The Usual Suspects: My Two Cents on Bogus Bonus Outrage

Spare Change | March 18, 2009 | David J Aland

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

It almost suggests that someone slipped the script from Casablanca onto the President’s teleprompter. “I am shocked, shocked,” said he, “to find that gambling is going on in here!” speaking of the allegedly unexpected revelation that bailout funds were being used to line the pockets of greedy executives. His dismay was echoed by Sen. Chris Dodd, Sen. Barney Frank, and many others. How could AIG act so irresponsibly? “Round up the usual suspects.”

Even if the President did not exactly quote the memorably cynical lines of “Captain Renault,” he still gets credit for a spot-on Claude Raines impression. That the bailout of AIG, FannieMae and FreddieMac, and other financial institutions was poorly imagined, poorly designed, and poorly executed should surprise no one. The growing public backlash against these precipitous hand-outs indicates that many Americans agree: it’s time to stop throwing good money after bad.

That the bailout party began under the Bush administration provides little comfort to President Obama – he supported the bailouts, and ridiculed his opponent for advocating restraint. He not only continued the process of bailouts, but has used the economic crisis as a means of pushing his own political agenda, and criticizing any dissent as venal and short-sighted. As they say in the cheap souvenir shops where Obama buys head-of-state gifts: if you break it, you own it.

But why should none of this come as a surprise? Surely the White House has every reason to be stunned by the idea that government rescue dollars might be spent by the recipients to reward failure? Who, after all, could have seen this coming?

Well, Sen. Dodd for one. The Senator grandstanded last month, inserting an amendment on executive compensation limits in the Stimulus Package passed on Feb 13th, which contained an exemption for “…contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009…”, which is exactly what the AIG bonuses are. Sen. Dodd, who himself collected over $280,000 in “bonuses” (campaign contributions) from AIG, says he has no idea how that loophole made it into his amendment. He’s shocked.

Strangely, no one has yet reported the fact that FannieMae and FreddieMac have a bonus structure similar to AIG, also agreed to prior to the exempting date of Feb 11th. Sen. Dodd was the highest-earning recipient of contributions from both, netting another $133,000 in “bonuses” from the government-rescued mortgage giants. Sen. Barney Frank came in a measly 16th place, getting just a little over $40,000 from FM&FM, but he collected over three-quarters of a million dollars from corporate donors in the investment, real estate, insurance, and banking sectors. As for “Bonus-Gate” Barney is also, quite frankly, shocked.

Furthermore, the AIG bonus structure has been in the news since December, when a Democrat in the House questioned the CEO of AIG in a letter as to why AIG executives, who “would have lost their jobs” without taxpayer intervention, should still receive bonuses for driving their company into near extinction.

In short, there is no reason for anyone to be surprised unless it is for dramatic effect. The President himself collected nearly a quarter-million dollars in contributions from AIG and Freddie/Fannie, so his hands are far from clean. “Realizing the importance of the case” though, he has his hapless incompetent of a Treasury Secretary rounding up “twice the usual suspects” while Dodd and Frank parade back and forth in mock indignation.

The President and his team have realized that they have deeply erred in trying to turn the economy into an excuse for their agenda – that their lack of diligence and deliberation have backfired – and now they are trying to turn the public outraqe to their advantage. The MyBarrackObama.com website has stirred into action, trying to top-down organize counter-protests to the grass-roots “Tea Party” protests springing up all over the country.

But it is precisely the President and his team that have created the conditions for the outrage, and they will quickly learn that they will be held to a higher standard than Claude Raines’ “poor, corrupt official” from Casablanca.

We should take bets on when the President’s teleprompter has him say: “Oh, please, monsieur. It is a little game we play. They put it on the bill, I tear up the bill. It is very convenient.”

[xcamel]

Natty Bumppo.. as in the “Caves Of”

I havent haven’t heard that name in years... (lots of them)

Anyway... check the story on the exact sames bonuses Freddie/Fannie got with the blessings of Elwmwr Fuwdd and Cripes Dudd.

[icwhatudo]

I like how they pass 1 trillion without reading the bill, but now are pissed that somehow these millions in bonuses slipped them by when it was the dems that put that in the bailout.

[the_Watchman]

Also see Glenn Beck: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWbKKydgj_o

[Brad from Tennessee]

The AIG bonus controversy was fed to the news media by the Obama administration to distract taxpayers from the biggest theft in the history of the world: the “stimulus” act, the carbon tax, the income tax hike, etc. The news media wasn't supposed to go snooping around bonuses at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae—gigantic Democrat slush fund and executive job bank for out-of-work Democrats.

[Tenacious 1]

I think I might want a government job. At least its secure.

[Brad from Tennessee]

If Obama has his way everybody will work for the government and wear a uniform. Some will work in guard shacks, where highways cross county lines, checking internal passports and doing body searches of travelers. Others will staff the reeducation camps holding people like you and me who can't get our attitudes right.