Oooh, it's time for Christmas Bonuses at the TARP companies!!!1

[deminks]

http://abcnews.go.com/WN/Business/Story?id=6498680&page=1

When the nation's chief financial officers begged Congress for $700 billion of taxpayer money, they said it was about saving banks. They didn't say anything about saving bonuses.

(snip)

"Bonuses across Goldman Sachs will be down significantly this year," a bank representative told ABC News. The spokesman refused to disclose the size of the bonus pool or how much of the compensation fund of $10.93 billion was planned for bonuses, but some employees are reportedly being given more than $200,000 in cash.

Morgan Stanley is in the same boat, having received $10 billion in government money. Their bonus pool this season is around $2 billion, according to a report in the New York Times. That figure is down 50 percent from last year.

Many people wonder why the banks' bonus pools would even be $1 this year.

(end snip)

Happy Holidays, Goldman Sachs. How big was Paulson's bonus this year?

[aquart]

1. I'm sorry. DOWN? How about...NON-EXISTENT????

Bonuses in this economy are nothing but graft.

[BR_Parkway]

2. I loved Credit Suisse way of handling - they handed out the toxic

crap as bonuses to the directors and upper management - took it off their books as a liability, saved their cash and puts all the crap back in the hands of the people who thought it was such a great idea.

$20 million bonus? Sure, here's a nice pile of fetid crap that you said was worth $20 million. Now pay the taxes on it at face value - and hope you were right about how much it was worth.

[burythehatchet]

4. Had not heard that; great idea.

[Lasher]

3. Paulson's bonus doesn't come until next year.

Wait and see.

[exboyfil]

5. A quote from a stupid executive on Wall Street

"TARP money is not being paid to employee compensation. It's been and will continue to be used to facilitate client activity in the capital markets."


Today's word for the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street is fungible. Corn is fungible. Oil is fungible and dollars are the most fungible commodity of all.

Fungible:

"Fungibility is the property of a good or a commodity whose individual units are capable of mutual substitution."

You take dollars in and you spend dollars. It does not matter where the dollars come from once they come in.

Another laugher quote:

"Banking insiders argue that bonuses are part of their business model -- an accepted part of basic compensation and a key to the banks' viability."

How well is that business model working out for you? Republicans are going to be remembered for a long time for voting for TARP and against the auto bail out. I think they should have voted against both, but looked to change the trade laws and really get engaged with our trading partners who are kicking us in the head every year.