Friday, October 23, 2009

If you take the king's shilling...

...you gotta dance to the king's tune.

21 comments:

Bob said...

My sentiments almost exactly, although I was taught the He who pays the fiddler calls the tune version of the axiom.

Fuzzy Curmudgeon said...

Personally, I've always been a fan of, "Once you have paid him the Dane-geld, You never get rid of the Dane."

Possibly more appropriate, since Øbama & Co. have gone a-Viking on our country.

Anonymous said...

My wife used to work for AIG in the 90's. The good-old-days before Spitzer ran off long-time CEO Hank Greenberg and put the collapse in motion.

If these pay requirements stick, AIG will never recover. Competent managment won't work for that little in NYC - it is below their cost of living. I'm a mid-level manager in NJ and I wouldn't cross the river daily for less than $200k - just not worth it. You folks in other parts of the country can't believe high taxes and costs are here.

Anonymous said...

If the salary cap had been part of the original deal, okay, fine. As is, however, it's changing the deal after the papers are signed.

I see it as a camel's nose and tent thing: Who's next? What new unpopular sectors will be targeted?

And, after all, the Administration was quite happy with the pay rates until the public squalled about it.

Art

Tomcatshanger said...

Seeing as we all take the King's shilling, this doesn't bode all that well. We drive, we get mail, we generally live in the zone LEO's and FD's respond within. Then there's the military.

I wonder how much tax money these companies have paid in? I wonder what the chances are that these companies could have been helped out by a tax waiver for a year or two?

Anonymous said...

The "pay cuts" are fraudulent. The exceptions are numerous and will not be reviewed. As well, most compensation will be deferred to future years or take other forms (vacation homes, company cars/limo, city apartments for mistresses, inter alia).

Shootin' Buddy

Zdogk9 said...

I'd always heard it as; If you hop in bed with the devil you'd better be ready to ----.

Kristophr said...

Some of those banks weren't given a choice about accepting those TARP funds.

The money they forced Well Fargo to accept is still sitting in an escrow account, and waiting for the feds to give up and take it all back.

Netpackrat said...

Ditto Kristopher. If this isn't fascism, I don't know what is.

Assrot said...

I knew that was coming. It was only a matter of time.

Can't wait to see what the King does to healthcare and the auto industry. They're next.

Mark my words. I know these socialists like the back of my hand. I'm surrounded by their kind down here.

Joe

Tam said...

But... but... but... these are Fat Cats and Banksters! We Common People are supposed to cheer for their demise!

fast richard said...

Since we don't have a King, isn't this the taxpayer's shilling, and the socialist's tune? Seems to me this whole thing adds up to two wrongs don't make a right.

MeatAxe said...

I'm just amazed we found something that Obama doesn't want to spend money on.

Anonymous said...

The x is a cross eyed dumbass.

Ian Argent said...

The deal has altered. Pray we don't alter it further. /vader

Robert McDonald said...

I don't like it, but I didn't like the bailouts either.

Just another fine example of idiots who want to have their cake and eat it too.

Brad K. said...

I guess losing 175 votes, and the taxes they would have contributed, the jobs their earnings would have supported in their communities, looks pretty good to B. Hussein Obama. He gets to redistribute the wealth of someone.

Anonymous said...

This administration's total lack of understanding for how a free market economy works is astounding. We haven't even really begun to see the fall that's coming from these fools. While watching the news tonight, I had to have a good laugh when they were talking about France being pissed at us because we are starting to act like France. I'm not so sure those European Socialists want us to join their ranks, oh well, until we vote these fools out of office, that's where we are heading, along with 20% unemployment...

Anonymous said...

@anonymous

I suppose there's got to be serious shortage of executives nowadays? Are they getting executed?

In the 1950's, 1960's, CEO pay was much lower. Economy grew faster, didn't it?

Perhaps there is a connection. Probably not pay, but in 1950's, there were almost no MBAs to fuck things up.

-Orc

Ian Argent said...

More businesses?

Note: We're not going to get the US economy of the 50's and 60's back without nuking/carpet bombing all of eurasia west of the Urals and east of the Gobi Desert. When you have the only intact heavy infrastructure, the world beats a path to your door, and writes you all the checks.

What we will get if we allow freedom is some messy mistakes, probably a bank failure or two, and overall, prosperity. Creative Destruction.

buzz_knox said...

"Just another fine example of idiots who want to have their cake and eat it too."

Just remember that a lot of those you are calling "idiots" had no choice in the matter. They were told that they would either accept the money or the Treasury would cut them off completely from routine business with the Treasury. Treasury is also not allowing them to pay the money back, as it was "given" to them and wasn't a "loan" (notwithstanding the fact the companies are paying 8% to the Treasury for this "gift.")

I work with a lot of the "fat cats." They hate what the Treasury did as much as the rest of us.