Fast Eddie Liddy

I just got an NYT e-alert that Eddie Liddy is going to tell the House Banking Committee this afternoon that he is asking the 73 millionaires at AIG to give half of the money back as "a compromise".

How generous....NOT. It all belongs to me and the American taxpayers, and those crooks' arses should be standing in the unemployment line with the rest of the losers Rick Santelli likes to rant about.

I hope Gary Peters rips into this guy for this piece of crap compromise.

Also, I hope Jon Stewart has a field day with this one.

Taxing Bonuses on Former AIG Employees isn't the answer

Rep Gary Peters of MI is co-sponsoring a bill to tax bonuses over $10K in which their companies receive 79% or more TARP/Fed funds. He means well and he has to try to do something, considering the outrage of the American public, and especially his constituents, many who are finding themselves out of work these days, or cutting back on salaries, etc.

The bill will stop the nonsense, but it won't get our money back. I think the Justice Department may have to get involved and question the Board of Directors at AIG, and also anyone who got the bonuses. Meantime, other tax laws need to change to regulate the industry better. And, the gov't needs to pull most of the money back from AIG. If they go bankrupt, they do.

However, Argryios seems to think taxation of the bonuses could work effectively. Read his/her diary at the Daily Kos and see what you think.

I still think no more money to the crooks.

Update: Josh Marshall also thinks the DOJ needs to get involved but for cooking the books, RICO style. That makes sense to me.

Breaking: Obama Orders Treasury Sec to Block AIG Bonuses

From the NYT:

“In the last six months, A.I.G. has received substantial sums from the U.S. Treasury,” Mr. Obama said. He added that he had asked Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner “to use that leverage and pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole.”

In strongly-worded remarks delivered in the White House East Room before small business owners, Mr. Obama called A.I.G. “a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed.”

“Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at A.I.G. warranted any bonuses at all, much less $165 million in extra pay,” Mr. Obama said. “How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?”

Thank you, Mr. POTUS. The Board of Directors ought to be held accountable for this too.

Oh, and if you wish to sign the petition to bring these clowns to be held accountable by Congress, go to FireDogLake.

Watch the video here (courtesy of Daily Kos TV):


And it sounds like there are some options. Glenn Greenwald has more on it here.

Stupid Idea

Inviting the Wealthy to Invest in the Bailout?

Washington Post

I have to agree with Atrios on this one. Why would anyone invite wealthy folks who messed up the system to expect them to clean up the mess when the government hands over the money with few questions asked.

I wonder why no one in the Treasury Department nor the Fed listens to Paul Krugman?

No Wonder the Vote was Anti-Bush

Check out the state unemployment rates here.

My state of Illinois jumped 2% over last year at the same time, and I suspect it will get worse.

Having said that, I don't support the bail out of GM. Their business model is broken. I think they need to reorganize and the management needs to be fired. I hope they hire a good turnaround expert.

Instead, can't we spend money on fixing our broken health insurance system? Personally, I want better health care for what I pay, not more money to pay for health care in which the insurance companies keep acting like Peanuts' character Lucy, who keeps removing the football each time Charlie Brown goes to kick it. Insurers can't be trusted as they love being a moving target--just like the bankers who kept jacking up interest rates.