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Dodd: Wall Street Bonuses Are 'An Outrage'
Ben Frumin | October 18, 2009, 11:58AM
Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT)
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On Meet the Press, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) slammed Wall Street firms that plan to hand out record pay packages this year -- even after taking billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailouts.
"Obviously when you see these bonuses being paid out it's a source of outrage in the country, and it should be," Dodd said. "What are these people thinking about at these companies?"
Dodd continued:
These firms on Wall Street need to understand that what they're doing by providing these bonuses, particularly when they received so much federal money, is an outrage in the country.
Dodd wasn't the only one criticizing Wall Street bonuses on the Sunday news shows this morning. White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod said on This Week that the bonuses "are offensive."
And on CNN, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel slammed "the titans of the financial industry" for "fighting the very type of regulations and reforms that are necessary to prevent again a crisis like this happening" and said ordinary Americans are rightly frustrated by Wall Street's apparent return to excess.
"While they're struggling to make ends meet, Wall Street is back doing what Wall Street did."
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CVSnead
October 18, 2009 12:43 PM
Hey, maybe that new COO at the SEC they just hired in from Goldman can shake things up.
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Why oh why
October 18, 2009 1:12 PM
Dodd and Rahm are cute; "slamming" Wall Street on the teevee without actually doing anything to get that money back.
If only Dodd and Rahm had a little bit of political power, say in the White House or the Senate, they could do something. Vote Democrat in 2010!
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gizmo
October 18, 2009 2:52 PM
From the day that Obama installed Tim Geithner and Larry Summers and Rahm Emmanuel in his administration it's been clear that this President doesn't have the balls to get tough with Wall St. The bailouts and various deals that Geithner cut with the banks should have had all sorts of strict provisions that would have precluded the massive bonus payments that we are now seeing. One of the traders at Goldman Sachs is getting $100 million in compensation this year.
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gizmo
October 18, 2009 2:53 PM
From the day that Obama installed Tim Geithner and Larry Summers and Rahm Emmanuel in his administration it's been clear that this President doesn't have the balls to get tough with Wall St. The bailouts and various deals that Geithner cut with the banks should have had all sorts of strict provisions that would have precluded the massive bonus payments that we are now seeing. One of the traders at Goldman Sachs is getting $100 million in compensation this year.
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Problem Is
October 18, 2009 3:56 PM
The Village Idiot Dodd. Allow me to translate Dodd talking out of his arse:
"I am against Wall Street bonuses because I am up for reelection."
"If this was 2008 or 2012 when I am not up for reelection... I would not care."
"I am against Wall Street bonuses but won't do anything about it... because I am up for reelection..."
"I need Wall Street campaign bribes... because I am up for reelection."
Dodd another worthless tool. Get him out of here. Connecticut voters, get the hook.
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mycomment
October 18, 2009 4:11 PM
ooohhhh... so maybe rahmbo, dodd and axelrod can all get together and write a sternly worded letter expressing their OUTRAGE!
did any of them propose a clawback?
yeah, no doubt the 29yo goldman wizbang will impose some discipline on his former (and no doubt future) employer.
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Jay
October 18, 2009 6:22 PM
Is this the same Chris Dodd we're talking about from March?
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/13392832/Dodd-AIG-Bonuses-and-What-We-Don%E2%80%99t-Know
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MonicaDickey
October 18, 2009 11:03 PM
What did anyone expect? We gave wall street a ton of money and told them "hey fix the economy ok?" with no guidelines and no way to keep them in line other than whining about it, which will probably do nothing.
Also Dodd is a bit of a tool.
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oleeb
October 18, 2009 11:09 PM
Yes, they are all gung ho in condemning the Wall Street bonuses but none of them are doing a God Damned thing to stop them now or in the future. Whores the lot of em!
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