Dodd admits Administration pushed for language protecting bonuses

(CNN) -- Senate Banking committee Chairman Christopher Dodd told CNN Wednesday that he was responsible for language added to the federal stimulus bill to make sure that already-existing contracts for bonuses at companies receiving federal bailout money were honored.

Dodd acknowledged his role in the change after a Treasury Department official told CNN the administration pushed for the language.
www.cnn.com...

He just admitted this today. This is what he said yesterday....

On Tuesday, Dodd denied to CNN that he had anything to do with adding the language, which has been used by officials at bailed-out insurance giant AIG to justify paying millions of dollars in bonuses to executives after receiving federal money.

The only CHANGE I'm seeing is the amount of time it takes for the government to put it's foot so far in it's mouth it can scratch it's arse with it's toe. With Bush it took a year or two. Is there going to be a breaking point, at all?

Things are moving so fast today, now Obama is taking the blame. It seems like they are trying to bombard our attention spans into overload so we can't focus on anything....

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Obama said Wednesday he'll "take responsibility" for AIG executives receiving controversial bonuses while the company took in $173 billion in government bailouts.

"We didn't draft these contracts. We've got a lot on our plate. But it is appropriate when you're in charge to make sure stuff doesn't happen like this," Obama told a town hall meeting in Costa Mesa, California. "So we're going to do everything that we can to fix it."

Obama's comments came just more than an hour after Sen. Christopher Dodd, the Senate banking committee chairman, told CNN that he was responsible for language added to the federal stimulus bill to make sure that already-existing contracts for bonuses at companies receiving federal bailout money were honored.
www.cnn.com...

Bush choked on a pretzel, Obama choked on fake outrage.

This isn't really a surprise seeing as Obama and Dodd are both at the top of the list for AIG political contributions with Dodd receiving about $103,000 and Obama getting about $101,000.

All of this means nothing really, it's designed to divert attention from the fact that most of the money AIG received went right out of the country and the bonuses amount to around 1% of the money given to AIG from our pockets.

Yup I certainly am not surprised they altered the language to include the protection. I am however surprised they actually manned up and said it was their fault.

Not a very smart political move if they are already showing alliance to big business such as this.

Ohh well I guess poor Obama will have enough on his plate, once this scandal boils over I am sure there will be the fact that all that money went overseas.

I'm not a finance professional or anything but it seems to be that American tax payers just payed for the peace of mind of Europeans. Sounds a little wrong if you ask me.

~Keeper

Originally posted by Shadowflux
All of this means nothing really, it's designed to divert attention from the fact that most of the money AIG received went right out of the country and the bonuses amount to around 1% of the money given to AIG from our pockets.

I agree. The bonuses are a drop in the bucket and this whole thing goes much deeper, I just enjoy pointing out glaring hypocrisy from our corrupt government. The main thing that struck me, was that Dodd said on the record just yesterday, that he had nothing to do with the language allowing the bonuses to stand. Now he comes out and admits he did, just one day later. He lied, outright, yet he still has a job.

reply to post by 27jd


I honestly believe that the real world does not apply to these people. I don't think it ever did.

I have to wonder where the Senate Ethics Committee is in all of this. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) is the Chair of the committee and one of my Senators, Johnny Isakson (R-GA) is the Vice Chair. Where are these people? Where are their counterparts in the House?

Get these SOBs out of office!!! It's pretty obvious that their constituents aren't going to vote them out, so someone needs to do something.

Bonuses are a populist sideshow that is distracting from what IMHO is the real issue. The counterparties that were paid by AIG on the Lehman CDS got 90 Billion which makes the bonuses look like a drop in the bucket. The frims that have gotten over 90Billion in CDS payouts since the first AIG bailout include Goldman Sachs, Barclays, and Duetsche Bank just off the top of my head with most of the 90 billion going to firms in Europe. That is one of the biggest issues there is in my eyes. Basically the US taxpayer just bailed many large western banks (Goldman was the only US firm I saw listed as a counterparty but there is probably more )via AIG. So to you Europeans on this board you may once again thank the US taxpayer for his generosity.

I agree that it is obscene to give any bonus in a company that will most likely cost the US taxpayer trillions of dollars in cost + interest, but the fact that a majority of the money given to AIG went to European banks really pisses me off and I think everyone should raise hell about it.

[edit on 18-3-2009 by jefwane]

I seem to remember there being a revolution over our tax money going overseas instead of staying here and helping us. Too bad it didn't stick, I guess buying your own senator for less then the cost of a house in my state is the best investment you can make these days.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
I am however surprised they actually manned up and said it was their fault.

Don't be. His admission of guilt, just like his outrage is completely fake. This is classic good cop, bad cop routine. Bush told us all to screw ourselves when we complained while his administration robbed us for his buddies. Obama is now playing humble, and outraged because we are complaining while his administration robs us for his buddies.

Originally posted by Shadowflux
I seem to remember there being a revolution over our tax money going overseas instead of staying here and helping us. Too bad it didn't stick, I guess buying your own senator for less then the cost of a house in my state is the best investment you can make these days.

No joke. Remember how outraged the government pretended to be when Blagojevic got caught telling the truth, turns out a senate seat is a "f-ing valuable thing".