Scott Ott, editor of ScrappleFace.com, is also columnist for The Washington DC Examiner. Here’s an excerpt from his latest column, and a link to read more. You can access his other DC Examiner columns, or view PDF versions of the street edition of the paper, any time by clicking the ‘Columns‘ link at the top of the ScrappleFace homepage.
Barney Frank bill would revoke bailouts, reward competence
By Scott Ott, DC Examiner Columnist
News fairly unbalanced. We report. You decipher.
Just a day after Rep. Barney Frank excoriated federal bailout recipient AIG for “rewarding incompetence” by paying out $165 million in bonuses to its executives in a year when the insurance giant nearly collapsed, the Massachusetts Democrat introduced a bill rescinding all bailouts for failing firms or for homeowners in foreclosure.
READ THE REST AT DCExaminer.com…
11 responses so far ↓
1 camojack // Mar 17, 2009 at 6:49 am
What’s the reward for incontinence?
2 boberinyetagain // Mar 17, 2009 at 7:15 am
What a concept!
If only…
Good to see you getting (hopefully) paid for your brilliance Mr. Ott!
Too bad this isn’t brilliant…it should have been what was happening all along
3 Fred Sinclair // Mar 17, 2009 at 7:55 am
Wow! What a fun time!!!
If Barney Frank (and now NYC’s Mayor Bloomberg) so much as touch those bonus monies which were earned and for which the recipients have valid, legal contracts. The total of $165M, according to Rush, yesterday is less than 1/10th of 1% of the bailout money (the majority, 94B - went to foreign banks). A.I.G. was simply a center distribution point.
The lawsuits by the employees who earned those bonus monies (by meeting certain contractually stipulated goals) will certainly end up with them winning. Perhaps even larger amounts than the bonus itself!
Barney Frank and Mayor Bloomberg would be well advised to listen to Rush (fat chance) and back away from the bonus controversy at a very high rate of speed. But Being liberal Democrats they’ll manage to step in it - regardless of sound advice. This is going to be a fun show to watch.
4 Fred Sinclair // Mar 17, 2009 at 8:07 am
B.O. thinks there’s no problem with the Constitution and spending other people’s money.
Media Research Center may have the answer?
“Over a chorus of gleeful Irish pub-goers literally singing Barack
Obama’s praises, NBC’s Al Roker, broadcasting live from Ireland on Monday’s Today show, explored the current president’s Irish roots as he observed: “As St. Patrick’s Day approaches in Moneygall the townsfolk join in the chorus, determined to keep hope alive.”
gall = bold, impudent behavior
Perhaps that’s it! B.O.’s heritage may be the key. Moneygall, Ireland - gall, re: money
impudent = not showing due respect for another person or persons; impertinent, obtrusive.
impertinent = These adjectives mean ‘exceeding the bounds ofpropriety’; the easiest way to distinguish impertinent from the others is to think of its root: impertinent behavior is not pertinent—in other words, it is out of place. The impertinent person has a tendency to be rude or presumptuous toward those who are entitled to deference or respect.
obtrusive = The obtrusive person has a tendency to thrust himself into a position where he is conspicuous and apt to do more harm than good.
A relatively accurate word picture of B.O. and his “Administration”.
5 JamesonLewis3rd // Mar 17, 2009 at 8:48 am
The assumption of the moral/ethical high-ground by this proudly perverse pimp is enough to make me puke.
6 Hawkeye // Mar 17, 2009 at 9:08 am
Another great article as usual Scott. I want to see perp walks too.
7 gafisher // Mar 17, 2009 at 9:57 am
Fred Re#3, the whole mess is a minefield. It appears that those contractually-assured bonuses are being paid for the bad deals which sunk AIG. According to some (conservative) financial experts, the bonus payments were tied not to profitability but to the gross value of transactions which proved to be very unprofitable.
Nevertheless, the money is owed; it’s too late to change the rules now.
8 gafisher // Mar 17, 2009 at 11:01 am
The tragic irony of this story is that problems like the AIG “Bonus” controversy can be traced to the Obama Administration’s “rush to failure” in demanding fast-track passage of the Bailout Bill without giving the Congress and the public even a day to review it. Had the Administration possessed the confidence and wisdom to give the Bill time for a proper vetting, gaping loopholes like this would probably have been caught; if not, at least responsibility for missing them would have gone beyond Obama and a few close advisers.
It seems clearer by the day that the voters placed too much confidence in “on the job training” and elected an incompetent Chief Executive. Unfortunately, renegotiating that decision would be even tougher than redoing AIG’s contracts.
9 upnorthlurkin // Mar 17, 2009 at 11:48 am
Camo asked,
What’s the reward for incontinence?
I guess that Depends.
(ducking and running….nyuck, nyuck.)
10 onlineanalyst // Mar 17, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Barney Frank is the face of outrageous.
Hey, Barney, remember that in addition to your pointing finger (to distract the economically illiterate), there are three fingers pointing back to you.
11 onlineanalyst // Mar 17, 2009 at 7:32 pm
UNL: You can run, but you can’t hide.
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