Stupid Giuliani: 'Huge Wall Street Bonuses Are Wonderful'
Video - Rudy Giuliani With Don Imus - January 12, 2011
Local governments are bloated and need to shrink. Stupid Giuliani is part of the spending machine that grips politicians and is destroying the fiscal sanity of this country.
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The reality that banks aren’t “taking immediate steps to reduce bonuses substantially” led former Citigroup CEO John Reed to slam the banks for learning nothing from the financial crisis:
Even some industry veterans warn that such paydays could further tarnish the financial industry’s sullied reputation. John S. Reed, a founder of Citigroup, said Wall Street would not fully regain the public’s trust until banks scaled back bonuses for good — something that, to many, seems a distant prospect.
- “There is nothing I’ve seen that gives me the slightest feeling that these people have learned anything from the crisis,” Mr. Reed said. “They just don’t get it. They are off in a different world.”
But some prominent New Yorkers are defending Wall Street’s compensation packages. On Don Imus’ radio show this morning, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani declared that from his point of view giant Wall Street bonuses are “wonderful”:
GIULIANI: I have to tell you. You’re going to get annoyed. I have a different view of bonuses than you do.
IMUS: Ok.
GIULIANI: And this comes from my experience as mayor of New York. They balance my budget. They were wonderful from the point of view of getting the money you need to run New York City. Particularly when they were paid in cash rather than stock because in stock you don’t get the benefit until somebody sells the stock. And but when they get it in cash, all of a sudden a deficit can turn into a surplus. So, I mean, I have somewhat of a warped view of this because it used to help me balance by big 30, 40 billion dollar budget.
Giuliani added that the big banks “should do a better job of explaining their compensation system and they should do a better job of explaining what they contribute, which is really the life blood that makes our economy work.”
This isn’t the first time Giuliani has made this argument. About this time last year, he defended Wall Streets practices by saying that “one of the ways in which you determined New York City’s budget, tax revenues, was Wall Street bonuses.” He added that it has “a reverse effect on the economy, if you somehow take that bonus out of the economy. It really will create unemployment.”
Jan 15, 2010 at 7:45 PM
Reader Comments (21)
My Level One Thinking indicates that Rudy's point is; he likes a balanced budget so much, he's NOT about to question either the means nor the morality of how he gets the necessary funds.
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that's funny considering you never made a case...
gobias...you don't get it...there is a WAR on SPENDING in this country and republicans SPEND just as irresponsibly as DEMS...both sides are captured...give it up...you have no case...
"We reduced the income tax rate in New York City over a series of years by 24 percent," he said. "Receipts from the income tax went up 48 percent."
But he said the cuts should be coupled with spending cuts. His plan calls for replacing only one of every two federal government employees who retires. "That can get you about $22 billion a year ... once you start doing it."
Giuliani said he would impose 10 percent spending target reductions on every civilian government agency. "It shows the rest of the world that we are returning to focusing on fiscal discipline," he said.
Gobias says...this is too easy.
and they were targets...not actual cuts...
not sure why you like this loser...obviously no one else did outside of NYC...his campaign was a complete flop...
Goldman's paying a 1% tax rate. Now, I'm not sure how much of their $14 million goes to the state of New York since this is the amount they are paying WORLDWIDE, but my super duper economic sixth sense tells me it ain't much.
Wouldn't it be interesting to see Blankfein's personal filings? Is there any doubt in your mind that Goldman structures its bonus payout system in a VERY similar manner? After all, they are not new at this.
They really are devinely inspired, and put here for the sole purpose of taking care of our souls (and wallets), until Jesus returns.
When caught in wrongdoing, it is not really them at all, but rather paid actors performing a theatrical production to smear them.
Now when the other party is alledged to commit crimes, those are really crimes...
http://www.creators.com/opinion/joseph-farah/calling-giuliani-on-his-many-lies.html
http://www.streetprophets.com/storyonly/2010/1/8/215240/9719
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/03/AR2008010303132.html
http://www.armchairsubversive.org/
http://yippiemuseum.org/homothug/pressrelease.htm
http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/2007/05/james-dobson-makes-case-anybody-but.html
James wrote:
Plot thickens and the net widens. Friedman and Paulson will be "invited" to speak to Issa and House Oversight and Reform.
Not a bombshell, but may shed further light on Friedman's role, especially, for people who haven't been watching like we have.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100116/ap_on_bi_ge/us_aig_probe_paulson
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it's HUGE NEWS james...and it's the first time i can say that WE had something to do with it...as you know i have been hammering the Stephen Friedman angle of the AIG payout at PAR story every time i have written on the subject...
I have emailed every story i've written on th subject to Reps. Issa and Towns, plus to the Oversight Committee staff with an introduction requesting that they call Friedman and Paulson to testify on these issues....
And lo and behold, last night it happened...i've never felt better about the work of this site than i do this morning...we actually made an impact...and strangely, the news came yesterday, which was the 1 year anniversary of the launch of the daily bail...
Now, here's what I want to know from Friedman and Paulson....
Who was at the meeting where the decision was made to save AIG...was Lloyd Blankfein included? if you remember, for at least a week leading up to the announced bailout of AIG in the fall of 2008, Paulson, Bernanke and Geithner ALL SAID PUBLICLY that there would be NO BAILOUT for AIG...every day they were asked about it, and the response was always, NO SUPPORT for AIG...they are on their own...
Then suddenly, we wake up the next morning and the AIG bailout has been announced,,,FULL GOVERNMENT BACKSTOP...
So what happened to change their minds SO DRASTICALLY? I mean for a week it was emphatically NO BAILOUT -- aig and its counterparties are ON THEIR OWN, then suddenly it became YES BAILOUT literally overnight...and then we learned (though much later) that counterparties would get 100%...and then lastly we learned, that TREASURY ACTIVELY SOUGHT to COVER UP the fact that Payouts were made at PAR...
Now, through sources, we have heard that on the night of the decision to bailout AIG there was a meeting of minds...and that perhaps Blankfein was at this meeting...
Also, Frieman needs to explain his GS stock purchases...i mean the guy had INSIDE INFORMATION about payouts at PAR coming to goldman ($14 Billion worth) and so he buys GS stock and has since reaped millions personally...of course, don't forget that he was on the board of Goldman Sachs while serving as Chairman of the NY FED...
I mean look, it's "Oversight and Reform". We need some goddam oversight and reform over at FRBNY, Treasury and, apparently, the SEC. Let's prod them in the right direction because if the stink on this gets out in the open, it's going to make the whole bailout smell bad. Obviously, it already stinks, but most people still think the bailouts were just unfortunate and tragic, not rife with corruption and self-dealing.
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lastly...i just wrote this over at clusterstock...it's the other angle...Friedman buying shares of Goldman with INSIDE INFORMATION...
Even more color on the Friedman situation...let me paint a scene...
Friedman is CHAIRMAN of the NY FED at the SAME TIME as he was on the board of directors at GOLDMAN SACHS...
In December and January, with Goldman stock tanking he buys 52,600 SHARES...
HERE'S THE KEY: he purchased these shares WITH INSIDE INFORMATION that Goldman would be getting a $14 BILLION payout at PAR from AIG....
Think about it...NO ONE outside of this small circle KNEW that AIG counterparties would be getting 100 cents on the dollar...and FRIEDMAN TRADED on this information...and then the new york Fed ACTIVELY worked and pressured AIG to NOT DISCLOSE payouts at PAR to their shareholders...
A $14 billion boost to your bottom line (it was found money) that NO ONE else knows about besides you, would seem to me to be just SLIGHTLY POSITIVE for the stock...
The real question is WHY the SEC has not investigated Friedman for this illegal stock purchase...
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Here's the text from a CNN article spelling out the details:
The New York Fed's general counsel, Thomas Baxter Jr., defended Friedman's recent stock purchases, which occurred while the Federal Reserve was weighing the waiver request. Friedman bought 37,300 shares worth $3 million in December, according to the Journal. He didn't check with the Fed, and lawyers at the New York Fed told the Journal they were not aware of the purchases until the newspaper contacted them last month.
Friedman then bought another 15,300 shares in January, the day after the waiver was granted. The two blocks of stock have risen a total of $3 million (now $8 million) in value.
it represents several things:
1...insider trading is a CRIMINAL felony...it's a chance for a perp walk and a chance albeit small, to send one of theses bastards to jail...marthat stewart went to jail for less than 100k in profits (actually for lying to federal prosecutors...never lie to the Feds, by the way, they will cut you alive and feed you to the wolves...)...but you get my point...
2....it means more publicity for the crimes that have been committed in a general sense...a trial of sorts at least for a few days...FINALLY...
3...it causes personal embarrassment for these motherf*ckers and i'm all for that...
thre's more but you get the idea...
"ouch...rudy just got smacked by gomp... "
I have heard that he likes a sound spanking every now and then, as long as it is done in a conservative fashion...