Angry Senator wants pay-cap on "Wall Street idiots"
An angry U.S. senator introduced legislation Friday to cap compensation for employees of any company that accepts federal bailout money. Under the terms of a bill introduced by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, no employee would be allowed to make more than the president of the United States.
Obama's current annual salary is $400,000.
"We have a bunch of idiots on Wall Street that are kicking sand in the face of the American taxpayer," an enraged McCaskill said on the floor of the Senate. "They don't get it. These people are idiots. You can't use taxpayer money to pay out $18 billion in bonuses."
McCaskill's proposed compensation limit would cover salaries, bonuses and stock options.
On Thursday, Obama said the prospect that some of the $700 billion Wall Street bailout could end up paying for bonuses to managers of struggling financial institutions was "shameful."
"The American people understand we've got a big hole that we've got to dig ourselves out of, but they don't like the idea that people are digging a bigger hole even as they're being asked to fill it up," Obama added.
McCaskill's proposal comes three days after struggling banking giant Citigroup -- which has taken about $45 billion from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program -- reversed plans to accept delivery of a new $42 million corporate jet. The company changed its mind under Treasury Department prodding.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani on Friday defended corporate bonuses, saying that cutting them also means slashing jobs in the Big Apple.
"If you somehow take that bonus out of the economy, it really will create unemployment," he said on CNN's "American Morning." "It means less spending in restaurants, less spending in department stores, so everything has an impact."
What happens if?
For years, we Americans have been told we don’t save enough and spend too much. Now we are being told by not spending enough we are hurting the economy. When we were given a “stimulus bonus” last year, apparently we saved it rather than spent it. We paid down our credit card debt…that was a no-no we are being told.
Once the world’s largest credit nation, we are now the world’s largest debtor nation, owing our financial future to Russia, China and lesser nations who have purchased our debt/bonds. China, unlike America is a nation of savers, as is Japan. However their economies are dependent on Americans buying their goods. As our economy has pulled back in recent months, China’s economy has begun to slump, due in no small way to our buying fewer Chinese imports.
An unanswered question is what will happen if the Chinese quit buying our debt and begin to buy debt from their own country in an effort to shore up their own economy? I am not sure we want to experience that possibility.
Congress is now debating whether to give us another stimulus bonus with the caveat that we must spend it to help the economy. However, many economists are continuing to tell us to save more. Which is it? Thousands are being laid off from their jobs every day. Certainly those idle workers will not be spending for anything but essential food and clothing. Retirees who have lost more than half of their nest-egg through 401K meltdowns will not be spending. There aren’t enough Wall Street Fat-Cats to sustain the nation’s economy, although at times it seems they make enough money to do so.
Who will be left to spend us into prosperity once more?
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CONGRESS NEEDS TO ACT NOW
We need to rebuild this country now! We no longer can afford to pay points and interest for the funds to rebuild the country. We need jobs in this country and we need jobs now!
At this time we are borrowing the funds at interest to rebuild our roads,schools,water systems,sewer systems and such. The projects we build cost us with interest over 30 years about three times the amount we first borrow. Example: we borrow 200 million dollars, using bonds, to build roads and schools. When the bonds are paid back over 30 years (with interest) it cost us about 600 million dollars to build the roads and schools.
Why should we pay three times the cost for the improvements we need as a nation? Have we have deemed we have the right to create money. Why should we charge ourselves interest on something we can create interest free ? We should save our cities,states and nation these vast sumes of money.
We could be rebuilding our nation at a third of todays cost.We should be doing it right now.
Lets start small. Let's create only 500 Billion and loan it interest free to the first cities or counties that apply with approved capital improvments projects that are ready to build today(projects that those cities and counties were going to use approved bonds to fund). Lets allow the funds to be payed back over 25 years interest free through property taxs( just as the bonds are paid back now). As the funds are paid back extinguish the funds.
The new schools and new roads and new water treatment plants will have been built at one third of todays cost. In turn the community will retain twice the equity as the the cost of these projects. To be freely spent and invested in their communities.Creating more jobs. The community ends up with new streets,new schools and new water treatment plants at a third of todays cost.
People are put back to work rebuilding our nation immeediately.
CONGRESS HAS GIVIN THE BANKERS THEIR CHANCE .
IT'S TIME FOR CONGRESS TO GIVE OUR COMMUNITIES A CHANCE.
THE TIME FOR CONGRESS TO ACT IS NOW!
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I have not been able to keep up my website greedonwallstreet.com. I would like to sell to someone who would do as good of a job as you do on greedwatch.com Thank You,
Jerry
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