Posted on 03/25/2009 8:16:38 PM PDT by seanmerc
It takes a lot to motivate the American people but they are hopping mad over the bonus payments to Wall Streeters from their tax money.
I haven’t seen this much "people power" since the grass-roots protests against the Vietnam War riled the nation.
This anger is highly justified, but it hasn’t slowed the Obama administration’s peculiar drive to bailout Wall Street by buying banks’ toxic assets (bad loans and mortgage-related securities) to the tune of possibly up to $2 trillion dollars to stabilize the banks and to jump-start the credit industry.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Monday unveiled the plan amid the continuing furor over $165 million in bonuses paid to executives of American International Group after the taxpayers put up $173 billion to bailout the company.
At a prime time news conference Tuesday night, President Barack Obama used his bully pulpit to strike an upbeat note about the economy, a dramatic change from his past practice of issuing scary predictions. Those past dire comments apparently were to put heat on Congress to pass his economic legislation. That gambit worked. So now he can sing a cheery tune that happy days are just around the corner.
"We’re beginning to see signs of progress," he said, and called for renewed hope that "a better day will come."
"We’ve put in place a comprehensive strategy designed to attack this crisis on all fronts," Obama said. "It’s a strategy to create jobs, to help responsible homeowners, to restart lending and to grow our economy over the long term."
He spoke of his own capacity for "persistence" and said the "road to prosperity is still long.
I’m as angry as anybody," he declared. "We’re all in this together."
The key to boosting the economy is more consumer confidence. Unemployment is skyrocketing and people who still have jobs are nervous that they may join the ranks of the jobless. Those consumers have scaled back their spending -- adding another downward spiral to the economy.
For Obama’s recovery plan to work, it is going to take plenty of lenders, borrowers, buyers and sellers. Obama may have to echo his predecessor, who right after the 2001 terrorist attacks gave this advice: "Go shopping."
And his new peppy go-get-‘em tone is designed to give confidence to those shoppers that the economy is on the mend.
What irks Americans is the fact that the outrageous payment of AIG bonuses was known months beforehand by Geithner.
In a rare show of anger, Obama defended his lack of action for several days after he learned about the AIG bonuses, saying coldly: "I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak."
He urged his audience "to look toward the future with a renewed sense of common purpose, a renewed determination."
Meanwhile, we shouldn’t forget the infamous Merrill Lynch bonuses worth $3.6 billion that were paid last year to executives of the faltering brokerage firm, right before it was bought by Bank of America in a government-arranged shotgun marriage and right after Merrill wracked up massive operating losses.
Anna Burger, head of the liberal advocacy group Change to Win, said: "American taxpayers are tired of repeatedly seeing corporate excess rewarded, but adding insult to injury they are now being asked to reward corporate failure. Enough is enough." Burger said, "It is absolutely obscene for those responsible for our nation’s financial crisis to walk away with millions in bonuses while America’s hard working families struggle to pay their mortgages, health insurance, and children’s education."
Proposals for a punitive surtax on bonuses do not seem to be going anywhere in Congress to retrieve the money for the taxpayers. Obama is decidedly cool toward that effort. Obama is in the dubious position of having to play cheerleader for the economy -- and for Wall Street, whose support he needs for his bailout programs.
If the unemployment rate doesn’t improve later this year, the president will be facing a depression in his political standing. And if that happens, he can kiss goodbye to his other agenda items.
WORST.ONE.YET!
/barf with a ninja kick to my own head at seeing Helen yet again.
EEEEEEEYOWWWW!!
Oh great...now I will have nightmares.
I’m going to print that out and make a Halloween mask. Scary stuff!
Oh, yoo-hoo! Members of the Helen thomas ping list, here's the latest from our favorite intrepid, unbiased, completely objective, easy-on-the-eyes news and infobabe! FReepmail me if you'd like to be added to the Helen Thomas ping list.
QUIET! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!
How old is the *itch from HELL?? Ain’t she dead yet!!!??? UGH!
That’s Butt Ugly, FUGLY, gross, gag, yuk, puke!
I KNEW I shouldn’t have peeked just before going to bed. Now I will lay awake afraid to fall asleep because of nightmares.
The inside is worse than the outside
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