Reuters reports today that "The incoming Treasury secretary, Paulson was awarded $18.7 mill bonus

[EV_Ares]

Reuters reports today that "The incoming Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., was awarded an $18.7 million cash bonus for half a year of work as the chief executive of the Goldman Sachs Group." The massive bonus was, not surprisingly, approved by Goldman Sachs at the very same time Paulson was both CEO and Treasury Secretary designate. This raises a very simple question: What is Goldman Sachs buying with this brazen payoff to someone they knew was headed to one of the most powerful government posts in America?

In my book Hostile Takeover, I note that these sorts of payoffs happen all the time -- and they are made with public policy favors in mind. The most high profile before Paulson's was the payoff Halliburton gave to Dick Cheney in the form of a truckload of "deferred compensation" valued in the tens of millions. At the time, those who raised questions about what such a payoff would buy were dismissed by the Washington Establishment as conspiracy theorists . The insiders who populate this Establishment, of course, are addicted to the revolving door, and they didn't want anyone questioning it. Now, just a few years later, we found out that, indeed, Halliburton's generosity to Cheney was a payoff, as the Vice President used his office to help the oil company secure huge government contracts in the aftermath of the Iraq War.

So again, a simple question: With Goldman Sachs handing incoming Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson an $18.7 million bonus for six months of service, what is the company looking for in return? After all, Goldman Sachs has had a lot of business before the government that Paulson's Treasury Department has been involved in and can influence. Here are just a few factoids about the Goldman Sachs-Government connections that raise questions about the Paulson payoff:

rest of this article is @ the link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-sirota/the-paulson-payoff-at-the_b_24379.html

[grasswire]

1. people need to know this

Get it out there, folks. Spread the news.

Goldman Sachs has an inside theft going on as we speak. Inside the Treasury Department.

The man was bribed to seize all-encompassing power for Goldman Sachs once he was in position to do so.

It's a heist. A spectacular heist.

[barbtries]

22. yep

i won't support any fucking bailout if paulson is anywhere near it.

edited to add: not that what i support makes a difference, still i'll make as much noise about it as i can.

[Romis]

30. You're just finding out?

This article was Posted July 4, 2006. And his book has been out that long.

[City Lights]

2. K&R

:mad:

[truedelphi]

3. Is anyone at this forum shocked by this??

And what about all the RW Christian fundies?? Are they feeling that Jesus wants this guy to have this much money and this much influence, even though Paulson has allowed himself to be bought and paid for??

I keep thinking of the scene in the New Testament where our Good Lord kicks over the money changing tables.

[EFerrari]

6. It's just not possible to be surprised any more. n/t

[seafan]

4. Reminds me of John Snow, CEO of CSX, then named Sec of Treasury in Feb, 2003.

Paul O'Neill, who had a conscience, was replaced by Snow.


Snow received a huge bonus from CSX after getting in at Treasury. Then, at Treasury, Snow set to work, whittling away taxes and orchestrating other benefits for his corporate friends.

Paulson replaced Snow in May, 2006.


It's how Bush steals from us. He puts thieves in control of the Treasury.


The Paulson Payoff at the Bush Treasury Department



Some old threads about CSX:


Our Fauntleroy Still Thinks He's Special (Jeb "Devious Plans" Bush) (Re: Shady CSX deals with State of FL, engineered by Jeb)


While we were being deceived into war, Carlyle Grp bought up CSX Shipping


Carlyle Group Acquires Majority Stake in CSX Lines: December 2002

[doublethink]

5. ....

:kick:

[Hubert Flottz]

7. K&R

And if McCain wins it will all be swept under the rug. The thieves will win.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. HA!

Well whaddaya know? Just protecting his own, isn't he? :evilgrin:

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. Look at this thread too on Paulson and Goldman Sachs.

Goldman Sachs: Wall St. Gangstas : http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4054316&mesg_id=4054316

[arthritisR_US]

10. I smell conflict of interest but then that stench has been there since the

first day the bastards took over the WH.

[AlCzervik]

11. he needs to recuse himself imo.

[madmusic]

12. Paulson is a Politician, nothing more

Sounds like a neocon too. In an interview with http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26820117/page/2/">Meet the Press

MR. BROKAW: As you know, Mr. Secretary, a number of people have been critical of your ad hoc approach to all of this. Senator Shelby said a "brushfire" approach to it all. You let Lehman, a venerated Wall Street firm, fail, but you got heavily invested in AIG, which is a large, complex insurance company. You bought 79.9 percent of it for $85 billion. Hank Greenberg, the man who really built AIG into what it is today, says that he and other major shareholders could save that company for $20 billion if they were given the opportunity. They could raise the money. And he also says that what you're going to have as an asset at the end of the year, that won't be worth anything because all the good AIG employees will leave if the government takes it over.

Paulson's answer?

SEC'Y PAULSON: Well, a lot of people are saying a lot of things, Tom, and a lot of people want to rewrite history, but we've had some tough situations to deal with, and let me take them one at a time.

[bluesmail]

13. Just looking out for numero uno.

[chill_wind]

14. The BiPartisan blank check was written at his confirmation.

His conflict of interest didn't pose a problem for anyone.

Neither did his policies, which were just a wholesale continuation of the Bush plan.

Indeed, he was much bally-hoo'd and warmly embraced. A frickin financial genius.

"Simply no equal to Hank".


Republicans planned the Heist, but we drove the get-away car. Believe it.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4058688

[progressoid]

15. It's not even a revolving door policy anymore.

They just leave the door wide open.

[clear eye]

16. That's why when we call our Congress Members tomorrow,

we have to demand they listen to advice from economists who both forsaw the mess (were smarter than the crowd at Treasury) and aren't tightly connected to the financial institutions. My short list is: Prof Joseph Stiglitz, Dr. Dean Baker, Dr. Nouriel Roubini, Robert Kuttner, and William Greider. Links to short articles the above have written on the subject recently, that you can include in your emails are: <http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=seven_deadly_sins_of_deregulation_and_three_necessary_reforms>
<http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/09/20/progressive_conditions_for_a_b/>
<http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/09/17/stiglitz.crisis/index.html>
<http://www.thenation.com/doc/20081006/greider>

Also the link that reveals that Paulson is planning to bail out more than mortgage-backed securities: <http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aYXtwpG9mw9g&refer=home>

And please, especially if a Senator or Representative who represents you is on the Joint Economic Committee (check <http://jec.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=About.SenateMembers> and <http://jec.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=About.HouseMembers> to find out), really do call them before they meet.

[Old and In the Way]

17. Reminds me of the Cheney quid pro quo.

He wasn't hired for his brilliant mind either. A corruptable character can be more valuable in business than honesty.

[jazzjunkysue]

18. Paulson tipped his hand yesterday on "This Week" with George by repeatedly claiming

"to be protecting the american taxpayer."

When you keep belching out the same slogans, it's obvoius you're lying. It's obvious the opposite is really happening.

[McCamy Taylor]

19. They want big $$$. LIke Halliburton. He will destroy competing firms and hand them to Goldman Sachs.

Other companies should be screaming bloody murder over this. When we are done, there will be the Morgan Empire (because JP Morgan has the goods on the Bush Family's involvement with Hitler) and there will be Goldman Sachs.

[gblady]

20. just when you think....

it can't get any uglier....
It f'n does...
UNFRICKENBELIEVABLE!

[Contrary1]

21. Does anyone have the original Reuters link for this article?

I can't find it in either the Reuters archives or waybackmachine.

Thanks! :hi:

[orleans]

23. there is this linked off the huffpo from june 2005

http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?dist=newsfinder&siteid=google&guid=%7B5801D6FE-295A-4326-894B-ACB0454619C5%7D&keyword=

[AzDar]

24. Another scam.

:kick:

[Two Americas]

25. no, no, no

We are being told that all of this is too complicated for any of us to understand, and that we shouldn't get excited about any of this, or panic. We see these long dense and incomprehensible lectures here "explaining" the system and how "we" all need to "save" the system. In fact, anyone objecting to this is actually causing a depression to be more likely, we are being told! It is not the speculators who broke the system, and who are still the threat, no it is little you and I - by merely speaking out we are going to cause a depression!

So just calm down people, everything will be fine, and let's not jump to any rash conclusions. All of this economical stuff is waaaaaaay over our little heads, and we need to be quiet and step aside and let the experts handle it.

[santamargarita]

26. K$R

$$$

[Lucky Luciano]

27. Goldman was the most profitable firm of its kind

$18.7MM was par for the course in that game. His replacement, Lloyd Blankfein earned $53MM that year (The other honchos earn close to the CEO - some traders at Goldman earn more than the CEO e.g. Mark MCGoldrick before he quit because hedge funds pay more). Lloyd got a $70MM the following year, so the $18MM bonus was normal - he would have been paid more than twice that if he were there for the whole year in other words instead of half.

[fasttense]

28. The repukes couldn't have picked a worse man to be in place during this crisis than Paulson.

Paulson is planning to give away the farm to his old firm so that he looks good and still has a job when he resigns with the bushes. Just like dick who started a war to improve the finances of Halliburton and KBR, Paulson started a financial crisis, or at least let it get out of hand, to improve the finances of Goldman Sachs.

[deacon]

29. kick and highly recommend! n/t

[BraneMatter]

31. And...

with no oversight, WHO will get the trillion?

I know, we should just trust Paulson and Bush to 'do the right thing.'

[earth mom]

32. AKA Modern day robber barons.

:grr:

[formercia]

33. That was just a finder's fee for services to be provided.

Now comes the servicing.

[paparush]

34. I read this morning, over at MarketWatch, that Paulson still owns 3MILLION shares of Goldman Sachs.

[whistle]

35. Are blind Americans beginning to see what this guy is all about now?

...What rat bastards all of these Wall Street swindlers are!

[lonestarnot]

36. K & R

That son of a bitch!