Many thanks to Peter Sims for sending me this gem.
I am not quite sure where I stand on the huge new bailout and am reading different sides to form an opinion. I am damn sure, however, that former Merrill CEO John Thain tops my last for the most clueless and selfish asshole of them all. He was looking like a selfish and dishonest jerk when he had clearly lobbied for a big bonus for himself, but denied doing so. The latest news, which I am sure most of you know, is he apparently paid-out three or four billion dollars in bonuses in the last quarter of 2008, right before his bank was acquired by Bank of America (which has taken 20 billion in TRAP money). He should be thrown in Hudson River. I also wonder, are there any lawyers out there who are smart enough to figure out how to get some of this money back from these selfish creeps? If you are one of the former Merrill executives who got that money, I suggest not spending it — I suspect the wheels are in motion already to take it back. Laws aside, Thain's actions are the most shameful I have seen in this fiasco. Thain brings power poisoning to a whole new level –in a just world, his assets would be seized and divided-up among several thousands people who are unemployed or about to lose their houses. I am not easily shocked, but his actions really upset me.
Leave a Reply