There were those Italians who said their country was better when Mussolini was in charge, citing the timeliness of trains under his reign.
There were those Spaniards who said their country was better when Franco was in charge, citing the increased sexual openness after his demise.
And I’m sure there are those Iraqis who say their country was better when Saddam Hussein was in charge. They might have a point, from a day-to-day living point of view.
But those Americans who say this country was better when President George W. Bush was in charge?
They’re full of shit.
First, it’s only been 100 days since President Obama took office.
Second, I believe, but I’m not certain, that:
*President Obama has had more press conferences during his first 100 days then President Bush had during his last term;
*President Obama has taken more action to fight the recession than President Bush did.
*President Obama has done more to earn respect from foreign nations than did President Bush.
*President Obama has put the U.S. on higher moral ground in terms of foreign policy and international law than the moral morass we were in under the Bush administration. For those ignorant Americans who believe that American foreign policy means beating your opponents into submission and twisting the arms of your allies to get them to fight with you, just wait and see what happens when the U.S. is no longer the largest economic engine in the world and India and China start twisting our arms. No empire – whether it’s the Roman, British, Chinese, or Persian – stays on top forever. That’s just God’s way of shuffling the power deck, IMHO.
*President Obama actually wants to observe international law, not subvert it. By the way, Dick Cheney, I wouldn’t accept any packages or heavy envelopes from The Hague if I were you.
*President Obama has taken policy stances on or has stated his intention to take policy stances on issues of importance to everyday Americans – health care, education (I’m so digging the direct student loan program), the environment (no more silence on the mountaintop mining issue!), tax cuts for the middle class, the war on terrorism (It’s Afghanistan, stupid!), the credit card industry (die, Visa, die!), federal spending (going over the budget with a fine-toothed comb and finding savings, even if they are small in comparison to the deficit -- still waiting for that Republican budget!), international economic competitiveness (no more gas guzzling SUVs, GM – what’s good for GM isn’t necessarily good for American OR the environment), torture (waterboarding IS torture!) and more.
And what’s impressive is that I, an everyday citizen, can actually tell you what the President is working on. President Bush? If he was working at all, it was a mystery to me.
The stock market is slowly starting to edge up. The real estate market just might be bottoming out. And I actually know what my President is trying to do for my country. That alone is a stark improvement over the last eight years.
I’ll take President Obama’s first 100 days over President Bush’s eight years any day, hell yeah!
Showing posts with label recession. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recession. Show all posts
President Obama's First 100 Days --- Hell, Yeah!
AIG and Citigroup: Obama's Problem Children
Not every child is the same. When you are a mother cooking dinner and you run out of a certain ingredient, this is important to know. There are some children you can send to the grocery store, give them cash, and they’ll come back with what you wanted and your exact change.
Some children will come back with what you wanted and will make some excuse about the change being short, such as “I lost some quarters in the storm drain.”
Some children will not only come back without what you wanted but will also make some excuse about why they don’t have the money, either, such as “I was robbed on the way to the store.”
Mothers, being mothers, know which kids to send to the store and which ones should, well, just continue watching Star Trek until dinner is done.
President Obama needs to start thinking like a mom, because Citigroup and AIG are most like the third type of child – you can’t send them to the store to accomplish a mission and you damn sure can’t give them cash with which to do it. You’ll just get some excuse like, “We were contractually obligated to pay bonuses.”
They are Obama's problem children.
AIG’s latest bonus debacle is not a testament to their lack of judgment – if they had any judgment, they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in – but to the lack of judgment displayed by the Obama administration. Why would the Obama administration give huge sums of money to failing corporations that have already shown their hubris and sense of entitlement without having any strings attached to the money? Did anyone in the Obama administration actually review AIG’s contractual obligations to give bonuses – or even ask about them – before handing them yet another wad of cash?
Or better yet, why not structure the payment of cash to the issuance of loans or other appropriate economic stimulus activities such that the government pays out the money on behalf of AIG directly to the intended recipient?
The larger issue is, why did we allow corporations such as Citigroup and AIG to become “too big to fail” in the first place? Isn’t that the point of antitrust law – to maintain competition in the marketplace such that no one corporation can dominate and, as a result, become “too big to fail”?
The American people will give President Obama and his administration a pass on this one, but if it happens again, their anger won’t be directed toward the Citigroups and the AIGs of the world, but towards him and his administration. Hope got President Obama into the White House, but strategy (or, if you’re President Bush, “strategery”) will keep him there.
Some children will come back with what you wanted and will make some excuse about the change being short, such as “I lost some quarters in the storm drain.”
Some children will not only come back without what you wanted but will also make some excuse about why they don’t have the money, either, such as “I was robbed on the way to the store.”
Mothers, being mothers, know which kids to send to the store and which ones should, well, just continue watching Star Trek until dinner is done.
President Obama needs to start thinking like a mom, because Citigroup and AIG are most like the third type of child – you can’t send them to the store to accomplish a mission and you damn sure can’t give them cash with which to do it. You’ll just get some excuse like, “We were contractually obligated to pay bonuses.”
They are Obama's problem children.
AIG’s latest bonus debacle is not a testament to their lack of judgment – if they had any judgment, they wouldn’t be in the mess they’re in – but to the lack of judgment displayed by the Obama administration. Why would the Obama administration give huge sums of money to failing corporations that have already shown their hubris and sense of entitlement without having any strings attached to the money? Did anyone in the Obama administration actually review AIG’s contractual obligations to give bonuses – or even ask about them – before handing them yet another wad of cash?
Or better yet, why not structure the payment of cash to the issuance of loans or other appropriate economic stimulus activities such that the government pays out the money on behalf of AIG directly to the intended recipient?
The larger issue is, why did we allow corporations such as Citigroup and AIG to become “too big to fail” in the first place? Isn’t that the point of antitrust law – to maintain competition in the marketplace such that no one corporation can dominate and, as a result, become “too big to fail”?
The American people will give President Obama and his administration a pass on this one, but if it happens again, their anger won’t be directed toward the Citigroups and the AIGs of the world, but towards him and his administration. Hope got President Obama into the White House, but strategy (or, if you’re President Bush, “strategery”) will keep him there.
Citigroup Must Die
Citigroup must die.
I’m not just saying this because they hold my mortgage (which I originated with Wells Fargo, only to have Wells Fargo sell it to Citigroup – bastards!).
I’m saying this because, despite receiving government assistance, despite being told on the down-low that they probably shouldn’t take delivery of new corporate jets after receiving TARP money (see my blog entry, “The Big Pimpin’ Awards, January 30, 2009), Citigroup or Citibank or Citifailure – pick a name – continues to operate as if they were a successful going concern for which its employees should be rewarded, to wit:
(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) is paying about $13 million to compensate employees who had been expected to go on various trips that were later canceled, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The bank is paying 1,900 employees of its Primerica Financial Services unit $5,000 each, after canceling a February trip for top agents to a Bahamas resort, according to the person, who declined to be named because the information is not public.
Citigroup also awarded employees of its Smith Barney unit $3.5 million of debit cards in lieu of trips, the person said.
Banks that received taxpayer money have been slashing expenses for events and perks amid growing criticism from politicians about costs they deem wasteful.
Some banks have argued that eliminating certain expenses hurts morale and can put them at a competitive disadvantage.
"During this difficult environment, we have deeply cut employee recognition-based costs, in some instances by 80 percent," Citigroup said in a statement. "We need to reward, retain and develop the best employees of these profitable Citi businesses. In the instance of Primerica, we we're legally obligated to do so."
Hold up, Citiplayas. Slow your roll.
For starters, if you have received any government assistance of any kind to stay in business, you have failed. No one in the organization should be rewarded when the entire organization has failed, whether it’s Smith Barney, Primerica, whoever. When a company is on the ropes, it needs to act conservatively to preserve cash – especially when it’s come out of my taxpaying pocket, HELLOOOOO! In times of crisis, there are no trips, no payouts, nada. You hunker down and try to survive. Just ask any furloughed California state worker. The entire state government has failed, and we furloughed folks are taking in the shorts even though we don’t run a damn thing. It’s the way it goes. We’re supposed to be happy that we even have jobs, and I am.
Second, as you can imagine, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about hurting employee morale at these corporate behemoths. Don’t like it that you’re not getting a trip or a debit card payout? Well, walk then. Try your luck down the street with all the other failing banks. Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split ya. My employee morale is down about 9.3 percent – the amount of the pay cut I took just for the privilege of keeping my job. I sure as hell don’t want to subsidize the employee morale for companies that helped start this whole mortgage debacle in the first place.
What I need from my President is that he stop playing nice. He needs to make like a pimp and get these corporate hos in check. From where I stand, they’re up in my pocket, and they’re out of pocket. Nothing like making an example of the worst one to get the others in line.
That, my friends, is why Citigroup must die.
I’m not just saying this because they hold my mortgage (which I originated with Wells Fargo, only to have Wells Fargo sell it to Citigroup – bastards!).
I’m saying this because, despite receiving government assistance, despite being told on the down-low that they probably shouldn’t take delivery of new corporate jets after receiving TARP money (see my blog entry, “The Big Pimpin’ Awards, January 30, 2009), Citigroup or Citibank or Citifailure – pick a name – continues to operate as if they were a successful going concern for which its employees should be rewarded, to wit:
(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc (C.N) is paying about $13 million to compensate employees who had been expected to go on various trips that were later canceled, a person familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The bank is paying 1,900 employees of its Primerica Financial Services unit $5,000 each, after canceling a February trip for top agents to a Bahamas resort, according to the person, who declined to be named because the information is not public.
Citigroup also awarded employees of its Smith Barney unit $3.5 million of debit cards in lieu of trips, the person said.
Banks that received taxpayer money have been slashing expenses for events and perks amid growing criticism from politicians about costs they deem wasteful.
Some banks have argued that eliminating certain expenses hurts morale and can put them at a competitive disadvantage.
"During this difficult environment, we have deeply cut employee recognition-based costs, in some instances by 80 percent," Citigroup said in a statement. "We need to reward, retain and develop the best employees of these profitable Citi businesses. In the instance of Primerica, we we're legally obligated to do so."
Hold up, Citiplayas. Slow your roll.
For starters, if you have received any government assistance of any kind to stay in business, you have failed. No one in the organization should be rewarded when the entire organization has failed, whether it’s Smith Barney, Primerica, whoever. When a company is on the ropes, it needs to act conservatively to preserve cash – especially when it’s come out of my taxpaying pocket, HELLOOOOO! In times of crisis, there are no trips, no payouts, nada. You hunker down and try to survive. Just ask any furloughed California state worker. The entire state government has failed, and we furloughed folks are taking in the shorts even though we don’t run a damn thing. It’s the way it goes. We’re supposed to be happy that we even have jobs, and I am.
Second, as you can imagine, I couldn’t give a rat’s ass about hurting employee morale at these corporate behemoths. Don’t like it that you’re not getting a trip or a debit card payout? Well, walk then. Try your luck down the street with all the other failing banks. Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split ya. My employee morale is down about 9.3 percent – the amount of the pay cut I took just for the privilege of keeping my job. I sure as hell don’t want to subsidize the employee morale for companies that helped start this whole mortgage debacle in the first place.
What I need from my President is that he stop playing nice. He needs to make like a pimp and get these corporate hos in check. From where I stand, they’re up in my pocket, and they’re out of pocket. Nothing like making an example of the worst one to get the others in line.
That, my friends, is why Citigroup must die.
Do The Right Thing -- And It Sounds A Little Bit Like "Harajuku"
Seppuku (切腹 ?, "stomach-cutting") is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Seppuku was originally reserved only for samurai. Part of the samurai honor code, seppuku was used voluntarily by samurai to die with honor rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, as a form of capital punishment for samurai who have committed serious offenses, and for reasons that shamed them. Seppuku is performed by plunging a sword into the abdomen and moving the sword left to right in a slicing motion. The practice of committing seppuku at the death of one's master, known as oibara (追腹 or 追い腹, the kun'yomi or Japanese reading) or tsuifuku (追腹, the on'yomi or Chinese reading), follows a similar ritual.
The most famous form of seppuku is also known as harakiri (腹切り, "cutting the belly") and is written with the same kanji as seppuku but in reverse order with an okurigana. In Japanese, the more formal seppuku, a Chinese on'yomi reading, is typically used in writing, while harakiri, a native kun'yomi reading, is used in speech.[1] Harakiri is the more common term in English, where it is often mistakenly rendered "hari kari".
- Courtesy of Wikipedia
Today I, along with the American taxpaying public, became an owner of a larger stake in Citicorp. Woo hoo! Now I don’t have to buy their stock through my 401(k). And I think I’ll hold off on buying any more Bank of America stock, since I might get that for free – relatively speaking. But it’s not stock in banks I want. I want heads to roll. Or bowels to flow.
You know what I’m talking about. Commonly known in America as “hara-kiri,” but formally known as “seppuku” in Japan, it is an act of honor reserved only for the most honorable – the samurai. So maybe it’s wrong to suggest that our American “captains of industry” who have run some of the largest financial and automobile institutions aground are even worthy of the suggestion that they take matters and their bowels into their own hands. But hey, I’m willing to be wrong on this point.
I don’t understand how corporate executives and officers who have failed so spectacularly are still allowed to run their companies on the government’s dime. If they had any honor, any shame whatsoever, they would step down. If they really had any honor or sense of shame, they’d resign, apologize profusely, and hand over the sword to one of their corporate compatriots in failure and let them do the deed. At least their families could still get life insurance proceeds if it kinda looks like murder. Plus, I’m sure they’ve got the hook-up at AIG and other insurance companies.
Yes, I know what I’m suggesting is severe and irreversible. But considering the millions of people who are losing their homes, the thousands of governments – state, county and local – that are reeling from this self-induced recession, and the fact that taxpayers are on the hook for all of this, I don’t know if it’s too much to suggest that such colossal failures be rewarded with the ultimate of penalties. In China, these barons of the boondoggle would have been executed quickly, like those Chinese milk company execs. And they don’t have to use a sword or a dagger to make me happy. A rusty nail would do.
It starts with an inward motion, followed by a left-right motion . . . . .
Come on, Masters of the Universe. Do the right thing. Don’t make the American public go all ronin on y’alls asses . . . .
The most famous form of seppuku is also known as harakiri (腹切り, "cutting the belly") and is written with the same kanji as seppuku but in reverse order with an okurigana. In Japanese, the more formal seppuku, a Chinese on'yomi reading, is typically used in writing, while harakiri, a native kun'yomi reading, is used in speech.[1] Harakiri is the more common term in English, where it is often mistakenly rendered "hari kari".
- Courtesy of Wikipedia
Today I, along with the American taxpaying public, became an owner of a larger stake in Citicorp. Woo hoo! Now I don’t have to buy their stock through my 401(k). And I think I’ll hold off on buying any more Bank of America stock, since I might get that for free – relatively speaking. But it’s not stock in banks I want. I want heads to roll. Or bowels to flow.
You know what I’m talking about. Commonly known in America as “hara-kiri,” but formally known as “seppuku” in Japan, it is an act of honor reserved only for the most honorable – the samurai. So maybe it’s wrong to suggest that our American “captains of industry” who have run some of the largest financial and automobile institutions aground are even worthy of the suggestion that they take matters and their bowels into their own hands. But hey, I’m willing to be wrong on this point.
I don’t understand how corporate executives and officers who have failed so spectacularly are still allowed to run their companies on the government’s dime. If they had any honor, any shame whatsoever, they would step down. If they really had any honor or sense of shame, they’d resign, apologize profusely, and hand over the sword to one of their corporate compatriots in failure and let them do the deed. At least their families could still get life insurance proceeds if it kinda looks like murder. Plus, I’m sure they’ve got the hook-up at AIG and other insurance companies.
Yes, I know what I’m suggesting is severe and irreversible. But considering the millions of people who are losing their homes, the thousands of governments – state, county and local – that are reeling from this self-induced recession, and the fact that taxpayers are on the hook for all of this, I don’t know if it’s too much to suggest that such colossal failures be rewarded with the ultimate of penalties. In China, these barons of the boondoggle would have been executed quickly, like those Chinese milk company execs. And they don’t have to use a sword or a dagger to make me happy. A rusty nail would do.
It starts with an inward motion, followed by a left-right motion . . . . .
Come on, Masters of the Universe. Do the right thing. Don’t make the American public go all ronin on y’alls asses . . . .
The Big Pimpin' Awards
I’ve always had a grudging admiration for pimps. Not because I admire what they do, but rather how they do what they do. What pimps do better than anyone else is to get people – or rather, women – to join in their own exploitation without feeling exploited. For the life of me, I can’t help but think there’s some weird confluence of science, genius, madness, and alchemy such that a man can get a woman to do for pay one of the most intimate and personal acts with strangers of all varieties of personal hygiene and then turn over the majority of the money to him so that he can live a lifestyle better than hers. If I had to put my money on a Harvard MBA or an Oakland pimp to successfully run a Fortune 500 corporation, my money would be on the Oakland pimp, every time.
Well, America, it looks like we’re the hos in this recession, because there are a whole lot of pimps out there who are exploiting us, maybe not with the skill and finesse of an Oakland street pimp, but pretty darn close. And I’ve always believed that excellence should be rewarded in a capitalist, democratic society. With that, let me announce and award Black Woman Blogging’s first ever Big Pimpin’ Awards. These awards go to those newsmakers, who, over the last year or so, have been successful or at least tried very hard, to pimp the American people – our tax dollars, our values, our trust. The first part of success is believing in your ability to succeed. These pimps had self-confidence in spades.
The “Diamond in the Back, Sunroof Top, Diggin’ the Scene with a Gansta Lean” Award goes to: The CEO’s of Chrysler, GM, and Ford, for having the pimp hubris to come to Capitol Hill to ask for taxpayer bailout money in corporate jets. Don’t forget the rest of the song, though: “Just be thankful for what you’ve got.”
The “Sneaker Pimp” Award goes to: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Playa, you’re not the first elected official who attempted to sell an appointment. You were just so bad at it that you got caught. And to appear on the “The View” instead of at your own impeachment trial? That’s just sneaker pimpin’. You need to get out of the way and let the real playas play.
The “Pimpin’ Around The Word” Award goes to: The Bush Administration, for getting our allies to join us in rendition and torture by setting up American prisons on foreign soil.
The “ ‘Too Short’ California Pimpin’” Award goes to: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature. Let me get this straight: California is in the middle of a severe budget crisis – I’m talking Vallejo/San Diego on-the-verge-of-defaulting crisis. State workers within the control of the Governor are going to be furloughed without pay. Yet other state workers who have the serendipity to work for the University of California, the California State University System, the California Community Colleges, and other state constitutional officers won’t be furloughed. Many state legislative staffers received raises, and yet the Governor and many in the California Legislature had the nerve to go the Presidential Inauguration even though we’re supposed to be in a crisis and running out of money in February? And no one’s seen fit to drive a semi up to the Capitol and set the building on fire? That’s pimpin’ California-style, in the vein of California’s most famous pimp and rapper, Too Short.
The “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” Award goes to: General Motors. They’re such a special case that they get mentioned twice. General Motors has the distinction of being able to dip into TARP money twice – once through GM, the other through their lending arm, GMAC, which they were able to morph into a bank so that it, too, could qualify for TARP money. GM cited the downturn in car sales and the increased foreclosures faced by GMAC as the reason for double dipping. It’s hard out there for a pimp.
The “Hos in Every Area Code” Award goes to: The mortgage lending industry. Because they do have hos in every area code. They’re called subprime borrowers. The problem is, now their hos are out of pocket, so to speak, because of foreclosures. Not everybody can be Nate Dogg.
The “Don’t Hate the Playa, Hate the Game” Award goes to: Citibank, Merrill Lynch, and AIG. Citibank, for taking TARP money and then having the nerve to try to take delivery of new corporate jets. Merrill Lynch, for paying billions in bonuses to its execs on the way to their arranged merger with Bank of America. AIG, for holding a spa retreat shortly after receiving TARP money. An honorable mention goes to John Thain of Merrill Lynch for spending $1 million to redecorate his office as his company was going down the tubes.
And, drumroll, please . . .
The Mack of the Year Award goes to: Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Paulson worked for Goldman Sachs in the run-up in the real estate bubble, and the role of investment banks in the real estate bubble cannot be underestimated. He later became Treasury Secretary, sold his stake in Goldman Sachs pursuant to ethics laws for a tax-free net of $200,000,000, and then helps in its bailout. But that’s not why he’s the Mack of the Year. Paulson is the Mack of the Year because he had balls to go to Congress with a three-page explanation as to why Congress should give the Bush Administration $750 billion to bail out financial institutions, saying that the money would free up credit and help the American taxpayer. Although he didn’t get what he wanted solely on the strength of his three-pager, he did ultimately get what he wanted. Banks and other financial institutions got the money, didn’t lend it out, weren’t held accountable, and no one called for Paulson’s head on a platter, or anyone else’s for that matter. Mack of the Year, I tell you. Play on, Playa Paulson. Play on.
UPDATE: At the suggestion of my brother and my protege, the "Katt Williams 'If You Can't Find Anyone Else To Hate, You Can Hate On Me' Lifetime Achievement Award" goes to President George W. Bush. As my brother put it, "Not only did he get us to jump on folks we ain’t had no business messin' with, but he got us to put $7 Trillion on our card to do it for him and his fellow Sith Lords."
Super Fly would be proud.
Well, America, it looks like we’re the hos in this recession, because there are a whole lot of pimps out there who are exploiting us, maybe not with the skill and finesse of an Oakland street pimp, but pretty darn close. And I’ve always believed that excellence should be rewarded in a capitalist, democratic society. With that, let me announce and award Black Woman Blogging’s first ever Big Pimpin’ Awards. These awards go to those newsmakers, who, over the last year or so, have been successful or at least tried very hard, to pimp the American people – our tax dollars, our values, our trust. The first part of success is believing in your ability to succeed. These pimps had self-confidence in spades.
The “Diamond in the Back, Sunroof Top, Diggin’ the Scene with a Gansta Lean” Award goes to: The CEO’s of Chrysler, GM, and Ford, for having the pimp hubris to come to Capitol Hill to ask for taxpayer bailout money in corporate jets. Don’t forget the rest of the song, though: “Just be thankful for what you’ve got.”
The “Sneaker Pimp” Award goes to: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Playa, you’re not the first elected official who attempted to sell an appointment. You were just so bad at it that you got caught. And to appear on the “The View” instead of at your own impeachment trial? That’s just sneaker pimpin’. You need to get out of the way and let the real playas play.
The “Pimpin’ Around The Word” Award goes to: The Bush Administration, for getting our allies to join us in rendition and torture by setting up American prisons on foreign soil.
The “ ‘Too Short’ California Pimpin’” Award goes to: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the California Legislature. Let me get this straight: California is in the middle of a severe budget crisis – I’m talking Vallejo/San Diego on-the-verge-of-defaulting crisis. State workers within the control of the Governor are going to be furloughed without pay. Yet other state workers who have the serendipity to work for the University of California, the California State University System, the California Community Colleges, and other state constitutional officers won’t be furloughed. Many state legislative staffers received raises, and yet the Governor and many in the California Legislature had the nerve to go the Presidential Inauguration even though we’re supposed to be in a crisis and running out of money in February? And no one’s seen fit to drive a semi up to the Capitol and set the building on fire? That’s pimpin’ California-style, in the vein of California’s most famous pimp and rapper, Too Short.
The “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” Award goes to: General Motors. They’re such a special case that they get mentioned twice. General Motors has the distinction of being able to dip into TARP money twice – once through GM, the other through their lending arm, GMAC, which they were able to morph into a bank so that it, too, could qualify for TARP money. GM cited the downturn in car sales and the increased foreclosures faced by GMAC as the reason for double dipping. It’s hard out there for a pimp.
The “Hos in Every Area Code” Award goes to: The mortgage lending industry. Because they do have hos in every area code. They’re called subprime borrowers. The problem is, now their hos are out of pocket, so to speak, because of foreclosures. Not everybody can be Nate Dogg.
The “Don’t Hate the Playa, Hate the Game” Award goes to: Citibank, Merrill Lynch, and AIG. Citibank, for taking TARP money and then having the nerve to try to take delivery of new corporate jets. Merrill Lynch, for paying billions in bonuses to its execs on the way to their arranged merger with Bank of America. AIG, for holding a spa retreat shortly after receiving TARP money. An honorable mention goes to John Thain of Merrill Lynch for spending $1 million to redecorate his office as his company was going down the tubes.
And, drumroll, please . . .
The Mack of the Year Award goes to: Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Paulson worked for Goldman Sachs in the run-up in the real estate bubble, and the role of investment banks in the real estate bubble cannot be underestimated. He later became Treasury Secretary, sold his stake in Goldman Sachs pursuant to ethics laws for a tax-free net of $200,000,000, and then helps in its bailout. But that’s not why he’s the Mack of the Year. Paulson is the Mack of the Year because he had balls to go to Congress with a three-page explanation as to why Congress should give the Bush Administration $750 billion to bail out financial institutions, saying that the money would free up credit and help the American taxpayer. Although he didn’t get what he wanted solely on the strength of his three-pager, he did ultimately get what he wanted. Banks and other financial institutions got the money, didn’t lend it out, weren’t held accountable, and no one called for Paulson’s head on a platter, or anyone else’s for that matter. Mack of the Year, I tell you. Play on, Playa Paulson. Play on.
UPDATE: At the suggestion of my brother and my protege, the "Katt Williams 'If You Can't Find Anyone Else To Hate, You Can Hate On Me' Lifetime Achievement Award" goes to President George W. Bush. As my brother put it, "Not only did he get us to jump on folks we ain’t had no business messin' with, but he got us to put $7 Trillion on our card to do it for him and his fellow Sith Lords."
Super Fly would be proud.
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