Taking TARP Back From Those Who Didn't Take It!
Discounting the distasteful Mussolini oratorical pose, you've got to really appreciate the appeals to the ignorant masses. This class-envy thing works like a charm in dumbed-down Amerika.
Obama described bank bonuses as "obscene" and said the new tax would cover a projected $117 billion shortfall in the government's financial crisis bailout fund.
"My determination to achieve this goal is only heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at the very firms who owe their continued existence to the American people who have not been made whole, and who continue to face real hardship in this recession," Obama said.
Questions to ask yourself:
What is obscene about a business making a profit?
What is obscene about a company paying bonuses according to contract to top performers?
Why does success in a company get punished because someone else faces hardship?
Must I wait for everyone to catch up before I can move ahead?
The tax, which officials are calling a "financial crisis responsibility fee," would apply only to financial companies with assets of more than $50 billion. Those firms -- estimated to amount to about 50 institutions -- would have to pay the fee even though many did not accept any taxpayer assistance and most others already paid back the government lent to them.
Whoops! Is that a disconnect? The fee (aka tax) is to recoup a shortfall in the government's financial asset bailout fund, but it will be levied on many firms WHO DID NOT ACCEPT ANY TAXPAYER ASSISTANCE and most others have already paid back the loans. So does that mitigate the obscenity of profits and bonuses because government "propped them up" while Americans are still "hurting"?
The administration expects that 60 percent of the revenue would come from the 10 largest firms. As proposed, the fee would go into effect June 30, 2010, and last at least 10 years.
Now, here's the math part. Remember the first quote? Bamster wants to recoup $170 billion (with a B). So, let's try to figure out how many obscene bonuses that will take. Ten firms will pay 60%, so round numbers make that $102 billion of the nut. How many million dollar bonus recipients does each firm have? You think maybe 20 millionaire bonus babies each? That's $200 million dollars working on 102,000 million of debt! Am I the only one who can do those numbers?
But, wait! If you curtail the profits and therefore the bonuses, how long do those top 10 financial firms keep making money to keep your revenue flowing? It just doesn't work.
Yet if there is a question of fairness, how does this fit in:
Insurance conglomerate American International Group, the largest beneficiary with nearly $70 billion in bailouts, would have to pay the tax. But General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, whose $66 billion in government loans are not expected to be fully repaid, would not be subject to a tax.
So, if you are a financial company, too big to fail and depended upon to manage flow of capital to businesses to stimulate the economy, you get the dirty end. If you are a marginally incompetent auto maker who could easily be replaced by the efficient management of Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Honda, Kia, Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, et. al. you get a free pass. Ohh, could it be that bank employees aren't union and GM/Chrysler are?
This never seems to be getting any better.
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