Without gov’t money, these companies would have gone belly up. Had that happened, the compensation would have received would have been $0.

Is it possible for nobody to take that job and for some subordinate position to start taking on that responsibility?

I am betting that suddenly execs won’t want to pay their underlings so much anymore, bringing about big wage deflation to the entire organization.

They will want very badly to repay TARP. If under this burden, a bank still does not repay TARP it must be in horrible shape.

So many banks have avoided realizing their losses by just refusing to deal with borrowers who have defaulted on their mortgages a long time ago. They are gradually becoming insolvent as more borrowers go delinquent, but they are not realizing these losses. They are doing nothing, because any action on the loan will force a write-down. That makes the profit of the present entirely fictitious, exceeded by unrealized losses which are mounting.

It is appropriate that they are earning much less. Every penny they earn falls in the category of what Galbraith called the ‘bezzle’ since the insolvency of these banks is not appreciated yet.

AIG didn’t get $180B in taxpayer assistance, their counterparties (like Goldman) did. The shareholders of AIG were forced to accept this deal, with the government paying off their creditors in exchange for 80% ownership. If the government didn’t pay off those claims, the counterparties would have had to negotiate with AIG, and would most likely have ended up with less than they recevied from the government, and AIG shareholders would have retained more equity in their company.

Now the people working at the divisions that remain with AIG are effectively government employees, and probably shouldn’t get any bonuses, because the government only gives out medals to employees who screw up, not bonuses.

We do not let you be a loser!
Your mistakes will be rewarded handsomely.

When you bought a clunker that you should not have, we give you $4,500.
When you bought a mansion that you cannot afford, we’re going to bail you out.
When you bought any inefficient appliance or anything, we’ll pay you no matter how old they are.

When you lost your job, we extend your benefit.

When you do not have saving, we give you free health care.
When you have saving or a job, we take away your health care.

Teenagers, the more babies you have, the more benefits you have.
Drunk drivers, no one will prosecute you as the entire jury and even the judge are drunk.
Old ladies, your driver’s license is also a license to kill.
Black kids, special pass to go to college and jobs.
Prisoners, you will get the flu shots first and free dental care.
Fatsos, do not worry as our up-coming drugs will melt all your fat while you sleep.

All athletes are rewarded with millions for taking drugs.
We voice loudly and disapprovingly on foreign athletes doing same.
It is an America invention!

When you cheated billions, you can retire in a resort-like ‘prison’.
Also, the billions your wife hid is hers – no questions asked.

No other developed country lets their citizens own guns.
NRA and his puppet politicians will give you millions of funny ‘reasons’.

When your company fails, we bail it out.
The executives are rewarded with bailout money for bringing down a company.

You die penniless, we give you $500.
You die with millions, we share your wealth.

The small catch.
We need you to re-elect us in 4 years.

The children cannot vote today, so let’s pass our debts to them.
China does not have a voice here, so let’s pass all the blames to them.

Even the entire world agree with us.
Our president is awarded the Nobel prize for doing nothing for peace, so why you need to work hard?

The Goldman takeover is nearing completion.

JPM, Goldman, and ALL banks receiving AIG/TARP money need to be included.

This is farce masquerading as force.