Obama must have missed what even the WSJ did not; that many institutions are using “clawbacks” for the first time to withhold bonuses. He also missed that in other cases the bonuses are contractually tied to individual performance; meaning, if your business objectives were met (even though other sectors pulled down overall performance) they owe you.

So now we have moved closer to the Obama collectivist world view where if one suffers, we all suffer. We get to pay for other people’s mistakes despite our success and their stupid failures.

Hard to believe, I know, there are thousands on Wall Street with good business sense and integrity. It makes me want to go to the corner of Wall and Broad, hop up on the steps of Federal Hall with some collegeaues and sing “We are the World”.

I have wondered how Wall Street might push back with the latest drama unfolding. My other major concern is if Pres. Obama actually thinks he is above it all, and his public comments are meant to help the situation, provide further heartburn, or just intended to stir things up for a diversion.

Four more years will be an eternity…

To the NYC economy. It certainly is a better use of government funds than paying for condoms or “small to medium sized (not large or XL) fish passage barriers.”

A lot of it comes back in taxes (probably about $7 billion to the U.S. Treasury, based on the average marginal rate) anyhow, so it’s not really $18.4 billion.

“Now having said all that, let me say this, and this I know: Wall St. will not tolerate rescissions or clawbacks of their bonuses.

Will they tolerate prison???

These guys make the mobsters running up the restaurant’s tab before burning it down for insurance money in Goodfella’s look like pikers.

Imagine, running up a companies stock on super risky investments, cashing out BILLIONS on the way up and having NO LIABILITY on the way down.

This isn’t a regulatory issue. This is a organized crime issue.

These guys need to trade in their suits for orange jump suits.

When a company or a substantial number of your iindustry counterparts take a dime of government money, you have a new partner. And not a silent one. They are getting what they richly deserve, I am sorry to say.

Welcome to the new world. Maybe they can get Obama advisor Warren Buffet, The Second Smartest Man In America, to intervene on their behalf.

Geithner has been in on the “Financial crisis” since long before it hit newsprint.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/18/AR2008091804211_pf.html

The first half of the bailout money has supposedly been spent, and, no one knows where it went. I am sure Geithner does, as he was in the thick of it as it was being dolled out. They were given a blank check with no oversight or accountability.

For Obama to sit next to Geithner, and claim outrage at the large bonuses paid to Wall Street people is nothing more than a false proclimation to give the appearance of “responsibility” at a time when he is determined to get his “stimulus” plan passed, which stimulates nothing.

What were the names of those Republicans that supported Geithner as the new Chief Liar and Deceiver of the Federal Reserve? and who want the new president to succeed. He hasn’t even had hardly a ripple in his march to Socialism and worse.

than Maddof pulled off. I have no faith that any of this will ever come to a just end, whatever that should be.

The American public has been hoodwinked by it’s own government and now they are coming back for more.

I really know nothing but my gut says it will soon be every man for himself. I hope I’m wrong.

The problem is he neglects how government, as usual, is the problem.

It’s time to saddle up and get on the front lines.

And not a single person has found and mentioned the truly important part of all of this:

Obama is complaining about $18 billion in bonuses, but that number is DOWN from $33 billion last year. That’s DOWN 44%.

As the New York Post reports, the Comptroller of New York was COMPLAINING about the loss of revenue to New York City and New York State, which earn 12% and 20% of their tax revenues from these bonuses, respectively.

Further, as one person mentioned, NO MENTION is made of WHICH FIRMS GAVE BONUSES and whether those bonuses were PART OF PRE-EXISTING CONTRACTS.

We have no idea when these contracts were paid. As mentioned, many are determined in November and paid in January, but many are also paid earlier in the year. Much of this $18 billion could have been paid well before the bailout.

So we don’t even know how much of this $18 billion figure was given by firms that received a bailout nor how much of that would have been spent, bailout or no.

Obama seems to be so masterful at misdirection that everyone is paying attention to the demonization of corporate bonuses, and not whether his statement is even valid on its face. He demagogues the $18 billion figure and obfuscates the fact that it represents a 44% drop! And we the conservatives and libertarians in the Republican Party have taken the bait hook, line and sinker!