Moonwolf's Lair

All this talk of bailing out financial institutions is an insult to every one of us.

When mortgages started crashing, the Government refused to help homeowners at first, then gave them a paltry amount that in no way could stem the tide.

Companies have been going down, and the Government has done nothing to help them, because the stock market is supposed to be a gamble, and the companies lost.

But now, we’re supposed to accept the Government will happily fork over $700 billion to a handful of select companies, whilst at the same time taking over some of the biggest ones out there?

What

The

Fuck??

Let’s be honest here – the Government stuck its head in the sand for months, refusing to accept there was a problem.  Any bailout now is too little, too late.

So why are they doing it?

My opinion?  The money will go towards shoring up the salaries of the upper executives of those companies, to pay their share options and salaries and golden parachutes.

The money will not go towards saving those companies, only delaying the inevitable until after the elections.  Another short term hope to distract the voters.

We should not allow this to happen.  We should not have to cover the losses of executives who screwed up so badly they got into this situation, and we should not permit the government to try to hide its culpability in this mess by trying to give the appearance of action.

The only way any bailout can be acceptable is if the following conditions are applied:

• No executive or employee of the companies involved can be permitted to draw a salary of greater than $100,000 per year for the next 4 years (until the next election).
• No executive or employee can be awarded or may vest stock or share options in the companies involved for the next 4 years (until the next election).
• No executive or employee can exercise a “Golden Parachute” clause of any sort if they leave the company within the next 4 years (until the next election).
• Every company involved which has moved its staffing or operations of any sort to a foreign country (off-shoring) must be required to return those operations and staffing to US shores – call centers, support, manufacturing, whatever – within the next 12 months.
• The Government should be given a 33% stake of ownership (true ownership) in the companies involved, the dividends or other profits that accrue to the Government as a result must be invested 100% into the Social Security fund.
• No member of Government may be allowed to own, even through a blind system, any shares, stocks, or have any interests personally or corporately in any of the companies involved.

These companies are in a mess because of their own irresponsibility, and because the Government refused to accept there was a problem because it would “look bad” for so long.  Any bailout must take that into consideration, and not be yet another method by which the rich get to remain immune from responsibility.

Those companies have contributed to the crisis by their practices, including moving US jobs overseas.  Whilst people in India are getting work and money, US citizens, who will be paying for this bailout via their taxes, are subsidizing the citizens of another nation.  That is unacceptable.

The executives cannot be permitted to keep their extravagant salaries and lifestyle with subsidization by the taxpayer, they must be restricted and prevebnted from profiting from this.

The government must start trying to save the Social Security fund.  Becoming part-owners of these companies that are begging for Government help will benefit the taxpayers in the long term.

Without the safeguards listed above, as well as those people who are wiser financially than I can come up with, this bailout is nothing more than theft of taxpayer money to fatten the wallets of executives who don’t care about US citizens.

If Congress does this, it needs to be replaced.  It won’t have served us, they’ll simply be accessories to massive fraud and working solely for those who have the money – our money!

Enough already!  If these companies want help, make them help those of us who are paying to help them, by returning jobs to the US and stop making personal fortunes to our detriment!