 07:43 AM

[User 382362:]

RRegan how ignorant are you unemployment is paid directly out of your paycheck and is virtually an insurance not an entitlement or handout, and people pay back about 3 times what they borrowed on a mortgage. You are not using other peoples money to have a better life. people are not working for a living while they pay this debt down this BORROWED debt? Do you not think they were bad workers after what went on at AIG? So are you saying they should not get their bonuses plus be fired?


On Mar 25 02:07 PM RReagan wrote:

> Encouraging bad behavior?? Pleassseeee! Lets do away with umemployment
> benefits then, so those people can go get jobs, lets do away with
> all government subsidies so people and companies can stand on their
> own merit. At least the AIG people were working for a living when
> they got their bonuses, and if they are not good workers, then they
> should have been fired instead of retained with a bonus. Now with
> Congress playing games and spending other people's money, don't even
> get me started on that one!! As I said earlier, everyone who has
> a mortgage, owns credit cards, has an auto loan is using someone
> else's money to live a better life.

Mar 27 09:38 AM