4/1/2009

11 Responses to “It’s Not Just AIG”

1. What are the odds we can work up enough of a frenzy to get them to return it?

   Mary (1dc631) — 4/1/2009 @ 9:53 pm

   
   

2. What are the odds that they even give a damn what we think?

   AD - RtR/OS (5021d1) — 4/1/2009 @ 10:10 pm

   
   

3. I think the readers here should consider the very real distinction between policy failures pushed by elected representatives, for which the payment of any bonus would be a sick joke, and the payment of bonuses from unused office budgets to employees for the work they have done — over which they had little or no input in terms of policy.

   Every US Attorneys Office has a similar bonus pool that is used to reward “Outstanding” performance by employees as rated in their annual review by supervisors. The money to fund these bonuses comes from unspent funds in the budget for salaries that result from vacant positions. It generally takes a few months from the time a position becomes vacant to a replacement hire coming on board. Each office has a salary budget for its full staff (assigned FTEs — “full time employees”). When there are vacancies for a period of weeks or months, not all the salary budget is expended at the end of the year. Since the work of the office went on and was done by those that were still there, the “bonuses” are paid to those individuals whose performances were rated as “Outstanding”, which is one of 3 classifications — “Outstanding”, “Meets Expectations”, “Fails To Meet Expectations.” The amount of the annual bonus is caped by regulation at $3000, before taxes. For a senior DOJ prosecutor, that’s about 1.5% of his/her annual salary.

   We’re not talking Wall Street here. I suspect the Congressional bonuses are similar.

   WLS Shipwrecked (f6941a) — 4/1/2009 @ 10:23 pm

   
   

4. Except, some of those Congressional Staff bonuses ran in the neighborhood of $14K.
   But then, he who makes the rules gets to break the rules, or have no rules at all.

   AD - RtR/OS (5021d1) — 4/1/2009 @ 10:29 pm

   
   

5. I am not going to hold my breath waiting on Barcky to denounce this evil greed.

   JD (6f1fb5) — 4/1/2009 @ 10:32 pm

   
   

6. I suspect the Congressional bonuses are similar.

   Except who would rate their performance as “Outstanding”? Or even “Meets Expectations”? 😉

   Stashiu3 (460dc1) — 4/1/2009 @ 10:36 pm

   
   

7. Well, we are talking about staff here, not the crooks Congresskritters themselves.

   AD - RtR/OS (5021d1) — 4/1/2009 @ 10:39 pm

   
   

8. We’re not talking Wall Street here.

   Small things so sad that birds could land… is lump fast asleep or rockin’ out with the band? What we are not talking about here is Wall Street. Hey you. You talking about Wall Street? Cause you shouldn’t be cause that is NOT what we are talking about. You can tell from the post, brain cell. Nope, don’t say nothin’ about no Wall Street up there, boss. No, it really doesn’t does it?

   If I have to come in there the game’s over and both of you are going straight to bed and whoever made chockit milk needs to clean up their mess.

   happyfeet (20bcab) — 4/1/2009 @ 10:50 pm

   
   

9. @ Comment by WLS Shipwrecked — 4/1/2009 @ 10:23 pm “The money to fund these bonuses comes from unspent funds in the budget for salaries that result from vacant positions.”

   I will have to differ, these monies are not “unspent” funds, they are monies borrowed to finance that years deficits. If all the monies “saved” from so called unspent funds were returned to the taxpayer, maybe we’d be talking some real dollars.

   GM Roper (85dcd7) — 4/2/2009 @ 8:18 am

   
   

10. tax it at 91%!!!!!!

    setting5 (983921) — 4/2/2009 @ 11:15 am

    
    

11. We should put the government in charge of more businesses.

    Dreadnaught (736023) — 4/2/2009 @ 6:55 pm