It's amazing that half of our people don't see this evil. Are that many of us so brain-washed?

[Cal33]

Those of us who live lavishly on ill-gotten gains obtained though greed, and those of us who barely
make it and survive.

Wake up, you brain-washed puppets!



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703818204576206903329068840.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

[jacquelope]

1. I've been watching this issue. WTF can I do but write letters to Congressmen?

Doesn't seem like there are any protests about it in my area. What to do?

[AKDavy]

3. "What to do?"...

Live by your principles.
Wait.
Greed and suffering are self-limiting.
Eventually, I believe we'll cross a line.

[rucky]

7. Sign up with this group: US Uncut

they're organizing bankster protests all over the country

http://www.usuncut.org/

[Cal33]

11. This is the first time I've heard of "usuncut.org" I am sure looking it up. Thanks for the info.

[jacquelope]

21. Oh heck. How did I miss this group? I heard of the one in the UK!

Thanks for the info!

[dana_b]

23. wow! thanks for the link

I would love to go to the protest in Calistoga, CA. a mock "bank lien auction" against B of A.

[snappyturtle]

8. No offense but the Congressmen are part of the problem. The

lobbyists do a fine job!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[snagglepuss]

2. I can't understand why shareholders agree to the CEO pay packages and bonuses.

[Tesha]

19. Shareholders don't really agree, per se.

They get to vote on a slate of Directors nominated
by the Nominating Committee of the existing Board
of Directors. The Directors then appoint a Compensation
Committee that sets the compensation to be received
by the senior executives (who usually also sit on the
Board).

The Boards of Directors of the various companies have
interlocking memberships, one hand washes the other,
and "everybody" gets rich. Well, everybody who's
anybody of course; not the coarse common folk.

Tesha

[Cal33]

24. "Shareholders don't really agree, perse." You are correct. Most of them

don't even know what's going on.

[riderinthestorm]

4. For those who won't click a blind link, the headline reads "Executive Bonuses Bounce Back".

First paragraph from the article, "CEO bonuses at 50 major corporations jumped a median of 30.5%, the biggest gain in at least three years, according to a study of the first batch of corporate CEO pay disclosures by consulting firm Hay Group for The Wall Street Journal."

[DJ13]

5. Loved his movies, but what happened to his looks?

CEO Hugh Grant's Bonus fell as his company Monsanto missed key financial goals

:rofl:

[1monster]

6. But, but. Didn't hey earn it by stomping on and backstabbing the backs of others

to get into the positions they are in so they could vote themselves criminally obscene pay and bonuses. :sarcasm:

What is equally outrageous is how these executives stymie the shareholders (the owners of the corporations, that is) from firing the CEOs and Boards of Directors, and from having any real say in the way the corporation is run by using the assests of said corporations. The majority of the shareholders have no say in how the corporation is run.

[USA_1]

9. more welfare for the rich

Rich get richer and the poor get screwed. History shows that whenever this happens in any given civilization eventually it falls apart. That's what going to happen here thanks to these treasonous right wingers.

[wtmusic]

10. You wouldn't accept all that money if it was offered to you? Hmm.

"Greed" seems to be the universal term used by people who don't have something to apply to those who do. Whether it's ill-gotten is another story; it most likely is in some cases, others maybe not. Many people are legitimately more financially successful than I am, but I don't see why I should bear any grudge.

Society can certainly try to deal with the "ill-gotten" part, but in a larger sense it needs to deal with the root causes: flimsy enforcement of anti-trust, and a laughable effective corporate tax rate. If we said "no" to half of these mergers competition in the marketplace would drive down executive salaries. If corporations were forced to pay their fair share in taxes (I say as a CEO of a very small corp myself) the government wouldn't be going broke, and we could keep more money here in the US.

[Cal33]

14. I bear no grudge against those who make their fortunes fairly and

squarely. In fact, I wish them all the best.

As for those who enrich themselves by, for example, not paying insurance for
"pre-existing conditions" and letting these patients die, as well as those
who escape from paying taxes through unfair loopholes, by evading the law
through deviously evasive actions, by bribing law-makers to enact laws
favorable to themselves...ad infinitum... I'd like to see them pay back
every red-cent they made unfairly + interest, and where applicable, they
should also be tried in court.

In the meantime, if you haven't already read it, there is a message with
great information in Reply #7 of this very thread. It's about a national
movement going on right now to reduce the thievery and abuse being committed
by our bankers.

Starting a national movement is one of the best ways to fight back
against these criminals who are robbing our nation blind.

[wtmusic]

17. Hadn't heard of "Uncut"...long overdue.

Ironically, companies which don't take advantage of "unfair" loopholes are liable to their stockholders and can be sued (I saw a great video of Noam Chomsky discussing this topic). So we need to identify what's unfair, write some legislation, and enforce it.

And for chrissakes, pull the Sherman Act out of the drawer, blow the dust off, and put it to work again. There are so many parallels between America today and the 1890s it's obvious we're forgetting some important lessons of history (if people could live for 150 years we wouldn't have this problem).

[BobbyBoring]

12. Disney

has all their Mickeys, tee shirts, mugs, basically everything they sell made in 3rd world sweat shops.

The plan for companies like Disney is to make the US a 3rd world country with sweat shops so they don't have to pay for shipping said goods back here.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

13. When you put the wolves in charge of watching the chickens, as Obama has done (see inside Job)

this had to happen. I don't believe in biblical evil, but this is just downright disgusting.

[fittosurvive]

15. Well, if a company is able to market a $5 cup of coffee...

there will be some profits to distribute.

[Hugabear]

16. This is why we need a millionaire and a billionaire tax

That money is not theirs. It belongs to the people. They are stealing, plain and simple. It's this type of greed that's put us in the situation we're in. The only way they can "earn" those bonuses is by screwing other people over

[Xenotime]

18. Thank you speaking out.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

20. The short answer is yes.

Remember, the average I.Q. Is 100. That means that 1/2 of the people have an I.Q of LESS than 100. Kinda helps you understand where Republicans come from and how people like Bachmann get elected.

[felix_numinous]

22. Did any one watch Zeigeist 2011?

It is free on the internet, and has a very interesting ending, a protest against the banks!!

[Cal33]

26. I'll look for it.

[StarburstClock]

25. I never click on WSJ links, it's a RW propaganda site. Please post information...

regarding the link in the future to spare people like me who refuse to support propaganda sites.