It’s Not Their Money

[groovedaddy]

What is it with American bankers and their sense of entitlement?

After losing billions, taking billions from taxpayers and avoiding disaster only by selling itself to Bank of America, Merrill Lynch was still ready to give a multimillion-dollar “performance” bonus to its chief executive, John Thain. It refrained only after a storm of protest that reached from Main Street to Capitol Hill.

As it turns out, the outrage was not enough to stop the flow of money to other executives. According to a report in The Financial Times on Thursday, Merrill granted $3 billion to $4 billion in bonuses in December — part of a total compensation budget of $15 billion for the year that was just slightly less than that of 2007.

The year-end bonuses were approved by Merrill’s compensation committee just days after shareholders approved the merger and days before Bank of America was made aware of Merrill’s stunning fourth-quarter losses. The news of the rushed bonuses almost prompted Bank of America to pull out of the deal and ultimately required the Treasury to provide an extra $20 billion, as well as a guarantee on billions more in potential losses.

Mr. Thain stepped down on Thursday. But the problem is not one banker. The entire financial industry must be made to understand that the billions it has gotten from the public purse are not a reward for the havoc it wreaked on the financial system and the lives of so many Americans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/23/opinion/23fri2.html?th&emc=th

[jwirr]

1. Every time we hear about their misuse of our money we should sue

for it back.

[Riverman]

2. In China, Thain would be tried and executed!

Why is he and the Wall Street robber barons not in prison - preferably Guantonomo, with Bush, Cheney and the rest of the Bush Banking Crime Family - Banking has long been the Bush Syndicate's primary crimminal enterprise, along with war profiteering!

[DCKit]

3. Perhaps China would like to extradite the whole bunch?

They've certainly been harmed as much as anyone by these parasites.