A Humble Suggestion
Like most sentient beings, I'm pretty much outraged by the news that Merrill Lynch handed out $4 - $5 billion in "bonuses" last month, knowing full well that the funds would ultimately come out of taxpayers' pockets. The only reason Merrill was being bought out by BofA is that it had failed.
My humble suggestion, which I sent to Barney Frank via email, is that Congress pass a tax provision for tax year 2008, setting the tax rate on bonuses paid by companies receiving TARP funds or being bought by companies receiving TARP funds, at 100%.
This would not only recoup the money, but we would also undoubtedly see the spectacle of at least a few Republicans in congress and their media mouthpieces railing against the confiscatory tax rate on stolen taxpayer money.
Like I said, I emailed Barney Frank, even though I'm not a constituent and that's a no-no (I did apologize at the end of the email for my deception). It probably wouldn't hurt if Barney heard the same idea from some folks who actually reside in his district, and it might be even better if other Democratic reps got the same suggestion.
Brilliant answer to anyone who got bonuses that way!
January 26, 2009 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Humble suggestion. Send the idea to the White House website.
January 26, 2009 1:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ditto TheraP. Of course email your own representative.
You are tongue in cheek. This is a bold suggestion.
Rooted in the reality of the circumstance.
Good, good post and good idea!!!
January 26, 2009 3:57 PM | Reply | Permalink
Barney the pervert is almost singlehandedly responsible for the bank failures.
January 26, 2009 8:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Wow, you must be really impressed by him.
January 26, 2009 8:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
Barney the Pervert? You mean Barney the gay Congressman?
I don't think being gay is perversion. I guess if you consider sodomy "perversion" then his might fall into that category. Have you ever engaged in sodomy? If so, that makes you a pervert too and almost 100% of sexually active Americans would fall into that category regardless of sexual preference. You really should be ashamed of that comment.
January 26, 2009 11:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
Uhhhh,,,,
I don't wish to belabor the point, but the crucial difference I believe we're looking at here is 'homosexual sodomy' which is inclusive of all homosexual behavior. Homosexual acts are roundly condemned as abominable in the holy scriptures by no less an authority than God.
Nice stab at stirring up the facts then picking out the ones which make your case.
January 27, 2009 10:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Uh...God didn't write the Constitution, and he doesn't dictate the law with regard to who gets equal rights.
You certainly have a right to be a bigoted A-hole, but understand that it's a personal choice, not a commandment from God. Given that God didn't think homosexuality was a big enough deal to include it on his top ten list of sins, given that nowhere in the bible does it state that God thinks homosexuality is a worse sin than any other, and given that Christ said "love thy neighbor", not "love thy neighbor - unless he's a fag," the scriptural and theological ground upon which you stand is a lot less firm than you (or whatever bigoted pastor fed you this crap) would like to believe. In fact, you're probably more in danger of violating the "judge not lest ye be judged" clause and ending up in the Lake O' Fire as a result than the average homosexual is. Remember, according to the beliefs YOU claim to subscribe to, all sin is forgiven by those who ask forgiveness. So if a gay man on his deathbed asks sincerely for Christ's forgiveness, he'll receive it and go to heaven, regardless of how many times he's taken, or given, it up the ass. Meanwhile, you'll be guilty of having judged - and punished - someone who God has forgiven. And usurping God's position as the arbiter of who is worthy of salvation - well, that's gotta be WAY up there on the list of things that will send you rocketing to hell. Hope you like things warm.
January 27, 2009 11:35 AM | Reply | Permalink
The scriptures say we should stone those who commit adultery. Wanna throw the first stone?
Your condemnation of gay sex because an old book written by human beings in ancient times is silly and a complete abdication of common sense not to mention free will. God gave you a brain so use it! Gay sodomy is no more or less condemned in the Bible or in our present day law than is heterosexual sodomy which I'd wager you're guilty of. And if you're not guilty of it, then I feel sorry for you. Lay off the man's sexual orientation. It's irellevant and simply exposes you as a bigot. And the Bible is no defense at all for bigotry of any kind. Jesus said there is only one unforgivable sin and that is not to believe in God. You should be ashamed of yourself if you really claim to follow the Bible.
January 27, 2009 3:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
I have a conundrum: All of my retirement is at Merrill, and I really like the woman who handles it. She has given me very good advice, and she is obviously not in the same league as this dolt. But I want to make a statement to Merrill.
I have no idea in the world how to manage my own retirement, and I truly think that one company is as bad as the next. I guess I should be glad that I didn't give that creep, Maddov any money. If I found out that Merrill had done that I would take my money and put it under my mattress (which if I had done about 2 years ago I would be richer now).
Anyhoo -- what a mess!
January 26, 2009 8:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Barney Frank is largely responsible for forcing banks to issue the loans which busted them. Simply from a Christian morals standpoint, rep frank is unfit to serve.
January 26, 2009 8:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm not sure if you're just woefully un- or mis-informed, or downright crazy. For right now, I'm going with "woefully misinformed". Unless you can explain how a man who was a member of the minority party from 1995 - 2007 was able to "force" anyone to do anything and was able to wield solitary power over a banking meltdown that was building steam from 2002 - 2007, while Representative Frank's colleagues in the majority party did...nothing to slow or stop it.
January 26, 2009 9:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
No problem Jenn,
Allied with the power inherent in AG Reno's job, Frank and his ilk threated banks with reservations about making loans to the homeless and jobless with crippling undue government interference in their operations.
It worked famously. The shiftless and triffling were moving into homes exponentially more expensive than they could afford in their wildest dreams. All was OK as long as real estate prices continued to rise.
When property values in erstwhile decent neighborhoods moved into by these trashy people fell through the floor, the trash found themselves upside down in their mortgages. They did what trash always does. They simply quit paying their bills!!!! I hope this explanation was simple enough.
January 27, 2009 10:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
That would be a cogent explanation, if not for the fact that a)inflation of values in the housing market didn't really take off until 2002-2003, long after Janet Reno had left her post as AG, so it's hard to figure out what impact she could have had on it, b) neither Reno nor Frank could "lean on" private lending institutions, who were the ones that made 85% of the sub-prime loans and 100% of the "liar" loans and interest-only loans, c)the average age of a mortgage in foreclosure in 2008 was 2 - 3 years, meaning that all those loans were made in years where neither Barney Frank nor Janet Reno had control of anything, d)no one ever pressured anyone to lend to the "homeless and unemployed", i.e., that is a lie and e) it's pretty obvious that your entire idea of what happened is shaped more by bigotry than by, you know, actual facts, which of course, is the simplest explanation of all. What flavor is that koolaid you've been drinking?
January 27, 2009 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
Poor Jenn, Jenn, Jenn
"Really take off" is a bit subjective. Fact of the matter is real estate values have been rising since the end of the last bust.
Sure Reno had left office, with her policies in place. The time lag you describe is easy to explain. To put it simply, if you take poison, say, you don't get sick the moment it passes your lips.
Private lending institutions not regulated? Hah!! Ask the smallest time pawn broker.
You know Jenn, I thought you might get through a post without a personal insult. But no, you just had to throw out Bigot before you ended it.
January 27, 2009 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
You call people "trash" and then complain because someone acknowledges your bigotry?
January 27, 2009 10:49 AM | Reply | Permalink
I did not understand the term 'trash' to be a bigoted term. It is used by the very most genteel of folks here to describe the lazy, shiftless, and trifling.
If you find the term 'trash' bigoted, what would you suggest as a politically correct term for the lazy, shiftless, and trifling?
January 27, 2009 11:10 AM | Reply | Permalink
How do you know that a person who has lost their home is lazy, shiftless, and trifling? If you had an ounce of empathy you might make an effort to figure it out. But that would threaten your sense of superiority.
Here's an example:
The only reason that George Bush was not a homeless person is because he was born into wealth. Everything that he did he managed to ruin and was always bailed out. If he had been on his own he would have either gone to prison for his many DUI's, or gone to Vietnam and suffered the fate of many. If he had made it home he would have failed at everything he tried but without daddy to bail him out, he probably would have ended up on the street. Now, he is an example of a lazy, shiftless, and trifling loser who got away with it.
I would venture to say that there are opposites: people whose family situations kept them from getting the education they needed, or health concerns that ruined family budgets, or other things. How many people would you call "trash?" Everyone who is not successful?
I don't want to change your terminology. Keep calling them trash. It reflects more on you than it does on them. There is a word for you also.
It is ignorant.
January 27, 2009 9:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
No response? I'm no surprised
January 28, 2009 12:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
A) Reno's "policies"? Apparently you're not even smart enough to realize that Attorneys General do not write policy; Congress does. B) If you don't like being called a bigot, stop saying bigoted things. C)Private lending instutitions were largely de-regulated by your pal Phil Gramm. You know, the guy who called all the people who have lost homes and jobs "a bunch of whiners". There's this thing called "google"; you could use it to become better informed rather than falling back on your bigoted shibboleths. Using google, we find that no federally backed institutions (Freddie, Fannie)made ANY loans without proof of income or to unemployed persons, or interest-only loans - because they ARE regulated and all of these factors make a default more likely. The unregulated private lenders went hog-wild in all of these areas, while the Republican congress and president ignored it.
Sorry if that doesn't fit your "it's the fault of black and poor people!!!!" narrative, but stupid, nasty, and bigoted is no way to go through life.
January 27, 2009 11:03 AM | Reply | Permalink
Renaye, spric, whatever you choose to call yourself today, your bigotry is irrefutable. You're not even mildly amusing, and too much energy has been spent here at TPM feeding your trollish ways. I'm sure you are not who you represent yourself to be, but are some invention of your underdeveloped sense of yourself seeking attention through controversy. Get a life.
January 28, 2009 1:25 AM | Reply | Permalink
With all due respect renaye, that's simply not true.
Barney Frank is one of the most intelligent, competent and capable members of the United States Congress. I met him more than 30 years ago when he was my state representative and have followed his career closely. He is no more responsible for "forcing" the banks or any other institution into making bad loans than you or I are. The banks and other greedy financial institutions made those bad decisions all on their own thank you very much. They weren't "forced" in any way by any person or government agency at all. Repeating a right-wing fib (otehrwise known as an outright lie) is not a productive contribution to any discussion of issues and only keeps people confused and misinformed.
January 26, 2009 10:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oleeb,
With all due respect you're simply wrong. Not about Frank being able and competent, he's likely the most effective demagogic socialist in congress.
But answering reservations from the repubs the free house program would eventually cause collapse in the financial industry, Frank accused them of insensitivity to 'the poor', and proclaimed Freddie and Fannie solvent and sound.
You've got to place blame where it's due.
January 27, 2009 10:24 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you're going to place blame where it's due, it goes to the party that had control and could pass legislation to stop bad lending practices. I notice you give them a pass in favor of hammering on the queer.
What any of this has to do with an idea of how to recover from the Wall Street pals of your favorite party stealing billions of dollars from us that we gave them to bail their asses out of the mess they created is anyone's guess; I think I'll go with "garden-variety bigotry and partisanship" as to the reason why you would feel the need clutter up this thread with your horseshit.
January 27, 2009 10:28 AM | Reply | Permalink
Jenn honey,
They're all thieves. The entire lot of them.
How?,, in the hell?,, do you think they manage to just walk through the halls of power and come out millionaires?? Almost all of them who spend more than a single term.
It hasn't really been that long ago, in dog years.
When Sam Rayburn (dem-Tx.) speaker of the house for years died, his net worth was about $16,000. Now we haven't had anyone like that in a long, long time, now have we?
January 27, 2009 10:54 AM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, so it's ok that the Republicans reached into your pocket and extracted $10,000 (low-end estimate of YOUR cost on the mortgage meltdown) because "oh well, they're ALL crooks." Well, gee then, we might as well just stop enforcing the law at all or prosecuting criminals, because EVERYONE does something wrong every now and again.
Few people are so dimwitted that they'd say, "oh well, that's ok" and shrug their shoulders about being ripped off for 10 grand or more, but I guess that's the price of loyalty to today's GOP.
January 27, 2009 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
As a registered democrat, I find it absurd you would accuse me of loyalty to the GOP.
As far as prosecution, I advocate prosecuting all thieves. Those outside government, but most vigorously, those inside government.
Why do you wish prosecutions selected solely on the basis of party affiliation?? Sounds hypocritical as hell to me.
January 27, 2009 11:15 AM | Reply | Permalink
Yes, a fag-bashing registered Democrat, who looks for opportunities to excuse lawlessness on the part of the GOP? Sure, whatever.
January 27, 2009 11:40 AM | Reply | Permalink
OK, Renae. Whom did you vote for in November? You say you are a Democrat. Did you vote for Barack Obama?
Or are you a Limbaugh dittohead? That is more believable.
Yeah. You did what Rush told you to do. Registered so you could throw the Primaries off. Stating that you are a registered Democrat only makes you look more disengenuous. We are not stupid here. Who cares what you claim to be registered as -- you are misanthropic, unpleasant, and ignorant person.
Frankly, the knowledge that you most likely voted for McCain/Palin is reassuring. Hateful people like you is why they lost. But keep it up. Knock yourself out. You are just as much a gift to us as George Bush was to Osama Bin Ladin.
January 28, 2009 12:39 AM | Reply | Permalink
You're full of it. The program to which you refer was and remains highly successful and is not in any way responsible even for a little bit of the mortgage crisis. It's pure and unadulterated BS: a total and complete lie that you are repeating... quite irresponsibly I might add.
January 27, 2009 2:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Barney Frank is largely responsible for forcing banks to issue the loans which busted them.
Actually, the big push to relax lending standards in order to get more uncreditworthy Hispanics into mortgages they couldn't afford was done by Bush and Rove. He bought off a sizeable percentage of the Hispanic vote (but not as large as the media would have yu believe) in the 2004 elections by pushing for reduced down payment reuirements and lower standards in order to get more Latinos into houses.
And let's not forget the Federal Reserve, the source of almost all monetary evil, which is the single entity most responsible for both the dot-com bubble and the housing bubble, by expanding credit and the money supply to inflate the prices.
January 27, 2009 1:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you believe you're aiming your commentary at someone you think would ever defend Bush's part in the financial collapse, you're just wrong.
January 27, 2009 11:00 AM | Reply | Permalink
I guess that explains why you blame it all on Barney Frank and poor black and brown "trash".
January 27, 2009 11:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
MAN!!!!,,
What an impressive leap across the sea of reality!!!
I understand where you're coming from though. Faith in socialist dogma requires a high degree of fantasy.
January 27, 2009 11:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
While clearly, rank stupidity requires no effort at all. And here you are.
January 27, 2009 11:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent suggestion, but what about charging them interest on top of taking the money back? A sort of "user fee" like they might have charged any of their customers ya know?
January 26, 2009 10:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
Now that sounds like a communism. I am not saying that you are a communism. But that sounds like a communism
January 26, 2009 10:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sounds good to me then DD!
January 27, 2009 1:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
We can't fix it until we restore the gold standard.
Ron Paul in 2012!
January 27, 2009 1:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Whew!!,,,
I was unaware technology had advanced to the point wireless was available as far out as Jupiter!!!
January 27, 2009 11:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
Great idea Jenn! I don't know what the legality of writing a retroactive tax code is, but I'm writing my congressman/senators.
January 27, 2009 3:01 AM | Reply | Permalink
Writing retroactive tax code is actually quite common. It's how we all got a $600 tax rebate stimulus check last year. There was a lot of retroactive tax code written after 9/11 as well, among the provisions being one that allowed businesses to "carryback" losses for 5 years rather than the usual 2 or 3. I'm not sure about this one, but I believe a lot of the Reagan tax code changes were also retroactive - the parts which allowed us peons to write off medical expenses and credit card interest.
January 27, 2009 9:55 AM | Reply | Permalink
Excellent idea, Jenn.
I've been saying the exact same thing to anyone who would listen. As far as I can tell, there is no reason why we cannot do this.
January 29, 2009 10:58 PM | Reply | Permalink