more bail out blues

First, I really want to believe that Obama will be the answer so many of us had prayed for. Perhaps many of my statements are interpreted as being anti Obama... I am happy Bush(its) term is over! But I am an individual and make my mind up on that basis rather than being a cheerleader for one party or the next!

With all that being said a few facts that have come out recently have driven me nuts:

Obama was the largest recipient of "donations" from guess which company:

a) AIG
b) AIG
c) AIG

That's right he got over 104,000 dollars from them. They donated a total of 600,000. Guess who was number two, just a few dollars less than Obama... the answer Dodd from Connecticut. Very interesting considering recent mainstream news stories...

Out of the 600,000 given out by AIG, most were given after they got the initial TARP funds... meaning that even Obama got a bonus. Guess which party did put a clause in stimulus monies that did NOT want to stop multi million dollar bonuses? If you said the Democrats than you are correct. Guess which party knew two months ago about the bonuses and tried to cover up that fact... if you said Democrats again than you won. Why should millionaire executives get shielding from our Government when everyday laborers have to get their contracts revised to cut their pay?

I am not a fan of autoworkers and their contracts but this is crap. The allegations that are coming out by the minute are unbelievable. I am trying to keep up to date on the interrelatedness of all these current scandals... from Madoff to AIG. They are so connected. The winners.. the rich and elite... the losers - poor indebt folks like me.

I truly wish and hope that someday in my lifetime that we as a people will retake control of OUR government. Obama is doing many wonderful things and I support and encourage him in that. But we need to write letters and protest the inequities that govern most of our lives... let's all unite as humans, Americans and demand equal rights and justice for all!!!

Holbrooke Served on AIG Board

Meanwhile, a top Obama administration official is coming under scrutiny for his ties to AIG. Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan, served on AIG’s board from 2001 until early last year. Holbrooke is believed to have collected up to $800,000 during his AIG stint.

and...

AIG Sues for Return of $300M in Taxes

As AIG faces the loss of its bonuses, it’s quietly filed a lawsuit to recoup more than $300 million in what it says are overpaid taxes. The company says it overpaid the government in charges for using offshore tax havens. The suit effectively means AIG is using US taxpayer money to sue its majority owner, the US taxpayer. The government owns an 80 percent stake in AIG following its $170 billion bailout.

and...

Probe: Bailout Firms Owe $220M in Taxes

In other bailout news, a congressional probe has found the top thirteen firms to receive bailout money owe more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes. Congress member John Lewis of Georgia, the chair of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, says two of the companies owe more than $100 million apiece. The review only looked at the top twenty-three bailout recipients, leaving open the possibility of further owed taxes from nearly 450 remaining companies. The inspector general overseeing the federal bailout says he will investigate whether recipient companies misled Congress on their tax obligations.

Citigroup to Spend $10M on Exec Offices

The bailed-out financial giant Citigroup, meanwhile, is coming under scrutiny for a $10 million plan to build new offices for top executives. Citigroup has received $45 billion under the taxpayer-funded bailout.