TPM: Merrill Lynch gave out $3 to $4 BILLION in bonuses last month.

[BurtWorm]

:wtf:

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Talking-Points-Memo/~3/4HINJf2sF_8/greedy_and_stupid.php

Greedy and Stupid

My capacity to be shocked and outraged by news out of the banking/bailout sector has gotten seriously fatigued over recent months. But the news coming about what was Merrill Lynch is eye-popping. I knew that Merrill had given out a lot of big bonuses after the TARP money started flowing. But I'd thought of it as more of an optics issue rather than somewhere where a significant amount of government money had been spent. But now it turns out that in December Merrill (which was then in the process of being taken over by B of A) apparently gave out between $3 and $4 billion in bonuses. Billion.

Even more amazing, last fall CEO John Thain and the folks at Merrill got the bright idea that the distress mortgage market had "bottomed out", and that it was time to buy, which they then apparently proceeded to do.

[Subdivisions]

1. Thanks to those DUers who cheered the Bailout Bill. n/t

[bunnies]

5. Yeah. Its DU's fault.

:eyes:

[Subdivisions]

9. Not what I said. n/t

[bunnies]

10. Then what was your point?

:shrug:

[Subdivisions]

12. I was being sarcastic. n/t

[bunnies]

16. my bad.

:fistbump:

[natrat]

2. and byran dorgan and chriss dodd write new tarp bills with no oversight-whores

[truedelphi]

19. While Geithner, Summers and Rubin

Refurbish their newly appointed offices.

So that they can follow the gameplan that Kashkari and Paulson laid out for them?

[hobbit709]

3. Get a rope-lots of rope!

[Frustratedlady]

4. Doesn't the SEC work anymore?

...that the distress mortgage market had "bottomed out", and that it was time to buy, which they then apparently proceeded to do


Martha must be biting her tongue when she sees these guys get by with so much.

[tkmorris]

6. THANK GOD IT PASSED!!!

:sarcasm:

[hfojvt]

7. near as I can tell that is $80,000 per employee

if all employees got bonuses. Reading on Wiki, I sorta wonder why B of A paid so much for Merrill Lynch. They paid 30% over the current market price, but also 61% less than it sold for in September 2007. So if you buy a company for 50% off, why should you then need money to absorb their losses?

[BattyDem]

8. Couldn't they be charged with fraud?

They claimed they were on the verge of failure and needed bailout money from the government. If they could afford to give away $3 to $4 billion to their employees, they obviously did not have a cash flow problem and were not on the verge of failure.

How is that not fraud? :shrug:

[chill_wind]

11. Lets take the little state of Rhode Island to see how much money that is

and with a lot of leftover change to spare:

Taxpayers in Rhode Island will pay $2.8 billion for the proposed bailout of Wall Street. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:

955,327 People with Health Care for One Year OR

4,772,357 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR

57,125 Public Safety Officers for One year OR

40,982 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year OR

362,853 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR

12,945 Affordable Housing Units OR

1,220,733 Children with Health Care for One Year OR

403,496 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR

40,574 Elementary School Teachers for One Year







Taxpayers in District Of Columbia will pay $3 billion for the proposed bailout of Wall Street. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:


769,096 People with Health Care for One Year OR

5,318,265 Homes with Renewable Electricity for One Year OR

50,176 Public Safety Officers for One year OR

51,158 Music and Arts Teachers for One Year OR

1,391,451 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR

10,438 Affordable Housing Units OR

947,278 Children with Health Care for One Year OR

411,830 Head Start Places for Children for One Year OR

51,158 Elementary School Teachers for One Year

for other examples see: http://www.nationalpriorities.org/tradeoffs?location_type=1&state=44&program=581&tradeoff_item_item=999&submit_tradeoffs=Get+Trade+Off

[HamdenRice]

14. Actually, none of those things could have happened if the bailout had not passed

If the feds had not stabilized the financial system, without a functioning currency, banking or monetary system, there would have been no way to purchase Health Care for One Year Homes with Renewable Electricity OR Public Safety Officers for One year Music and Arts Teachers for One Year etc., etc., etc.

Those of us without garden crops or gold coins would probably be hungry right now.

[chill_wind]

17. My numbers aren't meant as debate on the merits of the bailout- or lack of

They are sample equivalencies in costs for those of us who have trouble getting our minds around numbers like this and what the devastating years of the Bush fiscal policy and the crooks in charge have cost us in choices.

[Romulox]

13. And the "Thank GAWD it Passed!" chorus fell silent. nt

[FraDon]

15. Smells like ill gotten gains. • Freeze all transactions, foreign & domestic.

Turn it over now, or we're coming after the last ten years' worth.

[Donnachaidh]

18. How about Obama developing a new section of the IRS, just for these *employees*

and CEO's.

Audit them, and ANY money found to have come to them after the official date of the bailout that isn't a salary, tax them at 95%, and add a few fees for not reporting the money as soon as they received it.

[Initech]

20. Now wait a minute - lets clarify this.

Bonuses for the executives or just general overall bonuses for the entire company? I'm guessing the former more than the latter.