Jane Hamsher: Citi And AIG Still Spend Hundreds Of Millions In Sports Sponsorship

[Hissyspit]

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/108429/heckuva_bailout%3A_citi_and_aig_still_pay_hundreds_of_millions_in_sports_sponsorship

Heckuva Bailout: Citi and AIG Still Pay Hundreds of Millions in Sports Sponsorship
Posted by Jane Hamsher, Firedoglake at 10:23 AM on November 24, 2008.

In his press conference today, Obama says he wants Detroit automakers to come up with a "plan" before they can receive a bridge loan that will keep three million jobs from being lost as we teeter on the edge of a global depression.

I guess this is the plan for Citi and AIG:

AIG, Citibank and a number of other federally bailed-out financial institutions have no plans to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in sports team sponsorships, even as they take billions in taxpayer support, ABC News has found.

- snip -

Struggling Citibank just sealed a multi-billion-dollar emergency "backstop" deal with the U.S. government. The financial behemoth, suffering with billions in bad mortgage-related assets on its books, recently shed 53,000 workers and saw its stock price lose over half its value. Yet it's in a 20-year contract to pay the New York Mets $400 million to name the team's new stadium "Citi Field."

"This type of spending is indefensible and unacceptable to Citigroup's new partner and largest investor: the American taxpayer," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., in a statement Monday.

There are a million UAW pensioners living in fear right now because pontificating, sanctimonious, disingenuous creeps like Richard Shelby are on TV preaching that they must give up the retirement funds they spent a lifetime contributing to because they make Detroit "uncompetitive" with Japanese automakers in his state. No mention is made that right-to-work states like Alabama give foreign auto makers a protective advantage by making it illegal to unionize.

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[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[JDPriestly]

2. Representative Cummings is spot on. Kicked and recommended

hopefully to the first page.

[babylonsister]

3. I want every Congresscritter to rail against this; it's ridiculous. nt

[IndyOp]

4. K&R. Common sense - I think it is time for common sense to make a come back. (n/t)

[brer cat]

5. Common sense---

it's been gone so long I'm not sure we would still recognize it, IndyOp! From your keyboard to ears of congress, I hope.

K&R