Waxman Demands Banks Disclose Bonuses

In separate letters to the nine major U.S. banks to be gifted with $125 billion in taxpayer money, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Harry A. Waxman, asks the banks to disclose exactly how much taxpayer money will end up in the pockets of their top executives as compensation and bonuses.

"According to recent public filings, these nine banks have spent or reserved $108 billion for employee compensation and bonuses in the first nine months of 2008, nearly the same amount as last year," writes Waxman in his letters to the banks. "Some experts have suggested that a significant percentage of this compensation could come in year-end bonuses and that the size of the bonuses will be significantly enhanced as a result of the infusion of taxpayer funds."

Do you remember voting to give these bankers bonuses? Let's hope Chairman Waxman gets some answers.

Also See:
Could the Mortgage Crisis and Bailout Have Been Prevented? (US Economy)
Federal Intervention in the Banking Panic (US Economy)