Peaceful Revolution: Blood Money or Wall Street Bonuses? Pres. Obama, Get Your Signing Pen Ready

While Wall Street rails against restrictions on executive salary bonuses placed by Congress in the economic-stimulus package, families are suffering. Bonuses? What planet are they on!? Some moms are selling their blood plasma several times a week to put food on the table.

We asked our MomsRising.org members this past week about how the economic downturn is impacting their families, and personal stories poured in from across the country that give a glimpse of how the economic downturn is impacting families. Stories like this one:

"My sister, the mother of 2 preschoolers, has track marks up and down her arms. Last July both she and her husband lost their jobs. Although they applied for every job they saw, she didn't find a job until late November--and then only a part-time one. My brother-in-law still hasn't found one. The track-marks? My sister, my wonderful sister, gives plasma several times a week, earning $25 each time in order to feed her family and pay her car insurance. Don't talk to me about bonuses and earmarks, all my sister wants is a job. How much plasma does she have to give before the government does something for regular people?" - Yvonne

There are people, families, and children behind the job loss numbers that stream across the front of newspapers everyday--and most don't work on Wall Street.

The House and Senate just passed the economic-stimulus package which rightly reined in Wall Street bonuses, and now President Obama needs to get his signing pen ready (and ignore those who are complaining about executive bonus restrictions). In fact, help can't come quick enough for many families. Here's a small sampling of the recent personal stories submitted by MomsRising.org members, showing just how very needed the economic-stimulus package is right now:

• "I lost my job in December and have been looking unsuccessfully since then. I am a professional person and the number of resumes per job opening are staggering. My husband hasn't worked since November. Three kids, no income except unemployment insurance, and since we live in California, that is always questionable. My car needs a $525 repair. It's just sitting in the driveway." -- Lynn

• "My husband recently lost his job with a major aluminum manufacturing facility in Western, PA and as a result, our health insurance. While my company offers health insurance, the premiums are far too expensive for us to afford (especially with the job loss). We have 3 children (the eldest of which is in college) and are struggling to keep our head above water, our son in college and our mortgage up to date. Something has gone to be done and QUICKLY!" -- Dawn-Michele

• "I am a middle class professional, single mom with a six year old boy. I worked for a nonprofit with most of my work focused on women and poverty in the developing world. I just found out I will be laid off in early March. I pay almost all my son's expenses, own a home, and try to put money towards a college fund for him. I have been scrambling to do what I can to avert catastrophe. I am trying to get my mortgage reduced but don't qualify for many of the low-income programs. I don't qualify for most assistance programs but because I spent my retirement on my divorce proceedings, I don't have a safety net. My son can go on his dad's healthcare but I will have to forego healthcare even though I have several chronic conditions. I have a housemate already to help with the mortgage and am bringing in another housemate but I don't know if that will be enough. The only job I have found (and I know I am lucky to have a job offer) pays half of what I currently earn. I have taken it and will hope to work 2 more jobs if I have to in order to make ends meet. It is frightening--I have paid my bills and paid over my minimum mortgage bill, continue to pay for my Master's degree, had saved money in a retirement account and it could all be gone tomorrow. I have also been sending money to my mother who has been ill but that stopped a few months ago because I could no longer support her." -- Marceline

• "My husband was laid off in December. We have an autistic son, the thought of putting him in daycare puts me into a panic attack. We've tried it before, nobody else can handle him. He's come home with unexplained bruises, once he was found by a stranger wandering near the highway after dark right before I picked him up. We're discussing walking away from our house. My husband has applied for hundreds of jobs and he's just not getting any offers. Tomorrow he's interviewing for a job that pays a full thirty thousand dollars less than he made last year with no benefits (we'd have to continue paying 1,200 per month for Cobra insurance). If he takes that job, our choice will be to lose our house and move into a rented apartment; or put our son in daycare so I can work full time. I'm no stranger to work; I only quit to keep my disabled son safe. I am scared." -- Jennifer

• "My husband and I are expecting our first child. We are both attorneys. He works as a public defender and I was in house counsel up until this past October when I was laid off. I am almost 8 months pregnant. We have house hold bills, mortgage, 2 sets of student loans, credit card bills, attorney registration and impending child care costs including hospital extra costs. What help is out there? American people need a bail out not the greedy Wall Street people. Extend unemployment and increase the amount." -- Anika

• "I have become one of the statistics, laid off on Monday a.m. with four days notice. I have three children 6 and under and my salary is 1/2 of our household income. We were squeaking by as it was, as my husband owns his own business that sells to retail which has experienced an unprecedented contraction. Think of all the families, like mine, who now cannot: send kids to preschool, shop for any retail goods beyond the absolute essentials, participate in sports or extracurricular activities; patronize local dry cleaners, restaurants, other service businesses; pay our mortgages and utilities. This is absolutely crippling - not just to the families, but the other families that own businesses and organizations that were previously supported by those families. " - Bridget

To read more of these stories, please click here: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/t/1546/blog/comments.jsp?key=502&blog_entry_KEY=23311&t=&key=15078900

President Obama needs to sign the economic-stimulus package as fast as possible, and ignore the whining of Wall Street millionaires about their bonus caps. The economic-stimulus package is critical--not only to create jobs immediately and to help families in need right now (as well as to save taxpayers funds in the long run by preventing people from having to rely on other government entitlement programs), but also to ensure the future competitiveness of our workforce.

President Obama, get your signing pen ready.

A Peaceful Revolution is a blog about innovative ideas to strengthen America's families through public policies, business practices, and cultural change. Done in collaboration with MomsRising.org, read a new post here each week.

Comments

[menomineewolf]

I heard on KABC news this morning that the President is gonna relax CEO salary caps and compensation packages as a precondition for more bailout money. Oh pleez say it ain't so Mr. President!!! Cuz' if it is, it sounds like Pete Townshend's opening chord to "Won't Get Fooled Again".

It is my fervent prayer that the song never gets to the lyric line: --- "Meet the New Boss ... Same as the Old Boss..."

[kymlosang]

we can bring them down (bad businesses) by simply giving our business to corporations and banks that are doing it right. close your account with the big banks and join a credit union. thats how we who still have jobs can make a difference. drive the smallest vehicle you can. dont buy gas unless you have too. if we really try we can put these foul people out of business but for some reason all we do is cry about how powerless we are. people - we must act together to show the big banks, oil companies and other corupt businesses that we will not be slaves to their methods. otherwise we will all perish. it is up to us to educate ourselves and to act. now. i took my money out of the big bank and joined a smaller one. i ride my bike. i research the companies that i do business with and severe ties with those that support wars and regimes overseas that are bringing death and destruction. its a small step but if we all took it we would emerge strong.

[Retrofuturistic]

I am hoping that the fact that none of us can any longer buy things produced by the corporate oligarchy will bring them down also.

[camper65]

But, AFTER your weekend sojourn. (Reminds me of Nancy Pelosi, for some reason)

[elghoul]

For those who do have a perspective and know a bit
of history, try to parallel this high CEO salary phenomenon
with the nobles in ancient Rome and in the Middle ages.
Capitalism without morals and supervision is as
unbriddled as a stallion. This should have been foreseen
and taken care of before the crisis. Also look at the reflex strategy
to make profit, more and more layoffs, instead of putting a cap
and limitting bonuses on executives and CEO's.
Japan and Europe which are very competitive economically
and enjoy a capitalist system, do not pay their company CEO's
stellar sums of money. And now with the national economy crumbling
we know what it takes to be a CEO or an executive in the US, a lot of huff
and puff no substance whatsoever but lots of green and stuff...
The american government has been highjacked over ages ago...

[Soulsurfer]

When I was in school back in the early 90's, one of my school mates used to sell his blood every other week. We had a grueling schedule, and he worked 4 nights a week cooking at a bar, and was getting Pell Grants as well. I was impressed, but now our degrees don't mean anything, we've been outsourced here in the Silicon Valley, and I'm back doing blue collar tech work, and lucky to have even that.

[klinker1]

We agree with the views put forth in this article. Unfortunately, not enough of the right people are reading this or have read it. In particular, President Obama and the people he has chosen to surround himself with should make this a must read. How quickly one can forget why he was elected and under what circumstances he was able to ascend to the Presidency of this great country

[forebode]

I am willing to bet that the executives who earn in the millions are laughing at these stories of people doing without because of their greed and selfishness. May what goes around come around for these sleazy, arrogant, self-conceited execs, and may they be forced to do without and to learn the meaning of sacrifice and having to live on a very limited income or no income.

Time for a revolution of the have-nots taking down the haves.

[claudestrawberry]

nice post and well put fairwitness^^. the hubris of some executives is truly staggering. i recently did a post on my design blog about John Thain, Merrill Lynch CEO's decision to spend over $1M on decorating his office just prior to ML's collapse and sale to Bank of America.

This kind of rampant spending and selfishness is embedded in Wall St/corporate culture. You can regulate and bandaid but it will take a long time to deal with these systemic flaws.

Here's my blog post if you're inclined to look... cheers.

http://reddoorread.blogspot.com/2009/01/decorating-fat-cat-style.html

[dshwa]

The 20 million a year salaries of the banking CEO's (and other CEOs in other industries) is money not going to the rest of America. GM and the UAW are fighting over pension health benefits as we speak. Where did the money for those plans go? To the company jets for executives, to the CEO, CFO, and other skyrocketing salraies at the top from the last 20 years. It's not just the Bank CEO's who deserve a pay cap, it's every industry. Your ever decreasing health benefits at your job are a direct result of salary dollars being shifted to the top.

Personally I favor this as a national law: The top paid individual in any company can not recieve more in total compensation (salary, benefits, stock options, bonuses, etc.) than 100 times what the lowest paid (including benefits, etc.) employee of the company would make if they worked full-time. For example, if a company has a minimum wage employee with no benefits, that's 6.25/hr x 40 hr x 52 weeks = 13,000$ per year. The most any executive could take home is 100 x that = 1.3 million/year. If the top guy wants more, then he has to pay the bottom guys better, either in salary or benefits. There's no hard salary cap, just a guarentee that if a company profits, ALL the employees profit, not just the top guys. This would apply only publically traded companies, not privately owned small buisness.

[Penelope Lim]

BRILLIANT suggestion. I hope someone in power is reading this, but somehow I doubt they will come up with something this fair or sensible...

[BBackSoon]

I like your suggesting, the only problem I have is that these people will find holes in anything you put out there. It is what they do. Look for a crack in the wall and then start oozing thru it. We saw it last week when the one bank gave out ‘Cash Rewards’ not to be confused with Bonuses.

We have seen them get rid of employees simply to reduce payroll expenses so the bottom line looks better, so they can justify their bonuses, even if it causes long term damage to the company. I love the argument that if you cap Executive pay they will lose the knowledge at the top, but the knowledge from the trenches near the bottom is so easily replaceable.

Your suggestion is better than anything I have heard but you know these slime balls will find a way around it.

[fairwitness]

This country, in it's deregulatory Republicanism of the last 28 years (yes, including Clinton) has bred an entire class, maybe an entire generation, of conscience-less, usorious, wealth-lusting sociopaths who gained control of the levers of power through nefarious means and turned everything to their own advantage. Now we reap their pathology culture-wide.

Maybe it was the tv commercials...

[Retrofuturistic]

Yes. And they didn't just destroy the economy and Constitution of the United States, it was the economy of the entire world....