AlterNet: Wall Street Fat Cats Are Trying to Pocket Billions in Bailout Cash

[marmar]

Wall Street Fat Cats Are Trying to Pocket Billions in Bailout Cash

By Nomi Prins, AlterNet. Posted November 7, 2008.

They got us into this mess, and now they want to cash out -- will President Obama stop them?



The election results pretty much confirmed the extent to which Main Street is rightly livid about the Wall Street mentality that led to our financial crisis. During his historic victory speech, President-elect Barack Obama told supporters, and the rest of the world, "If this financial crisis taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers."

But, it seems that Wall Street didn't get that memo. It turns out that the nine banks about to be getting a total equity capital injection of $125 billion, courtesy of Phase I of The Bailout Plan, had reserved $108 billion during the first nine months of 2008 in order to pay for compensation and bonuses (PDF).

Paying Wall Street bonuses was not supposed to be part of the plan. At least that's how Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson explained it to Congress and the American people. So, on Oct. 1, when the Senate, including Obama, approved the $700 billion bailout package, the illusion was that this would magically loosen the credit markets, and with taxpayer-funded relief, banks would first start lending to each other again, and then, to citizens and small businesses. And all would be well.

That didn't happen. Which is why it's particularly offensive that the no-strings-attached money is going to line the pockets of Wall Street execs. The country's top investment bank (which since Sept. 21 calls itself a bank holding company), Goldman Sachs, set aside $11.4 billion during the first nine months of this year -- slightly more than the firm's $10 billion U.S. government gift -- to cover bonus payments for its 443 senior partners, who are set to make about $5 million each, and other employees. .......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/workplace/106195/wall_street_fat_cats_are_trying_to_pocket_billions_in_bailout_cash/

[SpiralHawk]

1. "Smirk." - Republicon crony fatcats

"Too bad about you little people*. Just shut up and keep paying your taxes for our republicon 'bailout.' Bwaaa ha ha ha ha. Smirk."

- Republicon crony fatcats


* Little people, formerly know as Citizens of the USA before republicon homelanders got their corrupt, amoral mitts on the US government.

[lonestarnot]

2. Nice hugh and how many jobs went down the tubes in the jobs report out today?

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. There is little reason to believe they wont get away with it.....

our money....our childrens money going to fill their immense pockets.