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166 Comments
- Havoc67, on 04/01/2009, -17/+59This is where the outrage should be. The entire congress is laughing at the working Americans as we fall for their smoke and mirror tricks with the GM and Bank executives while they vote themselves raises, spend large amounts on their expenses and vote themselves raises. THIS HAS GOT TO STOP !!
- cptshamrock, on 04/01/2009, -10/+47The hypocrisy of the US government knows no bounds.
- CaptCarrot, on 04/01/2009, -9/+41Naturally, these aides should give the money back. It's not like they earned those bonuses, but rather lucked into their positions. Of course, their bosses are likely drafting measures now to retroactively tax those bonuses at a higher, punitive rate.
- duggitt4u, on 04/01/2009, -6/+35Easy to give it away when you're dealing with other peoples' money.
- tinkerthinker, on 04/01/2009, -6/+35Are these the aides who read all the bills for the senators and representatives? I say kick out the congressmen and let the aides take their jobs! This is a total outrage!
Here is how to stop it: fire them all!
http://www.kickthemallout.com/ - PuterPrsn, on 04/01/2009, -9/+36But ... but ... but that's DIFFERENT!
quote from any congresscritter of your choice - coondoggie, on 04/01/2009, -10/+36Is this an april fools joke?
- inactive, on 04/01/2009, -6/+31
This is what happens when you give government employees a "Use it or Lose it" budget. They, not the taxpayers, get the choice of whether it should be spent or not. All of you who have ever been in the government's employ know EXACTLY what happens when the deadline to spend it is getting close. More waste of taxpayer dollars! Happens all the way down to the USDA postage funds at your local county extension office. Yes, you pay for that too! - tasine, on 04/01/2009, -6/+27I don't know anyone who works in highly responsible jobs or dangerous jobs who has ever received even as much as a $500.00 bonus. None of the people I refer to makes a big salary. But those people provide the money with which to "reward" congress' gofers this amount of money. Some people think we are stupid for decrying this outrage. Those have to be people who either make much much more than the rest of us - OR - are also on the dole.
- daze144, on 04/02/2009, -9/+28HEY GUYS!
MATH IS FUN!!!
LETS DO SOME MATH :D
9,100,000/2000 = $4550 Per person average = 4.55 percent bonus @ 100,000/yr
There is nothing ridiculous about a 4.5 percent bonus.
How can you say that they did not earn that?
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
Thank you, and have an awesome day! - LatticeProject, on 04/01/2009, -8/+22Go figure. It's very easy for our government to demand sacrifices from us when they aren't accountable to us whatsoever, especially with our own money.
Vote Libertarian 2010. - CaptCarrot, on 04/01/2009, -2/+16Frank's spokesperson says that aides are "paid pretty low."
That's a pretty poor admission to make about how you pay your staff. - bluto36, on 04/01/2009, -4/+17ok so you are fine with the great job congress has done and you also think that bonus incentives for the staffers in congress will drive higher performance in congress?
wow good thing your the smart one.
so again you are just fine with bonuses to congress staffers for the Great job congress has done? are you crying about the AIG money or not? are you consistent or not? - bluto36, on 04/01/2009, -8/+20and your point is? this is tax payer money that we don't have. if it is good enough for Private entities that take public money then it should be good enough for Public entities that take public money.
or are you ok with some people being more equal than others - Yeeeech, on 04/01/2009, -6/+18Paying bonuses with money we do not have since we have been spent into a black hole of debt. I thought the new bill, introduced yesterday said that any employee which is benefitted by taxpayer money does not get a bonus unless it is set by Geithner.
Write Representative Alan Grayson and tell him to back off micro-managing bonuses for private employees...he is the author of the bill.
alangrayson@graysonforcongress.com - alpinecow, on 04/02/2009, -7/+19Outrage? $9.1 million split 2,000 ways is $4,550; after tax (because yes, bonuses are taxable), that's about $3,400 per aid. Doesn't sound too ridiculous to me...
- oakley7247, on 04/02/2009, -3/+15@alpinecow Except that by the loudmouth politician's own guidelines: bonuses should only be given for performance. And by that metric, do politicians or their aides really deserve bonuses?
Most Americans still don't get it. Politicians want everyone to live by their rules/regulations/standards...except for themselves. They truly believe they are better than the people they serve. - rocketman42, on 04/02/2009, -4/+15I thought it was pretty hypocritical when the congressman insisted on certain CEOs working for $1, but then gave themselves raises because they did such a great job. This just continues the cycle.
- RuffRidr, on 04/01/2009, -6/+17The only joke is on the American voters that thought things would change.
- jdago, on 04/01/2009, -7/+17GOD HELP US. when is this greed going to stop? this is why were in the mess were in. this madness has to stop. i want the real AMERICA back . a government that serves the people not themselves.
- migtex1234, on 04/01/2009, -7/+16HO HO...CONGRESS SAID TO TAXPAYERS -" SC__ YOU! WE WILL CONTINUE TO IGNORE CITIZENS & FORCE THEM TO OUR WILL. WE WILL NOT CUT BACK ON OUR LIFESTYLE." "WE DO NOT WANT YOUR INPUT""" WE ARE THE ELITE!
- chatttownlyn, on 04/02/2009, -5/+14Quoting: "....Disbursement forms show that dozens of aides working for the Financial Services Committee got a bonus from panel Chairman Barney Frank. Spokesman Steven Adamske said the Massachusetts Democrat gives bonuses to staffers because "government workers are pretty low paid." He said several aides who got bonuses had worked long hours during 2008..."
That's probably not all they got from Bawney. Government workers are paid "so low" yeah right. They get more time off in a year than most people, great insurance, and a decent salary. Guess it is low, though to Brney, who make a VERY nice salary, and gets an automatic increase every year. What a freakin bunch of hypocrites. They need to return these bonuses, just like they are forcing others to do.
TEABAGS TO ALL who partook of this. And STOP the stupid spend it or lose it plan, how wasteful is that?!! - sillywampa, on 04/02/2009, -4/+12math? 9,100,000 / 2,000 = 4,550 per person. if it's over 2,000 that # becomes even smaller. That's actually not a lot to get upset about. It's not like a CEO making $20M/yr. got a $2M bonus. Those aides mostly work long hours to support the politicians they work for. I wouldn't begrudge them a bonus of $5k. I'd be interested to see hard numbers about the salaries of the people who got bonuses.
- norml2000, on 04/02/2009, -5/+13Come on people I hate the big bonuses that are going to these corporate and wall street ***** too, but 9.1 million to 2000 people is a lot different than 9.1 million to 2 or 3 people.
I work very hard for a privately owned company and I received a bonus of 5% of my salary which ended up being 1700 dollars, that extra cash was really helpful for my family. - imric, on 04/01/2009, -26/+34My GOD (most of) you guys are stupid. That's an average of about $4550 dollars. These bonuses are not rewards for doing a bad job; nor are they contractually stipulated.
- EdCenter, on 04/02/2009, -1/+8The media and people in general have become very irrational when it comes to bonuses or any form of compensation that's in six figures. It's like a goddamn witch-hunt, people are trying (real f'ing hard) to find reasons to be mad at someone. Classic cases are this and the story a few weeks ago about how the head of USPS was "earning" over $800k "twice what the President made!" And people would jump on this without bother reading that the $800k included security detail and benefits.
DIGG has turned into that angry mob Jon Stewart made fun of in the congressional grilling of Libby (they wanted to be mad at Libby, but the AIG bonuses were not his fault). - pilgrim3970, on 04/02/2009, -0/+7Ah you misunderstand my fellow digger, this doesn't apply to government types (for reference see the string of folks who have been cheating on their taxes including our Mr. Geithner).
- ubenjammin2, on 04/02/2009, -2/+9I understand how any law that allows a gov't body to just give away any money that is from a surplus is just stupid.
However, what the hell is up with this media vendetta against anyone who gets a bonus? Yes we are in a recession, but is there some new rule that no one should get a bonus during a recession? - dienaked, on 04/02/2009, -4/+11This is like when Exxon sets 'record' profits, but they only manage 6% margins.
Nobody cares, it's just a sensational headline. - atlanta911, on 04/02/2009, -2/+8I hate how much we pay lawmakers as much as anybody, but paying Congress a ***** wage is just a quick way to get corrupt representatives.
[Edit] "to get MORE corrupt representatives" - ratherstupid, on 04/02/2009, -4/+10I understand the outrage at public funding for bonuses in excess of $700,000 to people who destroyed a company, but this headline should read more:
"Large amount of aides that are paid using tax dollars receive modest bonuses (under $5,000) using tax dollars -- public goes insane." Hypocrisy and more tonight at 11. - mrteleprompter, on 04/02/2009, -3/+9Tax them 90%.
- butterpat, on 04/02/2009, -3/+9The bonuses aren't huge for a typical lawyer - in this case, averaging about $4500 per person. That's a far cry from some of the bonuses we've heard of recently!
- WalkerTXclocker, on 04/02/2009, -1/+6Key word - "privately".
A private company that is getting my money by me choosing to buy their products and/or services is very different from the government which takes my money whether i think it is fair or not. - madtechnologist, on 04/02/2009, -0/+5Oh no, it's Bush's fault. Anything that happens is Bush's fault, remember?
- pilgrim3970, on 04/02/2009, -1/+6So this really isn't about whose getting paid bonuses with the taxpayer's money but because they got a bigger bonus than you? Where I come from, we call that envy.
- Unreal030, on 04/02/2009, -0/+5Don't confuse the people that want limited government with the nutjobs that want none. It's a necessary evil but it should be a limited evil.
- Unreal030, on 04/02/2009, -0/+4I could care less how educated they have to be. Working in federal government as a lawmaker or for that matter their helpers does not mean you deserve to or should be paid well. It is supposed to be a n honorary service position, not one you take for a nice salary. If they want to make money with their education and knowledge they should go into the private law industry, not into government. The fact that all of these clowns are getting paid so much with tax payer money is what caused a large part of the corruption problem and the founding fathers warned us exactly of this.
- Unreal030, on 04/02/2009, -1/+5Well the money that AIG paid out was a rediculously small fraction of the overall funds too. Merryl Lynch paid over double that out and I am not seeing much complaint about that.
Are you for or against inappropriate use of tax payer money? You need to make up your mind. You cannot have it both ways. If you excuse one you excuse the other, or is this "different" because the lawmaker's aides don't have exorbitant amounts of money that they earned through the walstreet system? give me a break. The anti-bank movement is class warfare in sheep's clothing and very few people have the cajones to admit it.
Now even the AIG employees of whom received some of those bonuses (by contractual agreement) that were in successful sections of the company that had zero to do with the "bad" assets and "bad" management are afraid to walk out of their building without getting yelled at by citizens with protest signs. - pilgrim3970, on 04/02/2009, -3/+7That's only because it isn't a bank
- williepepper, on 04/02/2009, -8/+12Give it back.
That's my tax money, Comrade Bojangles! - h8f8kes, on 04/02/2009, -2/+6While I agree in principle that bonuses for cost savings is a good idea; as a "shareholder", I do not agree bonuses should be paid until we start seeing balanced budgets and the economy recover. If my representatives and their aides really wanted to earn my respect they would forgo all pay and salary to fix the big ass mess they created. This kind of reckless spending is what the tea parties are all about IMHO.
- pilgrim3970, on 04/02/2009, -1/+5where is ACORN when you need them!!
- RuffRidr, on 04/02/2009, -2/+6It's not that bonuses are evil. It's that the bonuses are not deserved. Do you think anyone in Congress or working for someone in Congress deserves a bonus right now?? Really? Where I work you get a bonus when the company is doing well financially, not when you've ran the country into the ground.
- pilgrim3970, on 04/02/2009, -5/+9As they say, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. It is YOU who is painfully stupid.
In the case of the bank execs, for right or wrong, it WAS contractual and therefore legally binding (right or wrong, I am amazed that more people can't get this simple fact). The only way the banks could have gotten out from underneath that was to renegotiate those contracts. However, thanks to their bought and paid for buddies in congress, that wasn't necessary thanks to a loophole placed in the legislation. Had this been paid by bank execs, I am sure you'd be singing a different tune and calling for someone to be burned at the stake.
With these aides, there was no such legally binding contract therefore they need not have been paid. Especially since the government is spending money so fast the ink on the money has barely time enough to dry.
This being said, I left with the suspicion that you are congressional troll here to defend why it is ok for you to get your bonus, which is not legally owed to you but it isn't ok for bonuses to get paid to those to whom it was legally owed. - oakley7247, on 04/02/2009, -3/+7Rewards for a bad job? Are you serious? What job has the government done to deserve bonuses?
Is it really fair to award themselves bonuses when they can't even run a balanced budget? - inactive, on 04/02/2009, -1/+5It's called "stimulus."
- mrteleprompter, on 04/02/2009, -0/+4But does it make it right?
- Vaiper, on 04/02/2009, -2/+6I'm getting to the point that I would be more surprised if they WEREN'T doing something stupid with money.
- inactive, on 04/02/2009, -1/+5There's nothing wrong with bonuses if they are given based on pre-set criteria that is documented.
The type of bonuses in this article are ripe for corruption as they are at the sole discretion of the congressman.
In other words, "Suzy gets an extra $1000 for a 'job' well done. Wink" -
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