Elizabeth Warren: Bank Bonuses Leave Me "Speechless" (VIDEO)

In a recent interview with Yahoo Tech Ticker's Aaron Task, Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, said she was "speechless" over record-high banking bonuses. Here's Warren:

"I do not understand how it is that financial institutions could think that they could take taxpayer money and then turn around and act like it's business as usual. I don't understand how they can't see that the world has changed in a fundamental way, that it is not business as usual when you take taxpayer dollars."

Warren roasted former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson for his handling of TARP, saying that he claimed the money would be funneled "into the banks to increase lending, specifically to increase small business lending, because that is the engine of our economy." But "that's not what happened with that money," and she said there is "no chance" there will ever be a full accounting of TARP funds because "we never asked on the front end."

She saw little improvement over a year ago: "All the things we were talking about that were serious, serious problems for the financial institutions seem to me are still serious, serious problems," she said.

Watch the rest:

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Comments

[liberalOrgonian]

We love you Elizabeth. You speak from a place of truth,
Your concern and sense of justice puts you out front.

[Inghram]

This is simply an outrage. The large banks want to party like it's 1999 while the average middle class American is living like it's 1929.

Is it simply coincidental irony that Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are all Obama's top seven campaign contributors?

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

Why aren't more American alarmed by this?

[janejoad]

REMEMBER BROOKSLEY BORN. She gave the warning and Greenspan and Summers and Rubin hauled her up to Congress and discredited her. Check out Frontline. These men are TRAITORS! How much more do they have to do before we bring them to justice?

[Coastalthinker2]

"Frontline - The Warning" was excellent.

I doubt that "justice" will occur because President Obama has surrounded himself (in his administration or meetings) with people who continue to believe in deregulation as the answer. If he REALLY wanted change, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke, and Larry Summers would not have key economic positions.

[janejoad]

I probably should have included that in my rant. I totally agree, they should not be there and I'm filled with consternation at his choices, they were unexpected, at least to me.

[samaire]

Spend less, protest more. ..Sounds good to me.

[TruEngineHearing]

Why should we yank them out of their homes, take them to the town square and hang them? Because they destroyed the middle-class and they have polluted the economic system to the point that it is dead - only waiting for the cart to come and take the body.

[chitowner1]

Why shouldn't Wall Street do business as usual now, when more than a year after they crashed the system Washington continues to do business with them - as usual? Except for a half-baked credit card law, no significant financial reforms have been enacted - and likely won't be now that the "crisis" they created has passed.

None of the titans of Wall Street attended Mr. Obama's address on financial reform in New York two weeks ago. They didn't need to. Because no matter what Mr. Obama says publicly, Wall Street still runs Washington - and him, so far. As Mr. Durbin of Illinois said in exasperation during the senate debate on credit card reform in June, "The banks own this place."

Keep speaking truth to big money and to power Ms. Warren. We need you now more than ever. Washington is not looking out for middle class working people where banks are concerned. That's to be expected of Republicans. But the so called Democrats, who hold big legislative majorities and the White House, have no excuse for their abysmal performance on this issue.

[janejoad]

Did you watch Frontline tonight? They will do the same to Elizabeth Warren as they did to Brooksley Born, discredit her. Traitor and thieves abound my friend, we're doomed.

[CarmanK]

I concur, thank God for Elizabeth Warren and the few who with her have had the courage to continue to speak out about the egregious attacks on the american consumer as excercised by american business especially the banking industry. I am really angry, that a 29 year old ex employee of Goldman is head of a federal banking enforcement agency. Why isn't ithis administration turning to people like Eliot Spitzer. for enforcement of banking regulations. It is an insult to have a youngster to take on a major enforcement responsibility . This is tantamount to the Bushie s sending interns and loyal republican party babes in arms to clean Iraq and restart its money markets. I am so disillusioned by this affront to the american people and those of us who really want reform. When does Geithner decide his loyalty is to the US nation and not his ole pals on Wall Street??? When does Obama give this guy a performance review???

[Fleurdamour]

Thank God someone in the government is saying something about this. It seems like everyone wants to move on without protecting the taxpayers' interests or making the necessary fundamental changes to how banks and the economy are run. Thank you, Elizabeth Warren.

[sonofsamphm1c]

Every reform that is before congress was put there by Obama's economic team: Geithner and Summers and Bernanke.

Name one additional reform that Dizzy Lizzy is proposing?

Name one significant Obama reform proposal with which she materially disagrees?

To suggest she is the only person working for the consumer is preposterous. She's essentially irrelevant to the process. TARP is being managed quite effectively. She has almost nothing to do.

[gallimaufry03]

"TARP is being managed quite effectively."

Then please tell us where that money has gone. Thanks.

[trebledamages]

Sonofsamphm1c,

I must hand it to you -- stated like a true mortard. I am astonished that you've established a HuffPo fan base of 20 other dumbarses.

[Victoryrider]

What? No answer to Galli's question?

[Deathbunny]

The problem with having a problem with the bonus situation is it's part of the system.

The way companies survive is to make a profit. There are many factors involved, but many relate to competitiveness with others for limited resources. A big factor in competitiveness is personal talent and experience.

Which is where the bonuses come in.

Bonuses are a way banks compete with other banks for limited resource of talented, experienced banking professionals. Without bonuses, these banks become noncompetitive and start bleeding talent to other banks/inst­itutions--­here and abroad--as the pain-in-th­e-ass-fact­or of working there exceeds the cost of switching companies. You lose experienced, talented people and can't replace them.

It's like professional sports.

Sports stars don't get paid for some task that's really worth it. They don't compete for jobs with checkout clerks at Walmart. What they get paid has nothing to do with effort they put out except they make the team competitive. By doing so, they get paid because the team makes a profit off other income--ad­vertising, ticket sales, sponsorship. The amount they get paid is only meaningful when compared to other, potential competitors.

Look at it this way: There are currently 248 job opennings at AIG in the US alone and they are downsizing. Why--in an almost 10% unemployment rate country--are there all these job listings?

Because no one in their right mind and another option--like these guys getting bonuses--wants to work there for long...

[research]

Close. The Bonus ARE THE SCHEME.

They would make no money without them.

The Doubling down derivatives insured with CDS always crashes eventually.

When it does and the too big to fail banks go hat in hand to Washington, Washington will of srouce expect them to use any money the company has.

So the only way to get vast sums as profit is to take bonuses.

That way they take the money in good times,

and it's gone for paying for the bad bets.

[ezeflyer]

Capitalism, a love story.

[bynddrvn5]

Financial system is healed?

Well if they are so healthy, they should have no problem with a more conservative approach to accounting for their "toxic assets." The accounting board needs to grow a backbone and make sure these assets are accounted for properly. So far the estimates of the defaults on these pooled home loans has lagged reality. This is pretty much basic accounting, the big banks know basic accounting, correct?

In fact the Financial Times has an article on how the "toxic assets" are fueling the current bank rally,

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1e038062-bc46-11de-9426-00144feab49a.html

[sonofsamphm1c]

Not satisfied with accidentally burning down half your house? You want to go in and burn down the rest of it.

They grew a backbone. They modified their idiotic standard.

[IWW]

GREEEEEEEE­EEEEEEEEEE­D!!!

[anticapitalist1983]

greed kills!

[anticapitalist1983]

i am also left speechless mrs. warren.

but that which cannot seem to come as words will stir as anger.
www.showdowninchicago.org

[solomon sez]

lets make ms. warren treasury secretary!!! shes brilliant and is the only person so far unafraid to pinpoint the true scoundrels in this whole sorry heist of the american economy...paulson and that whole goldman sacks cabal should be in jail...we know we as a country are overprotected from all foreign enemies with box cutters...how about going after those domestic enemies right here on wall street who wrap themselves in a FLAG of un regulated crony capitalism...the partys over fatcats...better yet, lets make ms. warren president in 2012...now there is change we can all believe in...sorry folks i must be having a acid flashback...my liberal idealism is acting up...if only eric holder could grow a pair and put paulsen, bush, cheney,etc. all in gitmo where they belong!!!

[triplbee]

Elizabeth, Elizabeth, Elizabeth. Your Victorian notions of right vs. wrong are quaint. But you can't be serious. The bankers will only change their behavior when laws make them do so. Please quit your moralizing and start pushing actual legislative reform.

[anticapitalist1983]

she has been doing that all along.

she can use shame as a weapon and push for reforms at the same time. she's a bright lady.

put up the poster:
"wall street is at war with america"
http://www.scribd.com/doc/21140663/wallst

[triplbee]

Fair enough. By the way, I like the poster.