They cooked the books, lied to Congress and betrayed the public trust. Should they get to walk away with millions in ill-gotten gains? The Traditional Values Coalition is making it easy for you to let Congress know what you think about those Clinton administration brainiacs who decided that fleecing the public was part of their job description.
Let Congress Know How Mad You Are
About Corrupt Executives
Demand They Return Those Bonuses!
Corrupt executives and Wall Street financiers have made a mess of the mortgage business and many have escaped with multi-million dollar bonuses
"There is a lot of talk on Wall Street and Capitol Hill about a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout but little talk of recouping the outrageous "performance bonuses" paid to the very executives who engineered this disaster.
A good example is Franklin Raines, former head of Fannie Mae, who recently settled a case with the U.S. government over his alleged involvement in overstating profits to the tune of more than $6 billion. Raines, who received total compensation of more than $91.1 million between 1998 and 2004, is keeping virtually all of that money! He will likely ride out the coming financial storm at his luxury vacation home in Bermuda while the rest of America struggles to pay their winter heating bills and fill up their gas tanks.
According to the U.S. Census, the median household income last year was $50,233.00. But according to Bloomberg News, the five biggest Wall Street firms - the same entities that created this mess - in 2007 paid out $38 BILLION in bonuses, for an average of $201,500 per employee or four times the median income - and this is the BONUS we're talking about, not their salaries and other perks.
Some examples:
- Lehman Brothers Chairman and CEO Richard Fuld Jr. received $34 million. Lehman recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
- AIG chief executive, Martin Sullivan, received $14 million in compensation. Sullivan was fired last June and AIG recently received an $85 billion taxpayer-funded bailout.
We at Traditional Values Coalition want to know, "Where is the outrage? Why aren't these executives being hauled before Congress and the courts to explain themselves, to repay their bonuses BEFORE we're asked to pay our taxes?
- Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain received $17 million. Bank of America is acquiring Merrill Lynch at a sizeable discount.
While the American taxpayer may not have billions in bonus money, we do have one thing going for us: A very nervous Congress facing reelection. NOW is the time to sound off to tell your lawmakers how you feel about this outrage.
Please CLICK HERE to sound off and demand that Congress examine every bonus, and where unethical behavior/fraud is discovered, make sure that the money is returned to offset at least some of what is being asked of each of us. Remember, it's YOUR money they're talking about."
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