Part of the problem inherent in the many-armed bailout of the financial sector is that it hasn't been clear exactly who's in charge. Prior to and during last fall's financial meltdown, it was clear that the money men were calling the shots -- and the grim aftermath of that orgy is apparent to everyone.
President Obama was catapulted into office largely on the hope that it would be he -- and, by extension, us -- who was now in charge. But it seems that the bankers are still calling the tune. Obama's apparent impotence in the face of the AIG bonus scandal, for example, seems to speak to the pervasive influence that the financial sector still weilds over the legislative process.
And now, as the next stage in Obama's bank rescue plan goes forward, the banksters are still acting as if they didn't torpedo the whole economy, as if they are still somehow entitled to the largesse they took for granted. From the NY Times:
But some executives at private equity firms and hedge funds, who were briefed on the plan Sunday afternoon, are anxious about the recent uproar over millions of dollars in bonus payments made to executives of the American International Group.
Some of them have told administration officials that they would participate only if the government guaranteed that it would not set compensation limits on the firms, according to people briefed on the conversations. The executives also expressed worries about whether disclosure and governance rules could be added retroactively to the program by Congress, these people said.
I went into the wrong line of work. Shoulda been a banksta.
-A
H/T Atrios