Well said NABNYC,

Where can we find the ‘disclosure’ on Obama’s $200M payoff?

We need to stop letting the ruling class get away with claiming that “transparency” and “disclosure” is a cure for corruption.  It isn’t.  Neither has any value when the public has no real say in what happens.  We now have disclosures showing that Obama, for example, received $200 million from various sources before he was elected.  From which anyone could conclude the guy was bought and paid for before he took office, and we really need to ban all contributions to any politician.  But that doesn’t happen, so the disclosure of the bribes paid to the politicians is of absolutely no value at all to the public.  We can’t stop it.  We can’t do anything about it.  So what’s the point?

What the politicians should do to stop the looting of businesses by the insiders is simple:  declare that all compensation of any type—income, salary, stock options, healthcare, life insurance, pension contributions—in excess of $250,000 cannot be written off by the business.  It is not tax deductible because it is not a “reasonable” business expense.  Like you cannot write off a $1000 bottle of champagne for lunch.  That would end this practice. 

Disclosure is a tired and useless tactic designed to convince the public that everything is on the up and up, but it isn’t, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.  What do I think about these obscene salaries?  They should be taxed at 90%.  That would end the practice.  Not “disclosures.”  With a “disclosure” and $3.25 I can get a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

Hey, let the banksters get paid whatever they want; just tax them a the Eisenhower-era rates and eliminate loopholes then use the money to stimulate the economy!

They are getting bonuses because they were SUPPOSED to run the thing into the ground… the insurance bet was the payoff!!!  Then they could buy cheap with the money swindled from the bailout… then they could repay the borrowed money.. or just add to the tax bill, either way, they win with a massive leverage play and transfer of wealth the world hadn’t seen in a while… 

Would have tempted King Solomon to want a piece of the action.