and the unicorn is going to poop out $20 gold pieces on my front step overnight:
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs characterized the gap between Wall Street compensation and Main Street hardship as "outrageous." President Obama topped him with "shameful" and "the height of irresponsibility."
The president said, "Part of what we're going to need is for folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some responsibility."
Really?
New York's Charles Rangel and five other Democratic members of the House enjoyed a trip to the Caribbean sponsored in part by Citigroup (see above) in November - after Congress had approved the $700 bailout for financial firms (including Citigroup).
The members no doubt will object to the terms "junket," but that shoe fits. The National Legal and Policy Center, a watchdog group, has asked Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to investigate the Nov. 6-9 excursion to the island of St. Maarten.
It was called the Caribbean Multi-Cultural Business Conference, but "the primary purpose ... for most participants appeared to be to take a vacation," said the NLPC. And not only was the timing lousy, but "corporate sponsorship of such an event was banned by House rules adopted on March 1, 2007, in response to the (lobbyist Jack) Abramoff scandal," the group pointed out.
Think anything'll be done about it? Me neither. After all, they're wanting to put this tax cheat into high office, too:
“Make no mistake, tax cheaters cheat us all, and the IRS should enforce our laws to the letter. ” Sen. Tom Daschle, Congressional Record, May 7, 1998, p. S4507.
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