Closing Arguments: Obama’s Bonus Backlash

If drawing and quartering is illegal, then shooting to death by musketry will have to do.

OFF WITH THEIR HEADS…………….

All the recipients should be required to pay back the bonuses and the heads of the companies who paid the bonuses should pay back their bonuses AND go to jail.

I think these bonuses should be return or taken.
Bonuses are for a JOB WELL DONE…Having a BANNER YEAR.
These GOOD OLE BOY network – have NO SHAME…and the federal gov. need to TAKE OUR TAX DOLLARS BACK. And keep a close eye on where these billions are going. As a tax payer – I am NOT HAPPY
with the bonuses and jet purchases..
They just DON’T GET IT -
THE GAME IS OVER!!!
The IRS has no problem freezing accounts and taking what is due.
TAKE IT BACK!!

There must be immediate recinding of all bail out money if any of it is to go for bonuses, as well as criminal prosecution persued. How can law makers allow funds to be given for these bail outs with out a detailed plan that holds accountabilty, they may be just as much at fault

I think we need to sue the banks for false statements on their credit appplications and get our money back.

I really think that we are being fleeced. They are going to keep crying untill all the money is gone. We are being raped by these banks. People are still losing their homes and they are not lending either, but they are getting richer. They are in line complaining they are going broke so that they can get money. Once its all gone we will see better times. I hope that this president can see through the bull s..t. I should write a book on this. Fleecing America..

The govt should require that any financial worker making more than $100,000/ salary, who received a bonus in 2008 or 2009, who wishes to continue to work in the financial institution accepting govt bail out money, should return those bonuses. If they choose to keep the bonuses, they choose not to work in that institution while it is accepting govt bail out money. Let them show their sense of decency, responsibility and determination to right the previous wrongs by returning the “ill gotten gains” of the bonus.

Former Sec. Paulson and the Bush administration did what they have done for the last 8 years – mislead. They handed out 1/2 of the TARP money to financial institutions w/zero accountability rather than following through with the plan they sold to the public – buying back bad mortgages. Paulson and those involved should be prosecuted. Furthermore, the executives that received TARP money who also received bonuses, should be required to return those funds and face prosecution.

I glad the President Obama mentioned it but talk is cheap. I want to see the FBI & the DOJ move in & Prosecute ALL of them. The people that ACCEPTED the “Bonus’s”, the ones that APPROVED tham and ESPECIALLY THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OVERSEEING THE TARP PROGRAM. They should be charged with Malfeasance in office, PROSECUTED & REMOVED.

They should have to pay those bonuses back. I as an american taxpayer feel like I’m being robbed. I also think, as in any other business, bonuses should be a percentage of the profit each individual produces. Anything else would be considered as theft and punished accordingly.

I think it is a disgrace that nothing can be done to these CEO’s & CFO’s. There should be some type of punishment for their common disregard to the American people who sacrificed their money to help. Lawmakers need to make a stand. Little or no regulation with their finances today and in the past helped dwindle this country to what it is in today. Government oversight was needed then and is now needed more than ever. These corporations are swindlers of our country.

ongress should pass a tax of 100% on unearned bonuses, then we the taxpayers would get some of our money back to use for better purposes.

The Navy still has keelhauling on the books and they haven’t outlawed it yet. Too severe? If we hadn’t bailed Wall Street out for making the wrong decisions, a bunch of millionaires would today be be scrounging around looking for a job, like the rest of us. Didn’t President Bush bail them out and pass the rest of the ilk on to President Obama? I think we should call in the loans given to bail these people out.
You won’t see anyone from Wall Street spending their massive bonuses on any of us in our lifetime and you probably won’t see any of them selling their Jets, Yachts and extra houses to keep their businesses in the black, as long as our government is willing to give them money nobody can account. I don’t feel we should give anymore out , until the GAO can tell us where the last 350 Billion went and what it was spent on. Anyone that got a bonus will need to give it back.
Too Harsh? I think the IRS would do well to look into some of the write offs Wall Street Execs have been taking , instead of going the little guy that isn’t working.

$18 billion (billion with a B!)paid out in executive bonuses is a CRIME. It’s wrong that our taxpayer money ended up in the pockets of the same crooks who made the credit mess in the first place. Prosecute! Surely there must be some way to get such swindlers into prison and get the money back where it belongs.

I believe that the government should collect funds equal to the amount of any bonuses given at any financial institution that was given taxpayer dollars. The money can then be reinvested in financial institutions that will guarantee that the money will be spent however the government wants it to be spent.

The President was right today in castigating Wall Street firms for paying, and Wall Street cronies for accepting, billions in bonuses after their disastrous performances and while they have their hands out for bailouts from we taxpayers.
That behavior displays abject, despicable greed, complete disregard for responsible behavior, complete disdain for the country’s taxpayers (who are suffering because of the abject failures of these disgustingly greedy fools), and complete disdain for the just notion that we should all be teaching our children that bonuses are reserved for exemplary performance.
The bonuses already paid should be taxed at 100%, so they are rightfully returned to our government.
The payment of future bonuses to executives working for organizations that receive bailout money from the government should be criminalized, with a requirement for complete restitution and payment of fines equal to at least ten times the amounts of bonuses paid.
These greedy people are just taking all the rest of us for granted. They need to have their maniacal greed squeezed out of them.

Certainly, it was wrong! The fact is, we can’t make the CEO’s give it back. We need to deal with now, not with what was. Perhaps , instead of being critical Obama and his creative and talented cabinet can turn a negative into a positive.
Wealthy people need tax write-offs. Obama could create a special fund for those who invest a minimum of a million dollars and use that money to buy up the foreclosures. Allow those people to pay off their mortrgages at a lower rate or extend the period of payment. Those wealthy people who buy into the fund will be allowed to take lucrative tax benefits as a result of their investment in this fund.
This would involve new laws that would allow these new tax incentives. The wealthy get their needed tax deductions. This would give them additional money to stimulate the economy. The banks would be free of the mortgage debt, and the public sector would be allowed to keep their homes and have money to spend which would also boost the economy.
Now is the time to look for solutions rather than to blame improper decisions. Stop the ridiculous bonuses now and get the funds out there to work at rebuilding our economy, Sounds like the potential for a win win situation for everyone.
That’s what I call change. Obama spoke about change. Now is the time for us to think outside of the box.

It seems obvious to me that what these CEOs have done is embezzle the taxpayer.
I believe they should not only have to pay the bonuses back but some jail time would seem appropriate and thereafter if they hold similar positions they should be monitored closely. On the other hand, the government is the most guilty of taking the taxpayers money and letting any entity have a large cash infusion without all monies provided being identified as where and how they will be spent and any changes to those designations should have been approved by the one maintaining their oversight, e.g. the Treasury possibly until the monies are paid back to the government. No entity should have a cash infusion like those happening the need is basically just from bad management. I owned a business once no one bailed me out, after 6.5 years of hard labor 24/7 there was no one to rescue me and I am sure this is true for thousands maybe millions of others like me.

How can these evil, greedy bastards really be punished? Can we have their names and home addresses please? Can we send them angry letters and post their headshots on billboards? Can we take some of the money in the stimulus bill and run ads about them during the Superbowl? Can we see an episode of Law and Order about a serial killer who targets Wall Street executives? Can we have the money back? Is there nothing we can do to make these people feel the pain many Americans are feeling right now? Probably not, because people without shame or conscience are untouchable.

bonuses should be returned. if they are not returned, paychecks should be garnished until the monies have been collected. ceo’s who authorized them should be terminated. any company receiving govt. funds should suspend payment of any future bonuses until said funds have been repaid, and the company has shown 4 straight quarters of profitability.

Just more time wasting hot air. Every one is irate about “bonuses” – no one is mentioning salaries or stock options. I’m sure that next year the executives will be sure to be paid in a manner that doesn’t fit as neatly on a bumpersticker and all the idiots after a soundbite will be ignorantly pleased with the impact their scolding had.

I am a small business owner and have been since 1992. I cannot believe our government is sitting by and watching(or participating) in us all being robbed. I find it hard to describe the way I feel about what is taking place. GREED. I think this is the key to most of our troubles. I am speechless about the bonuses and high salaries being paid to failures and poor performance. How can anyone in our government sleep at night knowing they did nothing about thiefs like the CEO of Merrill Lynch giving bonuses just before BAC bought them out with we, the people, financing the deal and then BAC needing more money from us because of the losses incurred. Give me a break. Lewis had to have a tighter deal than this…He should be stripped of his finances and executed with the rest of the thieves.
Can anyone do what is right? This is …… We are being robbed and the government is sitting by and watchiing it happen.

…in the end, greed always devours the greedy. Can’t wait to see how this all plays out. Look out Wallstreet jerks!
You will lose in the end.

I believe they should be forced to return the bonuses – NOW! The idea that their bonuses will be less for 2009 is not nearly enough. I am disgusted and outraged, and I can’t believe we are not rioting in the streets over this one.
I have been frugal and have worked very hard to live within my means and save for retirement. And yet in the past year I have lost as much from my retirement savings as the average bonus for a Wall Street employee. And still I am expected to bail them out. How is that democratic?

Shame. Where is the public contract?
The ones who took bonuses after begging for mercy have it wrong. They should be required to pay it back – to the American workers who have been laid off. Let them be held accountable by facing real consequences: jail or “community service,” in the form of giving the bonus money to set up grants for workers who need training or who need new jobs.

The Attorney General of these companies’ respective states should be filing criminal charges against top managers who recommended these egregeous bonuses, the executives who accepted these bonuses, and the Boards of Directors who approved these bonuses. This has been collusion to defraud the shareholders of these companies and theft of billions of dollars. The profits from these companies should have been properly allocated to Reserve Accounts to fund operating expenses during a business downturn, Reinvestment Accounts to improve goods or services or improve operating efficiencies, or the profits should have been paid out as Dividends to shareholders. This is Management 101. This money was not discretionary income for the sole purpose of enriching the top dogs and their lackey board members. Awarding excessive bonuses and paying outrageous salaries exceeded the authority of these executives and Board Members and was a clear violation of their fiduciary responsibility. They schemed to skim money from their companies. These are liars, thieves, cheats, common crooks masquerading as corporate leaders. They are unprincipled, lacking in virtue, sick with greed, and totally lacking in interest for anything or anyone, except money, what it can buy and their own self-aggrandizement. They are morally bankrupt. They have made fools of all of us. They should pay back the money they have stolen from the companies they were hired to serve, pay restitution, be criminally charged for looting their companies and scamming their shareholders, be used as Case Studies by the prominent MBA programs from which they graduated – “How Not to Manage and Lead”. The Business schools that produced these one-dimensional, self-serving businessmen and women should be equally ashamed. Their Business Model is broken and their Ethics classes must be non-existent. Throw the book at them and let them spend their millions trying to defend their “good names”. They will fail. In the same way they failed miserably to act as good stewards to the companies they were hired to serve. In the same way they failed to give an honest days work for an honest days pay. These executives and their Board Members are empty buckets always needing to be filled; addicts always in need of a fix. And their drug of choice is Money! Someone else’s. Get them off the Street – Wall Street and any other street – before they victimize the American public again.
To the public servants and the law enforcement officials/attorney generals whose job it is to protect and defend the interests of the American people, let’s see if you are any better at your jobs than these corporate tycoons were at theirs…prove it by holding these individuals accountable.

We should round up all these “talented” bastards, airlift them over the Afghan/Pakistan border and push them out with their golden parachutes. Then we’ll see how talented they are!

These CEOs should bring that money back.

pass a special tax…a bonus tax, for bonuses from any bank or company recieving government bailout money and by the way its a 100% tax. and this could even be a job for joe the plumber to go around to collect.

Make them pay it back. This is ridiculous. No wonder they needed the bailout money. This is unconscionable. If the United States government is going into the banking and automaking industry, then they need to run them like their businesses, requiring transparentcy. They have to get every months expenditures and receipts submitted to them for approval, demanding accountability.

ALL THE BONUS MONEY THAT WAS FUNDED AFTER RECIEVING THE TAXPAYER BAILOUT SHOULD BE PAID BACK. IN FUTURE BAILOUT FUNDING SOMEONE IN CHARGE OF THIS FROM OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE MONITERING WHERE FUNDS WILL BE GOING AND BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL ACTIVITY WITH THE BAILOUT FUNDS. WE SHOULD APPROVE THE SPENDING EVEN AS FAR AS WRITING THE CHECKS FOR THEM. THIS BAILOUT IS ON THE BACKS OF THE PEOPLE OF AMERICA FOR MANY GENERATIONS TO COME. IT IS A PRECIOUS THING AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH, WITH ALL THE FAILING COMPANIES AND MILLIONS OF LOST JOBS, AND HOMES LOST IN FORECLOSURE. THIS SHOULD BE TREATED AS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.

Can someone ‘splain’ to me the purpose of the Prez announcing that these bonuses are ‘shameful’?
Is that it???
How bout announcing its shameless…..AND… heres what action i’m gonna take?
Otherwise its merely a soundbite to keep you in the headlines yet another day….But then….a cult leader needs to continually indoctranate his followers by being seen and heard constantly…or….they will fall away.
[cult 101]

Congratulations to President Obama for his scolding of these folks, let’s go a little further. I call all the folks who work for these companies and know where they live to put it out in the public forum let’s go and stand outside thier homes and shake our fingers at them. Publically scold them when we see them out in public. Bring them out of the dark of night and into the light of day, publish thier names, the amount of thier crimes.etc….

THIS PREVIOUS BAILOUT WAS FUNDED AND MONITERED BY THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION.
PLEASE LET US NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE AGAIN. I HOPE OBAMA HAS A DIFFERENT PLAN ON HOW TO DISBURSE FUNDS AND HOLD CERTAIN PEOPLE IN CHARGE ACCOUNTABLE.
THE PREVIOUS BAILOUT WAS NOT USED FOR WHAT IT WAS REQUESTED FOR. PEOPLE ARE STILL WAITING FOR AND HAVE RECIEVED NO FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE WITH FORECLOSURES AND SUCH BY THESE ESTABLISHMENTS WHO RECIEVED THESE FUNDS. WHERE IS THE PROMISED HELP FOR THE TAXPAYER!!!!!!!!

Identify all recipients who received any of this money and make them pay back and then post them and how much they pay back on the Internet. Prosecute those who don’t by a presidential order or a People’s Court. Why should the people suffer and remain silent and swallow these wrong doings? We should have a country-wide strike like the size of the inauguration crowds and continuous strike/demonstration until they pay back. If they don’t have the money they can borrow since they know best where to find hidden money or rob banks. In fact, In addition to the 18 billion, we should use these white-collar criminals do their own dirty linens to find all of the other moneys that have been stolen from the public as a way to help reduce their lengthy sentence down the road. It’s ironic that today’s bailout money is the first to bail out Main-street to exchange for Common People’s sweat and blood, unlike what these criminals were able to suck up without lifting a finger. There should be NO Free Lunch – this should take a new kind of revolution to resolve if necessary.

1. THEY SHOULD BE FIRED BY THEIR BANKS!
2. THEY SHOULD WALK AWAY WITH ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!
3. THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO PAY BACK EVERY DIME THEY GOT IN THE LAST YEAR OR TWO THAT THEY TOOK FROM THE VERY BANKS THEY DROVE INTO THE GROUND!
4. THAT MONEY SHOULD GO TO THE EMPLOYEES I’M SURE THEY CONSIDER “POND SCUM”, MANY OF WHICH I’M SURE LOST THEIR JOBS IN LAYOFFS!
5. THESE SOB CEO’S SHOULD NOT ONLY BE JAILED — THEY SHOULD BE BURIED UNDERNEATH THE JAILS!
6. THE SOCIALIST “JESUS CHRIST” SHOULDN’T GIVE ONE MORE CENT OF US TAXPAYERS’ HARD-EARNED MONEY TO ANYONE ELSE, EXCEPT WHEN IT IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY TO RELIEVE THIS RECESSION, AND THEN EVERY PENNY SHOULD BE MONITORED AND USED EXACTLY AS DICTATED BY US!
7. ANY DEVIATION FROM THE ABOVE IS ABSOLUTELY,
“SHAMEFUL!”

Bailouts, loans, bonuses, and stimulate programs won’t with a deceitful system where everyone wants a buck. This is taxpayers money that should go back to the taxpayer. In a debit card form of money to be spent on loans to keep the banks afloat, purchasing of vehicles to keep the automotive stable, and the chance to purchase items needed to keep the economy stable. This keeps jobs stable, money is spent to help taxpayers in a way of saving their credit, which this country revolves around. Give the taxpayers 6 months to spend money, and after this period, take remaining money to produce jobs in restoring new positions returning illegal aliens back to their country. This would help the employment rate that is effected by illegal aliens in this country. If additional funding is needed, don’t increase taxes, restore proper trading. Trading should not be free, or fair, make it competitive. Keep it simple without loops holes and give the working american people a chance to work again. All of will insure money will go where it helps the taxpayers of america, it will stimulate the economy, and will make america competitive and legal in the job market.

These financial institutions should be brought up on grand theft or fraud charges, for defrauding the people of the United States (via Congress, of course) on the pretense of financial need. The money should be returned to an unemployment fund, to provide extended relief to the growing number of displaced workers.
Additionally, ABC (and other media) should post the list of members of Congress who supported the bill to give the financial institutions the bailout money and who were charged with the responsibilty to monitor the disbursements prior to their re-elections. Senator Dodd called for the CEO’s of the auto industry to be fired for lack of management. He, along with other congressmen failed to manage this bailout – their time should be up.

I’m so livid at an industry of people who after playing a major role in our homes being taken away, our retirement and saving funds wiped out, our children’s future dreams crushed can actually extend their hands for “bonuses” and justify that they are entitled to them. When is anyone going to stand up and say;No, its wrong and we will not tolerate this. Where is the outcry from our leadership that every last penny should be returned.

The Boston Patriots took such matters into their own hands in 1774 following the Boston Tea Party…Tar & Feather the Whole Lot of them.
The only saving grace–publicly returning the full bonus to the bailout fund.

Ok Nightline Producers. You can see by the outpouring of comments that we, the people, are outraged. My question to you ABC News Corp. As one of the most prestigious news organizations in the world can you guys do something on our behalf. Will you not merely ask for our comments regarding this subject but instead “stand-up” and rally the forces to be to ACT, now that you have seen first hand the volumes of angry feelings that we, the people, have regarding “OUR” money that is being dispersed as BONUSES. AMERICA! OPEN your eyes! WE ARE BEING RAPED and NO ONE, NO ONE who is in a position of responsibility is taking the bull by the horn.

Republicans:….You are being asked [read pressured] not to vote against this bill……They’re still campaigning thru the news media to ‘shame’ you into voting this bill in…..Easy solution: Don’t vote no……VOTE PRESENT!!!!!!rotfl…Obama got away with it!!!

Tell all financial Institutions they will be subjected to the applications guidelines just like their applicants…

Thank goodness President Obama has common sense. If they are asking for money then we should be able to dictate how it’s used, simple!
Just like when we borrow money.
God Bless President Obama and common sense!

Each one of these greed stricken and insensitive wackos should be given a choice to either return the money to the US Treasury or face prosecution for thievery.

President Obama needs to pass a law NOW, that no company or corporation receiving TARP/ Bailout money may give out bonuses of any kind and all executive pay be reduced by at least 25% and frozen at that point until every penny of the bailout is paid back.

Friday, January 30, 2009–5:43 pm CST
I think Wall Street was very stupid on giving out the bonuses. I don’t blame
Obama for scolding at at Wall Street. They need to quit giving them out. I agree with Previous person. Wall Street need to be returned.

A MORE interesting question to me is what is being done about the big oil companies obscene profits that have been accumulating quarterly for the past several years? I listened to their executives try to explain how they spent the money, but did not see any true accounting of how the money was actually spent from the previous years profits, or the budget for the next year.
We must go after all these companies that are scoffing at the ineptitude of the government to enforce existing laws, or to enact tougher laws.
As for Wall Street – if no accounting was done to show who performed over expectations & really deserved a bonus, then, sorry, no bonus for you. If this includes the lower wage earner who had no control over the way money was spent it will just be a really tough year for them, too. But, there should be some way that those avaricious CEOs & higher ups in the business, who knew full well what they were doing but didn’t think they’d be caught should pay double for what they did, since they’ve been doing it for the entire time the “bubble” was rising & have made more millions in a few years than most people can hope to see in a lifetime.

It’s hard for me to believe that we just let this money go without establishing pre-requisites and line-by-line accountability procedures for justifying the loans. Personally, I think the government geniuses responsible for allowing this to happen should be included with those paying for bad judgement.
The money should be returned and everyone with a hand in issuing bonuses should be sent to prison.

Obama says….”And when taxpayers find themselves in the difficult position that, if they don’t provide help, that the entire system could come down on top of our heads…”
Hmmmmm…I don’t recall being asked (as a taxpayer) if I wanted to help bail out anyone. Oh yea, Bush and the rest of the government made that decision for me. Thanks guys!!

Hope this new president can stop those Bush buddies on the Wall Street from stealing billions of tax payers’ money by using the freehand given by the Bush administration. Thanks you, Obama!
—————— (Don’t know why. The ABC News has blocked my ids from posting comments on its site. They also deleted some of my comments. And they refuse to tell me why. I can only post in this blog section now. Guess the freedom of speech is no longer in ABC News’ vocabulary.)

I think that any Bank who gave out MY TAX DOLLARS to CEO’s for Bonus’s during the last month of The Bush Administration should have to give that money back to us Taxpayers to be used to help the poor and Middle Class save their homes, be able to pay off Credit Card Usurury Debts,and buy a new car. And then the crooks should be put in Gitmo for LIFE. Rove, Cheney, Wolfowitz, Rumsfield, Bush and Paulson should all spend the rest of their lives in Gitmo…without TORTURE…but only bread and water and they can grow their own vegetables and bake their own bread too. Death for their CROOKS and WAR CRIMINALS would be too merciful for them.
Gardy

Well if this isn’t the ‘Pot calling the kettle black’.
What a hypocrite we have elected to the WH now. Rescinds his decision to take public funds so he can buy a WH and then calls the boys on WS “shameful”.
Who is kidding who here. He is as shameful as anyone.

The money MUST be paid back. No society can survive if such unjust thievery is left unpunished!
Do not get me wrong i am 100% for well deserved bonuses. If a corporation makes lots of Legal Money for its shareholders than yes give huge bonuses no rpblem that is what Capitalism is all about.
But if thos pilaging and thevery is not stoped I am aftaid that our whole system will colapse just like Comunism did,
Greed and Lies create hate and resentment.
the role of Government is to STOP this and rebuild the trust people once had in the SYSTEM.

well what they need to do is give help on how to get this right with how fill the tax forms out. I’m thinkin’ that american’s don’t NO How to make money the right way so they cheat the america
system with there tax. I think these doom workers on the hill need to work better and we need less law makers on the hill.

There is no ethic/moral value in these CEOs who accepted bailout money for their incompletent work. Also, Republicn leaders are responsible for this mess. How they could not expect responsibility and accountibility of these hard earned money? Tax money should be open book to taxpayers. President Chaney (Yes, I am not confused!) and Bush handled tax money without respect such as in cases of Hariburton and Blackwater. So, it is easy to see how this bailout failure happened. CEOs must pay back the bailout money to taxpayers!

SENATE DEBATE ON THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE
The Republican Party with its serving members in both the house and senate is in complete disarray right now. They have no clue whatsoever of what a successful economic stimulus package should look like. After all they have all been voted out of office for plunging the nation’s economy into the worse condition ever under former President George W. Bush. Had they any bright ideas to rescue the economy from its abysmal condition, they would have provided them to George W. Bush.
It is therefore implausible for the Democrats who have recently gain majority power in both the legislative and executive branch to expect the Republican to support them in the nation’s agenda to re-build the GOP-crumbled economy. It is not in the GOP DNA to enrich the middle-class of America. It is a futile exercise to expect them to. They have already taken credit for taking tax-payer’s money under former Secretary Paulson to provide bonus bonanzas (golden parachute) to Wall Street Executive for failed business performance. They created the economic climate for scam artist like Bernard Madoff to steal from law-abiding hardworking Americans. The GOP provided no-bid contracts for the likes of Halliburton and other Republican cronies to benefit from the exploitation and economic destruction of ordinary American citizens.
The Democrats in light of GOP misuse of power clamored for the American public votes in the last two elections and eventually wrestled majority power away from the GOP. The GOP is not happy about losing power to the Democrat and is not interested in nation building. The GOP’s only interest is building individual wealth for the top one percent of the American population and rule by crook. It is time for the Democrat to stop this bi-partisan baloney and get on the business of helping the middle-class dig themselves out the abysmal economic hole the Republicans have dug the country into and claim all the credit for doing so. The Republicans are in no mood of doing what is right for the nation after doing the opposite for the past twenty years. They are still bearing the shame of failing the country and are in an over-corrective mode that would not solve the present economic crisis. The Democrats should use their newly acquired majority power to pull the American public out of this economic recession and take credit rather than try to seek majority Republican support to move forward with passing the stimulus package in the Senate.