Archive for October, 2009
Obama starts breaking kneecaps
Friday, October 23rd, 2009 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Badass.
So the government gives out a whole heap of money to “bail out” sinking companies. And the government says, “okay, I’m giving you this money now, but I want it back soon. Comprende, mon frere?”
What’s the first thing those sinking companies do with taxpayers’ money? They throw parties! “PHEW! We’re saved!” They give enormous bonuses to the very people who got them into this trouble in the first place! Look, you know the story. I’m not talking about the unbelievable injustices committed by companies like Goldman Sachs in the wake of this government bailout. I’m talking about today.
It’s a year later.
Knock knock, Citigroup. Knock knock, AIG. Obama’s at the door, politely asking for his money back.
Knock knock, Bank of America. Knock knock, General Motors. What’s that? You don’t have that money yet?
“Well,” says Big Bad Barack, “let me help you find some of it.”
And off comes the polished presidential loafers and on go the Chicago loan shark shitkickin’ stompers.
Check this out: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aJYVn5B5q1AY
From Bloomberg.com: The Obama administration will order seven companies that received the most government assistance to cut salaries of top executives by 90 percent on average, a person familiar with the situation said.
That will affect roughly 175 top executives’ salaries, so says TheHill.com (http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/64445-bernanke-has-obamas-back-on-wall-st-pay).
After months of public anger over the outrageous mishandling of tax payer money by Wall Street, the Obama administration has taken some action. This also comes in the wake of the Treasury’s special master of compensation Kenneth Feinberg’s recently submitted proposal to create a new regulatory body to govern consumer financial products like home loans and credit cards. Not since the Great Depression has America as a whole been more rallied against corporate America like it is today. Looks like those cries of outrage have finally reached some ears in the White House.
Say what you want about Obama - just do NOT be late with the man’s money.
New direction for this blog
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 | Uncategorized | 1 Comment
I’ll be restarting this blog to tackle a new issue, as per one of my university classes: Obama’s presidency. More specifically, I’m going to looking at whether or not he’s doing the job he said he would, and the job that we, the western world, expect him to do. It’s a pretty broad topic, I’ll admit. But I think you’ll find that the entries and the links to other articles/blog entries that I post paint a pretty specific picture of the most famous man in the world.
Is the man often satirically hailed as the Second Coming of Christ actually bringing change to Washington? Or is he falling into the presidential trap of pandering to special interests and effecting no substantial change at all?
Take, for interest, Obama’s latest escapades:
Lobbyists Stew After Being Bounced from Boards
Seems that the sheriff is in town and he’s not taking kindly to no strangers. The gist of the article is that Obama’s decided to limit access to federal advisory meetings by lobbyists, ie. representatives of the special interests. That means that a rep from the Philip Morris Tobacco Company might no longer have a cushy, comfy seat at the table the next time the FDA sits down for a chat.
That’s big news! Take a look at a quote from the article:
Barack Obama ’s drive to limit influence-peddling in Washington, could affect hundreds of lobbyists who serve on the panels, which were created by Congress in the 1970s to provide private-sector advice to the government.
“Private-sector advice to the government.” Now, I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’m a member of the private sector. And you probably are, too. But massive corporations and their reps? Companies that have more world-wide influence than our very own government? Something feels a bit wrong when including them in “the private sector,” like including a wolf in a poorly-covering sheep’s costume in the “lamb club.”
Seems to me that these ultra-influential, mega-rich companies have been abusing their position and the wording of any legislation that allows them to sit in on federal advisory meetings since the 70’s. And Obama’s no slouch; he gets that. So out they go, out of the meeting rooms so that Congress can get some real work done without being tempted by a dollar bill on a fish hook.
Good for you, Obama. Obama pros - 1, Obama cons - 0.