Disgorge, Wall Street Fat Cats

[Joanne98]

The president’s disgust at Wall Street looters was good. But we need more. We need disgorgement.

Disgorgement is when courts force wrongdoers to repay ill-gotten gains. And I’m ill at the gains gotten by scummy executives acting all Gordon Gekko while they’re getting bailed out by us.

With the equally laconic Tim Geithner beside him, Mr. Obama called it “shameful” and “the height of irresponsibility” for Wall Street bankers to give themselves $18.4 billion worth of bonuses for last year.

They should know better, he coolly chided. But big shots — even Mr. Obama’s — seem impervious to knowing better. (Following fast on Geithner’s tax lacunae, Tom Daschle’s nomination hit a pothole when he had to pay $140,000 in back taxes he owed mostly for three years’ use of a car and a driver provided by a private equity firm.)

At least the old robber barons made great products. When you make money out of money, unmoored from morality and regulators, it must unhinge you. How else to explain corporate welfare queens partridge hunting in England, buying French jets and shopping for Lamborghinis?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/opinion/01dowd.html?_r=1&em

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

1. You know, I was thinking about this the other day.

Couldn't the stock holders press charges against these folk? After all, these wall street folks gave themselves big rewards for running their companies into the ground. I know if I held stock in any of those companies, I'd be pissed off and want a return of that money.

[FreakinDJ]

2. link not working for me

[terisan]

3. Washington Post just wrote Obama unlikely to do much about it.

Be interesting to monitor if anything meaningful is put into next big bank bailout plan.

http://www.xe.com/news/Sat%20Jan%2031%2003:50:00%20EST%202009/213421.htm?categoryId=1¤tPage=8


Obama unlikely to toughen Wall St. pay rules-report
2009-01-31 08:50 (UTC)
WASHINGTON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - The Obama administration is not likely to impose tougher restrictions on executive pay on most firms receiving aid under the government's $700 billion financial rescue program, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

Citing a source familiar with the administration's deliberations, the Post said officials are concerned that harsh limits could discourage some firms from asking for aid.

[stillcool]

4. here's the rest...

President Barack Obama and some members of Congress have strongly criticized recent bonuses given out to executives at Wall Street companies that received government assistance.

The issue of executive compensation is part of Obama's plan to rescue financial markets. While some details need to be hammered out, the strategy is likely to be laid out publicly in about a week, the paper said.

While relatively healthy firms are unlikely to face stiff restrictions on executive compensation, companies that need more dramatic government assistance would face more punitive terms under the plan, it said.

Under the original rescue program approved by Congress in October, executives at financial firms faced federal limits on their multimillion-dollar pay packages. But those restrictions are unlikely to significantly reduce executive pay, analysts say.

[terisan]

6. If they are taking government bailout money their "relative" health shouldn't be

a factor, should it? Taxpayers should not be underwriting extraordinary compensation for execs.

However theses companies-whether relatively healthy or on deathbeds still have other pots of money from which to reward the execs who have been successful certainly in getting taxpayers to burden themselves with massive debt.

Best, I think, to let the dying companies bankrupt and give the taxpayers (not the government but a separate entity) actual owner shares in the relatively healthy ones.

Eliot Spitzer (disgraced NY former gov and long time prosecutor of Wall Street bad actors), has suggested that the failed banks should not be bailed out and has also pointed out that these banks are most likely going to be increasing investing overseas and transferring jobs there.

That seem to put us in the position of going into crushing debt to finance operations that will further impoverish us.

Rejecting the debt load on the other hand gives us a chance to work ourselves out the mess.

[stillcool]

7. it seems everything...

about our economy is based on global industries that are just sucking the life out of the United States. My problem is that I believe nothing..especially what the media and the party of tax cuts for some is pushing. I tried to watch Barney Frank on some news show and it was ridiculous. He couldn't explain anything that took more than 10 seconds to say before he was cut off. I'd love to know what portion of that bail out money is doing what it was intended to do. Supposedly there is no way of knowing how the money is being spent, but it is easy enough for the scandalous stories of a few titans to be ferreted out. It's too bad that information is so difficult to come by.

[terisan]

8. MSNBC owned by GE-which got Bailout money-so they can't be trusted to deliver

clear information on the bailout funds.

I think that the administration can clearly demand that no firm or bank can get more bailout money unless they give the public an accounting of what was done with the money they already received.

I am cynical about the liklihood that the administration will make this demand.

One problem is that the citizenry as a whole is not organized to make a lear demand of the government.

Although Obama was just one of 100 senators who voted for the October bailout and was not president when it was done, as president he is now the person responsible. Until he is held accountable by the people, I believe WallStreet/ Big Banks will stonewall and continue demands for more.

Obama is the only person from whom we can demand full accountability----citizens must lead here and I don't think citizens are yet ready to stand up to government.

hope that changes soon.

[stillcool]

9. Too bad people didn't hold their own..

Congressperson and Senators accountable. They are the ones that write the legislation and vote our futures away. But I guess it all is up to Obama now. Sad.

[NC_Nurse]

5. Why don't they have to pay it back? That's what I want to know. Can't they

demand all of those bonuses be retracted?