Today President Obama announced yet another tax proposal to reduce out debt. This tax increase is only on the real millionaires and billionaires. The thousandaires (i.e. those making more than $200,000 whose taxes will rise if the Bush tax cuts expire, as the President desires) won’t have to worry about this new proposal. Read more
Editors Note: I am writing this post because if RVO “Contributor” Erik Blazynski or “Author” Steve McGough wrote this, their heads would explode. Special H/T to Instapundit for this one.
So follow the money and that means follow the Democrats. OK some Republicans too … but mostly Democrats and mostly Democrat contributors on Wall Street. First this from American Thinker.
Warren Buffett promoted the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), and lambasted the greed on Wall Street, yet he is one of the main benefactors of the TARP largesse according to a Sacramento Bee story. Buffett endorsed Barack Obama for President last year, and Obama tapped Buffett to be a member of the candidate’s economic team. Obama referred to Buffett’s endorsement during the campaign as proof that he had the capability to deal with the troubled US economy. Buffett’s holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, profited from TARP in several ways …
The number of people helping Obama put together the bailout package who had connectitions with the failing banks and who had previoulsy had profited from the Wall Street madness is stunning really.
Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd received special treatment from Countrywide on his mortgage, Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel received about $300,000 for very little work at Freddie Mac, former Clinton OMB Director Franklin Raines reaped about $90 million from Fannie Mae by inflating profits — and the list goes on.
The this from Friday’s NY Times:
Lawrence H. Summers, the top economic adviser to President Obama, earned more than $5 million last year from the hedge fund D. E. Shaw and collected $2.7 million in speaking fees from Wall Street companies that received government bailout money, the White House disclosed Friday in releasing financial information about top officials.
But it just gets better:
The disclosure forms also shed further light on the compensation received by a top Obama aide who previously worked for Citigroup, one of the largest recipients of taxpayer bailout money. The aide, Michael Froman, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs, received more than $7.4 million from the company from January 2008 to when he joined the White House this year.
Want more? Sure.
Desirée Rogers, the White House social secretary. Ms. Rogers, a close Chicago friend of the Obama family, reported income of $2.3 million last year. She earned a salary of $1.8 million from People’s Gas & North Shore Gas, along with three other sources of income from serving on insurance company boards.
Thomas E. Donilon, the deputy national security adviser, reported earning $3.9 million as a partner at the Washington law firm O’Melveny & Myers. His disclosure form says major clients included Citigroup, Goldman Sachs.
Not bad money for a social secretary. I gotta get a job like that. Hmmm, or maybe become a Democrat? Just waiting now to hear from Erik and Steve. Check back frequently for them to drop something here.