Posted on 03/22/2009 1:42:24 PM PDT by kcvl
Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told CBS News’ Harry Smith on Face The Nation Sunday that the executive branch ought to use its leverage as a majority shareholder in AIG to sue the company for its wrongful use of retention bonuses.
Retention bonuses are to a great extent extortion, Frank argued. “I think there was an element, frankly, with some — not all of them — of almost extortion, where they said, 'We know what you need to know and we will quit if you don’t bribe us,'” Frank said.
He argued that there is a large pool of very talented people who have lost their jobs in the financial crisis and that AIG could replace the bonus recipients (some of whom are responsible for creating the firm's now-toxic assets) rather than bribe them with retention bonuses.
Frank said he did not agree at all with Chairman of Bank of America Kenneth Lewis’ assertion that the proposed taxation of bonuses for employees of companies receiving U.S. government bailout funds could “have the potential to damage the ability of the government to engineer a financial recovery.”
The congressman defended Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner saying that he inherited an economic fiasco.
“I know some of my Republican colleagues believe in creationism in which the world started 4,004 years ago. But I don’t think any of them want us to believe that it started on January 20, 2009,” Frank joked, arguing that the initial loans to AIG (totaling more than $173 billion) came from the Bush administration “without any Congressional input.”
GM, AIG, your local school system, hundreds of banks, your local hospital, etc. Are we at FR the only people to question the gross incompetence and unconstitutionality of these pretenders to effectively/legally run so many enterprises?
One proposal could impose greater requirements on company boards to tie executive compensation more closely to corporate performance and to take other steps to ensure that compensation was aligned with the financial interest of the company.
The new rules will cover all financial institutions, including those not now covered by any pay rules because they are not receiving federal bailout money. Officials say the rules could also be applied more broadly to publicly traded companies, which already report about some executive pay practices to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
http://freeinternetpress.com/story.php?sid=20685
YEP....we need 90% TAX on CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS NOW!!!
Barney knows extortion when he sees it.
He wouldn’t know male prostitution if it bit him in the ass....
“Bawney Fwank is a pig...an arrogant gas bag. AND, he is one of the primary cast of characters responsible for this economic crisis, and is continuing to perpetuate it by his vile rhetoric.”
Why oh why can’t we get rid of that Massachusetts representative scum Barney Frank? He is at the top of the scum pool!
In other words no CEO will ever again take a risk, from a business sense, and will instead steer his company on the safe, risk free path of mediocrity. Ever wonder why European firms are never on the leading edge of financial or technological innovation? There's your answer.
The communists are winning with the help of a large percentage of the Republican Party.
Get those “rich” p****s!
Those who would support this power mongering are nothing but commie pigs!
I really CANNOT stand Elmer Fudgepacker.
Actually the AIG bailout plan began in September 2008, shortly after AIG gave the New York Democratic Party $100,000 and Gov. Patterson appealed to the Federal Reserve on AIG’s behalf.
Mr Frank, what is it called when Congress witholds federal highway funds unless states implement the 55 MPH speed limit?
Mr Frank, what is it called when Congress witholds funds unless states raise their drinking age to 21?
Mr Frank knows extortion since he has been engaging in it since being elected.
Barney Fwank and the Congresscritters are guilty of THEFT.
Not one of them deserves a dime of salary for the disaster they have created.
You know, if they cap employee compensation across the board, capitalism will find a way. The next thing that will happen is that there will be two tiers of talent. The lower tier will be administrative talent (secretaries and administrators). They will be paid within Obama’s coming new comp rules. The more important tier will be the independent contractors (senior level talent). They will be doing everything they did before Obama and Frank got involved but they will be paid as consultants who own their own one person consulting business.
There’s not much the government can do about that unless they outlaw sole proprietorships.
As for Barney Frank, he will be revered in the way McCarthy was after the 1950’s. If not, the alternative is that we are finished as a nation that was exceptional.
Barney’s theme song:
“I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner
That is what I truly wish to be
cause if i were a oscar mayer weiner
everyone would be in love
oh everyone would be in love
everyone would be in love with me”
And again:
“From the online dictionary:
Frank
noun
2. a smooth-textured sausage of minced beef or pork usually smoked; often served between buns.”
The amount of money the government has actually GIVEN to AIG is about $ 78 billion, not $173 billion or $ 170 billion.
The higher number is the amount that is RESERVED for AIG, but as Edward Liddy testified last week, AIG has TAKEN two tranches of $ 40 billion and $ 38.4 billion so far.
You and I have an investment of $ 78 billion in AIG. The plan was to give the money to AIG, prop it up in the middle of a market that was decimating Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, etc., until its individual units could be sold off at a profit. Otherwise, that value would evaporate AND the world’s financial markets would melt down in a panic.
The $ 165 million that Obama and Congress have gotten everyone all upset about represents less than 0.2%—on fifth of one percent - of the total stake we have in AIG.And these “horrible” execs help wind down $ 1.1 TRILLION of exposures in credit swap derivatives that would hace wasted our entire $ 78 billion stake in AIG.
Meanwhile, no one is upset that Obama and Congress are giving almost five times as much, over $ 900 million, to the Palestinian Authority, which means Hamas will get its bloody paws on it.
No one is upset that Obama and Congress just pissed away $ 1.5 trillion on stimulus, TARP 2, and the Omnibus spending bill.
No one is upset that Obama and Congress approved giving ACORN $ 5 billion in stimulus funds.
No one is upset that we gave GM another $ 5 billion last week. Isn’t that money just another retention bonus for the UAW?
No one is upset that Obama lied to us about the bonuses, Geithner lied to us about the bonuses, and Dodd lied to us about the bonuses.
No, everyone is excised about a lousy $ 165 bilion.
Congress must be laughing their asses off at us behind closed doors.
And if we allow them to get away with this, we deserve it.
Somebody needs to give the Queen a chill pill and put her to bed —
Ah, Aaaaah!
Ah, Aaaaah!
Ah, Aaaaaah!
Oooooooooh!
She’s so mad,
She’s been had!
Having the snit of her life!
Oooooh!
See the Queen, make a scene!
Barney, the Xanax Queen!
I’ll tell ya what extortion is,
A bunch of fags demanding something then attacking those who refuse to get in the gutter with them.
Barney gets all fluttery and excited when the talk turns to Bone-us
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