In all my years of running non-profits and a financial institution, I was expected to account for every penny my organization received. Whether it was for a general operating grant or a cash flow loan, detailed reporting -- including financial statements, budget narratives, and a description of what the money was used for -- was demanded in return.
And that was for private money. If my organization received government funds, the financial reporting requirements were nothing short of punishing.
So it seems nothing less than scandalous that the banks receiving public Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) funds should be allowed to casually "decline" requests to account for that money. 21 of these banks were contacted by the Associated Press and were asked to report on how much TARP money was spent and on what. None provided specific answers. Some shrugged their shoulders and said they didn't know. You would think they were sitting in their living room and someone asked where they put the TV remote.
In fact, their responses amounted to a giant middle finger to the American taxpayer. "We've lent some of it. We've not lent some of it. We've not given any accounting of, 'Here's how we're doing it,'" said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. "We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to."
I want everyone reading this to stick their head out their window, or cubicle, and yell at the top of their lungs: "Where's the frickin' money? I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!"
Thank you.
Some simple accounting on how the money was used should have been the first condition placed on banks, even if it had to be the only condition. As a friend of mine commented, there should have been a GPS tracking device, blue dye, a little red blinking light -- something -- attached to this money before it was just given away.
If change is to truly come to this country, let Wall Street and bank accountability be the first order of business.
This entry is cross-posted on the DMI blog.
SUCK UP economics is what we have, the Vampire on Wall Street are stealing from the middle class....
The american taxpayers DO need to know how they are spending their tax dollars.
and the Public already knows they used $1.6Billion dollars for the CEO's,
"golden parachutes"..
Oh yea...that lady, Elizabeth Warren, from harvard law school, is watching also.
She had an article out once..that said that the average amercan family are being bombarded
by credit card debt, and the average family are using credit cards just to survive, ...they are being compounded into paying late fees, universal defaults, and the credit card companys are making
millions off of people..that, is how they make the most money..so we do need accountablilty, and regulations to be followed..no way, are they supposed to get a "blank check", because they may
just blow it..remember AIG's $400, 000 Spa treatments? and even after that,
they got caught in Phoenix Arizona, for a "secret meeting"?
You gotta "follow the money" and see where your tax dollars are being spent..
follow the money
($$ka-ching$$)
I found the list of the banks that received the funds. My 2 banks are on the list, which means that if they needed the money from the FED, they were mismanaging my money.
I want to move my money to banks that are conservative in their investment habits. Where's that LIST?
My biggest fear is that the FED is now helping to create mega-banks that are TOO BIG TO SUCCEED!
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/498.html
Dear Representative Schakowsky,
How do you plan to ensure that the Wall St. bailout money is spent
wisely by the banks that received it? I was shocked to read in the AP news that banks are refusing to disclose how they are spending taxpayer money.
Where is the oversight that was promised? Are there any requirements to ensure the bailout money is spent for the public good, or was the money given with "no strings attached" as the AP news report suggests?
Without strict oversight I think this could possibly be an historic waste of public funds. The public deserves to know how their money is being spent.
Please let me know what you plan to do. Thank you.
Regards,
Steve Glickman, Chicago IL
There might be another reason why the banks refuse to disclose what they did with the TARP funds: they're pretty much broke. They will hide their books until they plug all the black holes they themselves created with taxpayer money. Maybe the economy can't handle the truth, so to speak.
what "money" can buy and right now tremendous amounts of buying power is transferred from the middle-class (chiefly) to the very rich and powerful, and not just in the US. It doesn't take a genius to reckon that the Obama government will do little, if any, change
You cannot "make" money. Governments can print as much of the stuff as they want to, but that does nothing for trade. Nor, in this case, does it do anything at all for the fundamental business-model of banking. Sure, I can put a huge "debit from nowhere" on your banker's-books and (presto!) "it's sweetness and light again!" But it's just not ... real.
This banking crisis is fundamentally and completely based upon fraud ... crime ... and about fifty years of dreaming that we could make money for the whole world. It won't be swept away with a pen.
Wake UP Congress and do YOUR JOB or consider taking a pay cut like you want the other BiG Shots to do...
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?ef5aa057-f206-41f5-a88a-91a76c0ee86e
We will never see the money back from GM or Chrysler. What sucks is GM will probably need another 50 million. Chrysler is toast.
The financial institutions are making interest payments to the American taxpayer as we speak. Plus, when we exercise the stock warrants, at today's cost basis, the net return could easily be double or triple the original 350 billion.
What scares me is what they are talking about concerning the 2nd 350 billion. If it they spend it on homeowner mortgages, we can kiss most of that money good bye. We need to hold Frank, Reid, and Pelosi accountable.
NO MORE TRICKLE DOWN Economics - it did not work for the FRENCH and we all know what happened to the top 1%....NO MORE PREFERENTIAL TAX RATES, all income subject to income tax rates and payroll taxes without caps...
Isn't that what our GOVERNMENT does every time it passes a law or provision that
FAVORS one person or company or entity at the expense of another person/company
or entity?
Whatever happened to laws that apply to everyone ....... equally?