The CEO’s of Citgroup, Bank of America, and JP Morgan have all chimed in on the recent action to curtail bonuses at companies that are operating with tax payer funds.
Vikram Pandit, Citigroup CEO
Vikram Pandit (CEO, Citigroup) and Ken Lewis (CEO, Bank of America) issued memos to their employees today stating that the recent bill passed by Congress will make it hard for them to ‘retain their talent‘.
I am very tired of hearing about bonuses being needed in order to retain their employees. The CEO’s of these institutions are living in a world that is far removed
Ken Lewis, Bank of America CEO
from ‘Main Street USA’. They continue to operate with funding provided by the U.S. tax payers, they have contributed to the mess this nation is now in, and yet they continue to feel they are worthy of outrageous bonuses.
Under normal circumstances these CEO’s and their employees are free to make as much money as they want. But, when they are responsible for contributing to the financial chaos we are now facing and they require tax payer money in order to keep alive then there is a ‘line in the sand’ that must be respected. And these CEO’s and financial institutions keep crossing the ‘ethical’ line in the sand.
Vikram Pandit writes in his employee memo:
[...]The work we have all done to try to stabilize the financial system and to get this economy moving again would be significantly set back if we lose our talented people because Congress imposes a special tax on financial services employees.[...]
Ken Lewis writes:
[...]I am concerned about our ability to retain some of out most valuable employees. None of you (employees) deserve to have even more compensation taken away[...]
Cry me a river… if the employees don’t like the base salary they receive, which is already very healthy, then let them walk. Let them stand in line with their fellow Americans at the unemployment lines who they helped to put there in the first place.
Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO
Jamie Dimon CEO, JP Morgan reassured his top 200 staff members that he “was actively engaging Washington on the matter“. Hey there Jamie.. must be nice to have friends in such high places of the Government that allow you to ‘actively engage’ them for your benefit. Ask the Americans on the unemployment lines how they feel about your bonuses.
The arrogance of these CEO’s is beyond any form of measurement. If these companies cannot operate without tax payer funds being injected into them then the only answer is for them to be left to their own devices. And if that means failure then so be it.
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chuck… are these guys, like, from some parallel universe or something? arnie
i really want those glasses that, when you put them on, it reveals the nature of the person you’re looking at. i just know i would be looking at a itty, bitty alien-like creature.
This smells of the same scare tactics that had us invade iraq looking for weapons of mass destruction. JP Morgan just received 12 billion I believe of US tax payer dollars via AIG! Have they looked at the most recent unemployment numbers and where they are projected to rise to? What planet are these supposed wizards of finance from? Enough of this crap, no further taxpayer bailouts, let them live with the deals that they made. They can use attorneys and civil actions as countrywide and AIG are currently doing to figure out who wronged who. My question is how do we mobilize american citizenry to say enough is enough to our elected officials.
This issue speaks volumes about the people and groups involved.
These people have made millions over the years and now seem afraid, fearful of losing a bonus. Are these the same people that will look you in the eye and say “I don’t do it for the money, I do it because I love the work”?
Now we are closer to the truth.