Schumer: Banks Won’t Take Help if CEOs Don’t Get to Keep Huge Salaries

We’re begging them to take a trillion dollars or so, for the good of the country? Is this for real?

they are using the fear model once again, they afer trying to scare us into giving them free money

fear is all they have

Aren’t there plenty of talented banking executives in Europe and Asia who would be willing to work for less.

I don’t understand why we’ve never outsourced CEO’s given that ours take so much money, and do such a crappy job for everybody except their own damn greedy selves.

from yesterday -

. . Among the high level casualties resulting from the announcements are RBS chief executive Steve Goodwin, who will be replaced by Stephen Hester, currently chief executive of British Land. The bank said that Goodwin will not be receiving any severance payment.

link

Senator Mukasey’s a jerk. All his does is bend over & spread his cheek’s for his donors.

chuckie doesn’t want to impose any type of salary cap on his hedge fund buddies. he’s only looking out for his pals.

Blanche Lincoln devolves into a puddle of cliches.

my memory is a little fuzzy – where did Schumer stand on the Dick Grasso burlesque ??

O/t (epu’d) -

Jim Bamford, author of The Shadow Factory, on Democracy Now (for most of the hour, iiheardc).

If the CEOs won’t take help then that’s a clear reason to fire them. With no severence.

Breach of fiducary duties. Couldn’t be clearer.

I don’t remember either. I’ll see if I can find it.

My disdain for Schumer knows no bounds. I don’t care what party he is from. He sold us out on Mukasey and he is selling us out now.

Hey, eCAHN, does New York have a recall process you folks can start against him? I’d be happy to feed the fund if someone started a serious effort.

He has been a wart on the ass of progress for far too long.

Schumer is looking for the British model. From the Guardian:

Bosses pay the price as taxpayer moves in

Five bank bosses are paying the price for the £500bn taxpayer bail-out, which looks likely to leave the government with major stakes in Royal Bank of Scotland and the combined Lloyds TSB-HBOS.

But the taxpayer was immediately facing up to losses of around £1.5bn on the proposed investments after share price falls in the banks yesterday. There was speculation about sweeping changes to bank boardrooms in the months ahead as the government attempts to wield its influence over the ailing industry.

Dramatic changes to the way RBS is run were signalled by the departure of Sir Fred Goodwin, chief executive for nine years. He refused to take any personal blame for the unprecedented £20bn investment needed in the Edinburgh-based bank, but was “sad” at his departure. He is “waiving” his entitlement to a £1.2m payout.

[snip]

A series of coordinated announcements were made yesterday after tough meetings that had gone on into the early hours of the morning. Officials from the Treasury and the Financial Services Authority extracted terms for the fund raising from the four most troubled banks – HBOS, RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. The banks also promised not to pay bonuses this year, and pay next year’s bonuses in shares.

Other execs at RBS and the others are also out, with little or no parachutes.

Thanks Ian. Schumer’s comments are un!@#$%^&believeable.

A better question is why the bank CEO’s are even allowed to keep their jobs.

digg

I am so tired of greed. At a certain point sanity should kick in for most people and they’d know, “Ok, this is more than enough accumulated for the rest of my life.” After that, you blog….

“We’re supposed to give banks a 250 billion dollar capital infusion at far worse terms than Buffett got when he bought shares,…..”

Let’s make an issue of this. Is there any reason taxpayers should get any less favorable a purchase than Buffet?

Schumer makes me ill. He’s a senator from NY! WTF? Where is Hillary on this?

Ask yourself what the rethugs would do if the banks were owned by liberals.

O/T: Just got a great email from VoteVets with their late-breaking endorsement of Jim Martin against Saxby Chambliss. Hope he can win it; this endorsement should help a lot.

No good article to link to but google summaries say that Schumer supporter Grasso. WANS (we are not surprised).

Schumer will be in office forever. No one can compete with him for funding and he’s doing all he can to make sure that continues.

Really. They can resign if they don’t like it.

God we need better Democrats than Schumer!

If they need the government – us – to come in and bail them out, then they’re not capable of running a business and they shouldn’t be paid as if they were even competent at it, never mind the inflated salaries (and perks) that they think they deserve.

Schumer is full of it, and if I were in NY, I wouldn’t vote for him for anything more important than dogcatcher.

See my 19. The essence of the corruption of D party at the top.

It seems like these bankers believe that they can still play the game of heads I win, tails you lose. I would love to find that they are wrong.

I need seed money for a new start up…Guillotine Manufacturing Inc.

The current direct cash injections into banks both here and abroad will shore up the financial system temporarily. Inter-bank lending should loosen up somewhat. But what I can not stress enough is that none of the underlying problems whether it be the housing market and distressed homeowners, or re-regulation of the financial system, or revaluing bank assets and determining solvency, or what to do about derivatives, both CDOs and more importantly CDSs.

In light of these things, executive compensation is a minor issue, but it is a sensitive barometer of how serious the government and politicians are in addressing the underlying problems. What Schumer is saying is that those who visited this incomparable disaster upon us should not only not be punished but that their excessive rate of reward should continue. What this tells me is that Schumer like Paulson are invested in keeping the current crap game going no matter what it costs the country or the rest of us.

Are you aware that the guillotine was introduced as a more humane form of capital punishment? Guaranteed a swift execution, as opposed to hanging that took time & didn’t always work.

Gosh, Ian, I seem to recall you saying yesterday that a bump up in the Dow is not that unusual during an overall downward correction. And whaddaya know? We’re in negative territory again today. Thanks for all the explanations you’ve provided us through this awful experience.

FWIW, I just called Chucky’s DC office and no one picked up. I’m afraid this is a trial balloon to see just how much Democrats can avoid performing robust oversight and forcing transparency.

Schumer’s “sweet and sour,” is colassaly tone deaf. If he was trying to hand liberals/progressives a perfect sound byte to leave the Vichy Democratic party, he did a helluva job.

yeah. I looked it up as well. fyi – Grasso gave $1000 to Friends of Schumer in the last Primary -

Campaign contribution limits for individuals in New York are about $16,200 for the Democratic primary and $33,900 for the general election

oh yeah, didn’t even have to buy him dinner beforehand :D

Bullseye!!!!

Thank you.

I’m going to copy that into emails I send to Chuckie, Harry, Nancy, Steny, and the rest.

Many said the same thing about Traitor Joe Lieberman.

I am now. Capital invention..capital idea!

I thought about saying that Schumer could join Leiberman in a party of 2. But the diff is that there is no one who is willing to challenge Schumer. Maybe a new true blue D from upstate who are entering the house will gin up a challenge in a couple of years. Keeping eyes open but no candidates yet.

Who else wants to read a Hugh Oxdown on this?

*raising hand here in Elliott Town*

imo, there are just trying to see how far they can push it. whatever addington has been smoking – he’s not the only one.

can’t type w both hands in the air – otherwise i’d be voting twice.

senate ag hearing – black:

this is not the perfect storm. a lot more things could have gone wrong and will unless we clean this up.

This AgCom testimony is the clearest thing I’ve heard on the derivatives problem.

Schumer will be in office forever. No one can compete with him for funding and he’s doing all he can to make sure that continues.

that leaves him free to play point on what the party leadership wants. more of a symptom than the root cause of the problem

agree. very good hearing.

Annemarie Lucas for senator!

So any thoughts on how to stop the Wall St. stranglehold on DC?

40 was supposed to be a reply to PJEvans @21.

Let’s take a lesson from Warren Buffet. If anyone knows his investment strategy, he finds companies that look to be a good deal. He buys enough shares that he can then replace he board with honest oversight, and he limits the outlandish pay CEOs would typically receive. Then he makes a profit. We should do the same thing. Schumer’s off on this – bless his Wall Street soul that he’s sold to the devil – but he’s off on this. Obama has the better idea.

Schumer is beyond help. He votes with the bribe. I wonder why?

Black: Fraud centered on inflating the appraisal and non-owner-occupied houses

two interviews with greenberger on fresh air this year, and this american life a couple weeks ago were also very good. especially for folks who don’t want to listen to a hearing. have posted links, will do so again later today when i’m not trying to multi-task.

OT listening to the testimony of Richard Lindsay, it’s easy to see how Bears Stearns ended all but belly-up.

member of the International Association of Financial Engineer aka Engineers For Financial Disaster, Inc.

Actually, I’d say Schumer will find himself challenged by Obama, who’s repeatedly brought up CEO pay, and the need for limits in a bailout.

And on top of that (or because of that) he’s a pompous a**hole.

If they’re such selfish bastards they’d rather their companies went bankrupt than take a cut in pay, they deserve to go. And if their companies don’t need the money, well hey, that’s fine too.

Well Schumy leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth. spit.

Great smackdown, Ian. Thanks for all your attention and work on this.

According to the former head of the GAO, the national debt BEFORE the current crisis (including all of the off-balance sheet debt) is $480,000 per household. Let me repeat, $480,000 per household. Now, lets add $700 billion here, $900 billion there, a trillion for Iraq, and then were getting somewhere.

If the interest rate were 0%, it would cost each household $1200/month for 30 years to pay it off. If the interest rate were 5%, the monthly payment would be around $2700.

Something is broken and I think the stock market is just a barometer of our ability to hide the problem.

Well, this could be true. Real estate developers have been known to buy and trade each other’s stuff at ridiculous appraisals. So they should know. Jerks.

all of them take lots of v committed people (willing to go to prison, willing to face police violence wo responding in kind) and with more courage than i have at the moment.

If they don’t want the help in exchange for a pay cut, then they clearly don’t need the help anyway. Right? So let them go off on their own, sink or swim.

Take the money and take a cut in compensation (they will STILL be filthy rich) or don’t take the money and see if you can make it on your own. Simple.

any chance of schumey getting primaried ever? this would be a good chance to do it.

Someone probably watches w-a-y too much Animal Planet

Yeah. Shorter Schumy: Banker egos won’t allow a pay cut.

insert violin music here.

As for Schumer, he should shut his trap. He’s one of the people responsible for the weak executive compensation language in the bill. Stronger language could easily have been put in, it wouldn’t have caused one Democrat or one Republican to vote against the bill. He’s a flaming hypocrite and he’s well aware of it.

Chuck Schumer is representing his real constituency, as he was when he foisted Mukasey on the nation. It is time for him to be replaced by a real democrat.

I like that expression “getting primaried”

So-and-so, s/he “got primaried”
sweet!

Schumer’s not up until 10, by which point this will be old news. Also, see my 19 and 33.

“Are you aware that the guillotine was introduced as a more humane form of capital punishment? Guaranteed a swift execution, as opposed to hanging that took time & didn’t always work.”

I got pulled up short by a hall monitor the other day for suggesting the french solution. I’m glad of it, I think we need to keep ourselves clear of any violent feelings—-that’s the nutter way, let them do it.

Obama lights the way in this regard.

Or the other way around. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Thanks Ian, for, as usual, saying it better than I could. Schumer is my Senator and I just passed on these sentiments for both of us.

“Primary” is an adjective that got nouned and has subsequently been verbed.

There is nothing wrong with the “French Solution”: shorter work week, universal health care, practically required and plentiful vacation time. What’s NOT to like about the French Solution?

It takes a long view. Multiple election cycles will be required to return us to a true representive government. If we ever had one in the first place.

Oooh. A new euphemism: “credit events.” H/t Pickel, head of Intl Swaps & Derivatives Assn.

Lisa Derrick over at the Campaign Silo!
Gossip Girl Stars Blake Lively and Penn Badgley Go for Obama

Sorry to be OT.

Collins-Tom Allen “debate” is supposed to stream online at noon…let’s see if it works!

Of course, _PPH_ already endorsed the complicit twerp.

Go, Tom!

Schumer and the Clintons representing New York. Is Palin a non-sequitor? When the New York Senators set the bar so low anything is possible.

Guilty as charged.

think that was johnathan short (ICE GC)?

sorta kinda like, without the adjectivity, getting “clotheslined”

Nothing at all wrong with that. I do the same. One of the better channels, and Animal Precinct/Police/etc among the better shows available

The thing not to like about the French Solution is the difficulty that employers have with firing employees. Demand for products fluctuates, and employers have to be able to modify their labor force to adapt to the current demand.

I can’t believe this. I hope Obama comes down hard on Schumer. If the current CEO’s who fucked things up won’t take the money, their boards should replace them with someone who will. Talk about entitlement!

I see from the NYT that there are a lot of sad faces amongst the banking community in London right now. They live for their bonuses. Have to sell that fancy estate in Surrey, and get a cheaper nanny. Boo hoo.

Schumer ripped the veil that separates the American people from the gang that actually run this country (into the ground).

oh, jebus. lugar is now using the argument that was used over a decade ago to justify legislating that cftc would not be allowed (by congress) to regulate the otc derivatives in any way.

Thanks for this post Ian. Nationalize! For the good of everyone.

arugument is that we can’t regulate because then all the crooks won’t trade in the usa.

Ian, another in your most-thoughtful series delineating the continuing crumbling of the magnicent ediface/house of cards known and loathed (or loved) as the “American Economy, Latter 20th Century – 21st Century,Unhinged Greed Phase.”

Until we see the economy being “rebuilt”, from the bottom, upwards, building strong “fundamentals”, as it were, including the realization that actually “producing” wealth IS the basis of evry viable “economy”, and, that, in an ostensible “demcracy”, wealth must always “trickle” upwards, rising to the self-styled “top”, only when it is merited, by dint of actual “contribution”, rather than coerced by naked greed and a heedless lust for power, the most destructive of all “drugs”; until our society is sufficiently “educated”, by events, if not intent, then we shall continue to witness the Political Class behave as if “things” were designed for themselves and their moneyed master’s benefit …

The “mechanism” for “change” will (simply) have to come from the people.

Few of the current Political Class will weather the coming storm, in power, unless they are willing to make use of certain very repressive, as well as extremely risky, “measures”.

As yet, there is no hint of “action” coming from either the Political Class, or the Money Masters which suggest that reason and wisdom are about to blossom in a thousand places …

Interesting times, Ian, more so by the day …

DW

Bit of good news to share with all those who asked via comments last night and e- mails … demi and family are safe. They evacuated yesterday, early morning from the fires. They might be able to go back home tonight.

oh damn. do not trust ICE to do this.

have none of these folks been paying attention to the dark markets for trading crude oil?

many thanks for the update petrocelli. demi has been in our thoughts.

(((demi)))

hope you’re homw all ready.

Well, there you go. The “French Solution” with a few modest adjustments…so long as there is protection on worker salary vs CEO pay, we’re golden.

Susan Collins presently lying her head off.

http://www.wmtw.com/video/17710476/index.html

Chew her up, Tom!

Here’s Charles Schumer, from his 1999 press release lauding Gramm-Leach-Bliley, which paved the way to today’s toxic deregulatory environment:

From Glass-Steagall to Gramm-Leach, from the Great Depression to the Golden Age, from isolationists to internationalists, from underdogs to champions, this bill, in my opinion, Mr. President, is an American success story for our economy, for our financial institutions, for our communities and consumers and for my state of New York. And I was proud to have played a role with so many others in ensuring its passage.

Note also that in 1982, as a congressman, Schumer co-sponsored (with Steny Hoyer) the Garn-St. Germain Act, which deregulated the S&L’s and set the stage for that earlier scandal.

I’ve always found it puzzingly (OK, not so much) and infuriating that Schumer has paid no discernible price for repeatedly and gleefully marching taxpayers to the precipice of ruin.

I recently saw a photo of someone picketing Wall Street with a sign that read:

JUMP, YOU FUCKERS!

I mean puzzling. Feh, where’s the Edit button?

oh that’s great! i’d love include it in my time line – do you have a link?

We are getting testimony from the sharks, i.e. the CME and ICE. They can take care of this CDS mess, no prob. I agree about Lugar. He throws out the fear that if CDSs aren’t traded here they will be traded overseas and our markets will lose out. Two things: the US could still regulate the CDS exposure of companies dealing in US markets. The other is that I have to wonder if there really is a country that really would allow such dubious instruments be traded. One of these guys said that it would likely go to the UK but I doubt that the UK would actually allow it to given the current meltdown. IOW this is all hooey.

In that regard, this 2004 screed from Grover Norquist is a howler in light of todays circumstances: http://www.washingtonmonthly.c…..quist.html

Christy upstairs!
Do Something: Tell McCain/Palin To Stop The Dangerous Divisiveness

Chucky boy is sitting pretty. He knows he can be in the Senate as long as he wants and I am sure he is covered front to back on everything.

Sad thing is what a stooge he is on some really critical matters.

God I hope there is a Dem super majority so we can see if the Dems really care about moving us into the future.

Of course Humpty is on the floor smashed to bits and all thats left is eggshells since the yolk was stolen long ago. Yokes on us & leveraged 50x. Hell these folks took how many Billion in BONUSES over the last few years.

Please, I read up on Paulson as well and what he did to “earn” his 700 million or so.

the amazing thing to me is that this is the exact argument that was used in the 90s – and one of the people how used it was lugar, who was the main sponsor of bill in 1999 that prevented regulation of otc financial derivatives.

does he not remember?

or does he think no one else will, or will go look at the record?

i’m going to pull a good lugar quote from the 90s with one from today. amazing. we are governed by idiots.

….it rolled on the floor.
I lost my poor meatball…….

Don’t make my spit my meatball again wigwam. Bah ha ha.

No more pay increases for ANY Congress creatures AND force them to live under whatever healthcare plan they try to subject US to.

From your link on Schumer – man of the people:

I first want to thank Chairman Gramm and Senator Sarbanes, Chairman Leach, Representative LaFalce, and all of my colleagues who worked so long and hard on this legislation,” Mr. Schumer began, “Mr. President, this is a historic moment. We’ve been working towards it for 18 years … the future of America’s dominance as the financial center of the world is at stake. This bill is vital for the future of our country.”

What is the over under on dollar collapse talk? Before or after the election/21-JAN/after the fact?

Per Senator Shumer:

“Mr. President, this is a historic moment. We’ve been working towards it for 18 years … the future of America’s dominance as the financial center of the world is at stake. This bill is vital for the future of our country.”

Exactly! It was the culmination of the every Reaganoid’s dream. And a Democrat was delivering the valedictory.

Ian! Thanks much for shining a laser light on this nonsense.

Didn’t the Brits start the turnaround? I thot I saw hints that they were allowing the golden parachutes to proceed as usual also. It’s just crazy! The Brit. gummint takes over the banks and can’t manage to control enough to put a stopper in the drain. WHY?!

“Greed is good.”

Noooooooooooo! It will always exist, but greed must NOT be allowed to rule as in the past. NO! NO! NO!

Sorry. Not shouting at you. The ones among the filthyrich who don’t care a whit about anything except filling their own pockets. Not all the rich. Just the ones crazed with unlimited greed. THOSE drive me nuts!

They will destroy this planet if allowed to continue running amok.

Wake up Schumer. I think your pants are on fire. Your gyroscope is busted. Your head’s in the sand. Your heart and brain? I have not a clue.

Interesting if the numbers are even remotely close.

The real underlying problem here is none of what is being discussed. Correct me if I am wrong, but we do not have enough tree’s (or anything else other than theoretical growth) to cut down and print money to pay our debt (as people, companies that are vapor assets anyway, government). Likely not even enough to pay our debt interest.

What is the basis to build it back up – manufacture is gone, we have used up most of our resources advantage from the early days of the country (we have some good soil that is slowly going away, good water in some areas). As people lose their jobs and homes it just gets worse.

The big banks have a handful of trillion dollars and their magic makes that out to be 100’s of trillions.

I think gobal financial collapse (with a few minor points of order) is what they are going for as best case. Otherwise relativly speaking we will be the biggest losers (trying to close that gap).

I supose its possible to stop after all there are an awful lot of people running around doing stuff – would seem stupid to ruin all that (but again we are talking Humpty here). I would like to think that our leaders are willing to say and do what it takes, also that we take voting and civics seriously (wanna have a beer with Palin and do some shootin – then vote for her).

Anyway the “econ” is based on what 80% consumer so tell me again how printing money to do anything is going to help (even if its targeted at “those in need” – we are the ones “paying” for it anyway and that is either a loan or inflated money). Allow deeply debted people to keep spending and keep the music going while there are no chairs left?

Anyway obviously not very clear what I have written so I will need to work on that – BUT WHERE IS THE MONEY! If its all vapor money (or good and stolen) how does printing more vapor money do anything othe than have another bubble for a little bit. Where is the growth going to come from (lets say green energy, what else…perhaps military)?

Anything that uses inflation might bring some folks down with us since the “risk” is spread around – but it also garuntees that they will choose to dump the dollar at some point.

Selise

Getting rusty. Meant to include the link, although I see others found it. Oddly, the document is undated and the senator’s web site doesn’t seem to link to it directly from its press release archives. However, the bill was passed in 1999, so it’s safe to assume that’s when the statement was made.

How about “Mini-Me” Kashkari? Suddenly, we’ve had a “bailout czar” and we didn’t know it! Of course, like Paulson, he’s bald and worked for Goldman-Sachs. “Mini-Me”!!! Or Colonel Clink, take your pick!!! Really, it’s not funny, though…

“Pick two” (3 stooges – Bush/Paulson/Bernanke; Kashkari is “shemp”)

Sadly, none of this is funny. I just use bizarre humor and denial to get thru it…..

The purpose of the Justice System is to Deter, Punish and Protect.

I’m up for some of this. Through the Justice system. I want is as long draw out and emotionally painful as possible for the perpetrators.

thank you!

To reprise the Claude Raines line, “I’m shocked, shocked”. What on earth did you expect from seriously greedy bastards? The middle and lower classes have been victimized for years as LBO’s turn corporations into chop shops, selling off this and that, going for economies of scale with the little people getting fired and the movers and shakers accumulating billions. They’re not going to see the errors of their ways and stop it voluntarily. The question, which is not being discussed is what can WE do about it? Obama is a step in the right direction, but the system is broken. I’m not sure he, or any of the liberals we mean to elect, are of a mind to fix it.

Having nearly half citizenship in NY (where my fiancee lives), the politics here still gives me shivers, carpetbagger Hillary and Wall Street Senator Schumer. You gotta realize NY gets a lot of tax money from Wall Street but it still smells.

While reading about the Keating Five and S and L crisis a little known US Representative Chuck Schumer pushed for the blaming of the crisis on a few notably relatively innocent Senators for deregulation’s effects. Fellow Democrats took the fall for Reagan (and Wall Street Schumer’s) deregulation of the Savings and Loans. Liberal Icons like Alan Cranston and John Glenn? Only Republican McCain had any money involved in Charles Keating’s affairs and that was his wife’s 300+K real estate investment. The House decided to not go after Teflon Reagan and instead make an example of a few Senators who only were trying to help One Savings and Loan…(not the whole bunch of them including the one that the Clinton’s were only marginally involved in…and in that case Schumer didn’t defend the Clinton’s much either). Of course Schumer wanted to deflect attention from Reagan/Schumer’s deregulation agenda.

Schumer though is known to have an prefect 1600 SAT….maybe he fooled the testers then too? Bright? You betcha!