Rep. Alan Grayson Vs. Cavuto: "A Stuck Pig Squeals Loudly"

Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) is taking some heat for his bill to ban bonuses and excessive compensation for any employee at any firm benefiting from government bailout dollars. In an interview Tuesday on the Fox Business Network, Grayson was grilled by a fired-up Neil Cavuto, who called the congressman "Sweden in a suit"and said "the Constitution never gave you the damn authority of telling anyone what they should make."

In an interview with the Huffington Post, Grayson blows off the criticism.

"A stuck pig squeals loudly," the congressman says. "I'm going after some of the biggest crooks in the country and they're fighting back through people like Neil Cavuto."

Grayson's bill, the Pay for Performance Act, passed the House yesterday. He argued in an op-ed on the Huffington Post Wednesday that the bill would put an end to "theft" on Wall Street, "which is apparently the only place in the world where you can steal from the taxpayers and then bill them for services rendered."

Cavuto criticized the measure by saying essentially that it would give Treasury department bureaucrats the authority to arbitrarily set compensation at private companies, and he criticized Grayson for not offering a range of what would be acceptable or unacceptable compensation.

Grayson is flabbergasted by Cavuto's beef.

"These are government owned banks. Is anybody upset that some bureaucrat sets compensation for people who work in the State Department or the Department of Transportation? Why are they complaining when we're trying to put some kind of break on this vomiting of taxpayer money?"

The Chamber of Commerce dislikes the bill as well, saying in a Tuesday letter to House members that the legislation would discourage participation in the recently announced Public-Private Partnership Program, would "foster uncertainty in business dealings" because it would abrogate previously-established contracts, and that compensation limits "would make it difficult for companies to retain much needed talent."

Grayson dismisses the Chamber's arguments, saying to the Huffington Post that the bill wouldn't apply to participants in the Treasury's toxic assets program, noted that "there's all sorts of crimes that are committed under cover of contract," and said he wasn't persuaded by the employee retention argument.

"I wish they would take their talent and practice their talent in Russia or China and bankrupt them instead of us."

Watch Grayson versus Cavuto:

Comments

[lightningbolt]

These are not private companies. They are owned by the government and the owner of a company does have the right to set employee salaries. It also has the power to fire incompetent employees (which it is not doing) and the power to prosecute criminals (which it is not doing either).

[PhilipTaylor]

Must See!

The SCAMS of the Banksters. This investigator of the Savings&Loan Scandal wrote a book on this Banking Crisis:

William K. Black said on Bill Moyers (paraphrase), "The reason the Executives have not been fired is that would SHOW LIGHT on the Corruption and the entire Banking System will be exposed!"

So they keep the scope of the Crime under cover because they think Americans could stand the TRUTH!

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/profile.html

[outtaluck]

I have a number for Cavuto, it's located on everyone's middle finger.

[Osusuki]

I am not a Republican , and I don't have a degree in economics or managerial accounting, but since the people who do have those degrees just finished helping the conservative wing of the Republican Party run what used to be a fairly prosperous country into the ground, I think I have a right to believe that what they should just. shut. up. and let people who don't suffer from their delusions fix things.

One of those delusions is that stimulus spending, or 90 percent of all other targeted spending coming out of Washington, is "pork." Another is that anyone ever created a job by giving some rich swine a tax break. A third is that "big government" is always bad. A forth is that any establishment can be "too big to fail" without being "too private for government control." A fifth is that "market forces" by themselves are a self-governing economic engine that will always return to a stable state without external regulation, and without undue damage to the citizenry.

The events of the past year have absolutely proven that these are all delusions. Hold them in fond regard all you want, but anyone who seriously believes in them anymore is nuttier than rat droppings in a pistachio warehouse. Unfortunately, hundreds of them are also elected representatives. Thank God Alan Grayson is not among that number!

[bannorhill]

What a hypocrite!!!

Grayson claims he is trying to save tax payer money but he supported 8,000 items of pork in the stimulus package and another 9,000 in the new budget. Over 17,000 pork programs and did not try to save one cent of tax payer money in any of them.

[Perseus]

Oh, poor bankers have to actually do something that's demonstrably useful instead of ignoring risk management fundamentals and acting superior to everyone else.

FAIL

[kathy001]

This contention that "much-needed talent" will be discouraged from working for companies that accept taxpayer money is just so much horse-hockey. Those that regurgitate this idea would have us believe that there are only a select few that are capable ot working in these banks and institutions and that is simply not true. It is, in fact, insulting to the army of qualified people who are perfectly qualified to step in and clean up the mess left by this "much-needed talent".

[sarabono]

This Bill, written by Grayson, my new Representative, is sold as an act to address the Financial Industry but in application, there is no restriction in the Legislation to the Financial Industry. In truth it applies to any firm that has used Government Money. That means that it covers ALL industry including the UAW CONTRACTS in the Auto Industry, not just GM and Chrysler but all the suppliers to that industry.

People forget that all the TARP and other programs carry an 8% interest rate that the borrower pays plus the borrower must pledge to the Government Class A Assets as underlying security so the Government will not loose money if the firm goes bankrupt. These Class A Assets have priority OVER ALL other debtors to the firm.

I wonder if the large bonuses and pay checks to the Fanny May and Freddie Mac Executives are covered since both were "nationalized" in September 08. Fanny has lost $58 Billion since then. Freddie has yet to report. They have asked for a second $100 Billion to cover these accelerating lossess.

[PhilipTaylor]

Who are the Banking Elites that RUN America? And where are they?

The obvious Elites we see are actually the working Elites and include the Wall Street Executives and the Hedge Fund managers. There are other Elites that cover every corner of our economic Structure and include Military, some considered Democrats, and many considered Republicans. There are also those from at least three European Countries that own a fairly large share of our FEDERAL Reserve System, privately owned Banks.

America was founded with a Constitution that allowed our Government to Print its own money and the founders like Jefferson and others saw the danger of the London Bankers taking over our system of Banking. Over our history it has been a constant battle to wrestle the Banking system from the Banking Elites. Jackson was successful for a while!

The Banking elites are patient and think in terms of Decades and even Centuries, while encouraging the people to think in months, weeks .. to even seconds. So we the People are never prepared for either the take-over of our Banking System or the Periodic Harvests of our Resources, not unlike this Historic Largest Transfer of Wealth to the Banking Elites!

The Elites are facing something New this time since the population is more aware and informed, and they simply hope they can weather the storm and the economy will improve and everyone will forget they exist again.

Will THEY SUCCEED AGAIN?

[DickTater]

Bravo. Well Done!

Sheeple...­pay attention to this man

[lesterbud]

Apart from the thousands of dollars these executives stole out of my retirement accounts and other managed investments (some will say I took the risk so I should take the hit - but not when massive fraud was involved) my tax money is being used to keep their companies afloat and to pay their salaries. They now work for me. I have never believed in reward for failure, so, short of firing every last one of these greedy crooks, I have decided to not pay them bonuses and to place limits on their salaries relative to the average pay of their employees. I am communicating this decision to my congressman, senators and President. OK, I am only one PO'd person, but if many of this do this, it will be heard.
Simply send the following email to your representatives:

As part owner in these financial firms taking bailout money, I am exercising my proxy vote to withhold bonuses for ALL employees of these firms and proposing each firm abide by a resolution to limit executive pay to 10 times the average pay of employees in each firm.
Upon such time as these firms repay the money I and my fellow taxpayers have loaned them, and they prove they can operate their companies ethically and in the best interest of ALL their investors, I will agree that i no longer have any rights to involvement in their company or companies.

[Mayoyo]

Cavuto, like everyone of Faux News is a wimp....

[Usama]

I hate to say this, but Cavuto is a pathetic little wimp. He interrupted Grayson almost everytime Grayson began talking. Cavuto has been celebrating gluttony and greed and thumbing his nose at the average working person for years. Now he's a constitutional expert protecting the people.

This guy is the kind of wimp that was beaten up everyday in school, who took his mother to prom, and who cowered with hives for fear of dodgball. Grayson shouldn't have bothered to show up on FOXnoise.

[ccsammy]

Cautvo is a creep in a suit he do know his ffet from his hands he talks like a man with a papper a--hole,which he is

[Beka13]

Good Job Rep. Grayson! You do Central Florida proud!!!!

[PhilipTaylor]

Grayson MAKES US PROUD!

Wish it was WRONG! BUT:

$7 Million PER EVERY AMERICAN FAMILY!



$700 Trillion IN TOXIC PAPER Created by Banks is $7 Million PER every Family in AMERICA!

$700,000,0­00,000,000 / 100,000,000 Families = $7,000,000

$7,000,000 per every family in America! That is what the BANKS DID TO US! JAIL?




Instead they are REWARDING THEM WITH $1+TILLION MORE!
__________­__________­__________­__

Wish it was WRONG!

$1.2 Quadrillion of Toxic Paper in the World! BIS in Switzerland Confirm's IT!

$700 Trillion created by American Banks!

http://financialclues.blogspot.com/2008/02/1-quadrillion-problem.html