Washington Limits Wall St. Bonuses, Free Lunch as Well

Congress voted yesterday to pass a bill curbing executive bonus pay, attempting to prevent what they call "perverse incentives" for execs in the face of a public outcry that came with news about big bonuses being handed out to bigwigs at some of the Bailout Babies of '08. The bill's passage came on the same day as a well-timed new report from Andrew Cuomo documenting how rampant big bonuses were at places like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs; AIG originally set off the bonus backlash earlier this year. The vote in Congress was primarily down party lines; Democrats tried to emphasize that shareholders would get a say in dictating just how much companies are warranted to dole out. It was also reported yesterday that CEOs have also lost out on another bonus—free lunch at the White House. In order to prevent any conflict of interest, the Obama administration has been billing executives who share a meal inside executive offices with the president. The News says there hasn't been a case of presidential penury since Jimmy Carter started charging Congressmen for coffee and danishes when they came to visit.

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By Billy Parker in News on August 1, 2009 11:55 AM

Comments [rss]

Gothampc

Wall Street bonuses were taxed at a very high rate. If Congress is going to limit bonus pay, who will be required to make up the lost tax revenue?

hoolsa

The last time I saw this kind of hypocrisy, it involved a pot and a kettle.

thefacts

I stand corrected.

A retraction:

The Republicans are NOT "a group of publicly funded weasels who vote themselves pay raises, stuff their faces at the pork barrel trough and enjoy a lavish lifestyle thanks to wealthy lobbyists"

Who would have thunk?

NannyState

Just like in the last Depression, let's see if these execs have the guts to stage a Bonus March on Washington.

GREGORYABUTLER

And hopefully the US Army will treat them the same way they treated the Bonus Marchers of 1930 (get the tear gas ready and start practicing the cavalry charges on unarmed crowds now!)

yg

Sounds unconstitutional.

JacqueMehoff

republicans never wants their salary cut, small r.

instead of perverse, how about obscene, that word seems to get more responses.

ides_of_march

Coming from a group of publicly funded weasels who vote themselves pay raises, stuff their faces at the pork barrel trough and enjoy a lavish lifestyle thanks to wealthy lobbyists, this is a bit much.

thefacts

That's not a nice thing to say about Republicans!

Mr Mel

Or White Guys.

EastRiver

Seriously, do some research. Corporations don't just give to Republicans. They give to the party in power. When it became obvious the Republicans were going to get routed in the 2006 midterm elections the pendulum swung back to the Democrats. Largest beneficiaries of money from healthcare companies this year? "Blue Dog" Democrats.

thefacts

I stand corrected.

A retraction:

The Republicans are NOT "a group of publicly funded weasels who vote themselves pay raises, stuff their faces at the pork barrel trough and enjoy a lavish lifestyle thanks to wealthy lobbyists"

Who would have thunk?

EastRiver

Wow, did you miss the point. Both parties are guilty of bad behavior but most people seem to only focus on one party or the other. You seem to only care what Republicans do and you seem perfectly willing to overlook anything Democrats do. Things aren't always as black and white as you would like them to be.

ides_of_march

You're a bit ill informed. If you care to do just a little research you'll find there are quite a few democrats in congress, in fact, they're the majority at the moment.