Time to Take Back the Economy

by: ZP Heller

Tue Mar 17, 2009 at 17:00


( - promoted by Chris Bowers)

The details of AIG's bonuses are pretty appalling: 73 employees took home at least $1 million, while one person got a whopping $6.4 million. What's more, NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo proved AIG's excuse about needing these "retention" bonuses to keep employees at its Financial Products subsidiary was (believe it or not) complete and utter bullshit, since 11 of these bonus recipients have since left the company.

Now, Congress can try to rectify this situation by putting a 100% surtax on these bonuses.  They can impose stricter limitations on the subsequent $30 billion bailout for AIG--if you can believe AIG is even getting another bailout!  Still, this news is too infuriating to just sit back and wait for Congress to check Wall Street's ridiculous hubris.

This Thursday, March 19, SEIU and a slew of other organizations will be holding demonstrations at bailed-out banks and corporations in over 100 cities across the country, demanding fiscal repsonsibility.  Sign up at TakeBacktheEconomy.org and join a demonstration in your community for a national day of protest.  No more sitting around yelling at the TV screen when Obama's Press Secretary pretends like we should have any sort of confidence whatsoever in Geithner as Treasury Secretary.  Enough is enough, it's time to take back the economy!
ZP Heller :: Time to Take Back the Economy
And considering these Wall Street bonuses were antithetical to everything SEIU stands for, it should be no surprise that this national day of protest will also be used to call attention to the Employee Free Choice Act and all the lobbying that bailed-out corporations like Citigroup and Bank of America have done to oppose this much needed legislation.  So, when you participate in a protest Thursday, you're doubly sticking it to these firms, and that's real bang for your buck.

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Time to Take Back the Economy | 4 comments
Why Stop With 100% Surtaxes On Bonuses? (4.00 / 1)
These are big boys.  They're rough and tough and hard to bluff.

Let's go for 200%!

They made their money when they made their money.  Now it's time to lose it when they lose it.

Or, there's always the Grassley option.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

Not universally. (0.00 / 0)
We're not barbarians. It's not appropriate to expect the entire investor class to commit seppuku. Just a few of them, pour encourager les autres.

Forgotten Countries - a foreign policy-focused blog
[ Parent ]
If in THIS climate... (4.00 / 1)

 ...Obama can't get support for even something as timid as restoring the Clinton-era tax brackets, then one must conclude that his heart's not really in it.

 

"We judge ourselves by our ideals; others by their actions. It is a great convenience." -- Howard Zinn

I'd be shocked (0.00 / 0)
if more than a few dozen people show up to protest on Thursday.  
Time to Take Back the Economy | 4 comments
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