UPDATED. Golden Sacks: 23 billion in bonuses, pays only 14 million in taxes

by: Inky99

Tue Oct 13, 2009 at 10:17:39 PDT

It plans to give out $23 billion, yes, that's billion with a B, in "bonuses" (hm, we used to call that "embezzlement") for it's beloved employees hard work in milking a failing US economy to the ridiculous benefit of The Firm.

Last year, Goldman Sacks paid only 14 million dollars in taxes.  Worldwide.    

Okay, what is wrong with this picture ....?

And why can't the government do something about it?

Oh right.  The government is owned by Golden Sacks.   Geithner?   Nobody can get him on the phone EXCEPT for Golden Sacks.  They call him all they want, and he calls them, too.   They're BFF's!

How much is $23 Billion dollars?

For one thing, it's enough to send 460,000 full paying students to Harvard University for one year, or 115,000 for four years.

It's enough to pay the health insurance premium for the average American family ($13,375) 1.7 million times.

It's enough to upgrade 191 million computers to Windows 7 operating system (priced at $119.99), or to buy 115 million iPhones at $199.99 (provided the recipient was willing to sign a two-year contract).

Or, apparently, it's enough to reward the employees of Goldman Sachs for a bonanza trading year, at a firm where average employee compensation was recently $622,000 -- and likely to be greater this year.

The $23 billion figure could leave some American taxpayers woozy -- the US government bailed out Goldman Sachs with a multi-billion payment last year, which the firm has since repaid.

But while Goldman is likely to pay its biggest bonuses ever to employees, the firm pays very little in taxes worldwide. In 2008, the company was said to have paid just $14 million in taxes worldwide, and paid $6 billion in 2007.

The firm's corporate tax rate? About 1 percent. According a prominent tax lawyer, "They have taken steps to ensure that a lot of their income is earned in lower-tax jurisdictions."

A 1 percent tax rate?  

This is the very epitome of "laughing all the way to the bank".

I suppose it's good to be King.   And the King of the world right now is Goldman Sachs.

They own the place.

But wait!  There's more!

Geithner Aides Reaped Millions Working for Banks, Hedge Funds

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Some of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's closest aides, none of whom faced Senate confirmation, earned millions of dollars a year working for Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other Wall Street firms, according to financial disclosure forms.

No corruption there, it's pure coincidence, nothing to see, move right along now .......

JPMorgan scores big in latest quarter

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JPMorgan Chase delivered its strongest performance since the financial crisis first took hold two years ago, as the company reported earnings on Wednesday that towered above Wall Street's expectations.

Financial crisis?   What financial crisis?   Hey, no wonder they're saying the recession is over.  It sure is ... for THEM!

The rest of us?   We can eat cake, right?

Geithner can't keep his story straight regarding AIG bonuses

There is no evidence US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner knew about tens of millions of dollars in bonuses paid to executives at insurance giant AIG before a massive bailout, an inspector general said Tuesday.

Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said in a report to be presented to Congress however that the payment of the bonuses suggested poor communication.

"While (the inspector general) saw no indication that Secretary Geithner had personal knowledge of the ... bonuses until March 10, 2009, three days before they were paid, this too suggests a failure of communication," the report said.

News of some 165 million dollars in bonuses paid out by the fallen insurance giant's Financial Products unit created an uproar, but officials said they were unable to stop the contractually mandated payments.

Geithner said he was informed by his staff about the bonuses in March and sought to halt them.

So what is it, Timmy?  Did you know, or did you not know?   I know it's difficult to remember things when you're in public office, SOOO many people have trouble "recalling" this or that.   But you're supposed to be keeping track of all of this, that's your JOB you fucking corrupt putz.

I know it's hard to keep track of the details when Wall Street On Track To Award Record Pay.   Yes, why keep track of little details when you and your friends are swimming in money?

Major U.S. banks and securities firms are on pace to pay their employees about $140 billion this year -- a record high that shows compensation is rebounding despite regulatory scrutiny of Wall Street's pay culture.

Workers at 23 top investment banks, hedge funds, asset managers and stock and commodities exchanges can expect to earn even more than they did the peak year of 2007, according to an analysis of securities filings for the first half of 2009 and revenue estimates through year-end by The Wall Street Journal.

I'm glad they were able to make lemonade from the lemons.   That "financial crisis" really worked out rather well, didn't it?   I'm so happy for them!  

Now they can piss on my head and tell me it's raining and I'll be oh-so-happy.  

Trickling down to the peasants ........

Wait.  That's not lemonade!

May I suggest a specially-made massage table for these people?