American Morning
Fast Forward
The stories that will be making news later today:
This morning, some people are saying he should either resign or be fired, but Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner still has the full support of President Obama. At 12:30pm Eastern, CNN's Ali Velshi will sit down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with the Treasury Secretary.
At 12:30 Eastern Vice-President Joe Biden attends a town hall meeting at a bus company plant in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. He'll talk about the administration's effort to strengthen the middle class. Biden will be joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other Cabinet members.
President Obama, will push his economic plan again today in California. At 4:30 pm Eastern President Obama will hold a town-hall meeting in Los Angeles with the mayor. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will also be there. Then he'll appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". The President will be sharing the stage with country music legend, Garth Brooks.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments later today to decide whether Bernard Madoff will see a lot more daylight between now and his sentencing on June 16th. He's supposed to remain in a Manhattan jail until then, when he faces up to 150 years behind bars. Madoff was the sole person charged in what is the largest investment scheme in U.S. History.
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The man has only been in office a couple of months and the country is going in the dumper! We all thought on election day he would perform to help America and bring a real change to Washington. How disappointing he is to me today. Late night TV, Town Hall meetings to tell us what he is going to do AGAIN, and then look at what is REALLY happening. Just another politician, just another day in Washington.
Sure wish we could go back to electing people who really work for a living. Like farmers, and folks that sweat once in a while. Those people know what it takes to survive. But no, we have to put the Harvard graduate and Oil men in office. The had the most money to get in our faces on TV and make sure the media told us how great they were and lets not forget those empty promises for a year before the elections. Well the next election, I will vote for the poorest person running!
Let's not allow the smoke to cover-up the fact that the President signed this Stimulus Bill, as well. Should I assume the $101,000 AIG contribution did not influence his interpretation, as he read the exclusion that allowed the bonuses.
WOW Todd ~~ I agree with you 100%!!
March 19th, 2009 7:20 am ET
Hi There:
As an overly Taxed citizen I am tired of the fake outrage of these politicians. I think tax payers should rise up and demand all politicians have a 25% pay cut , be forced to pay into social security and be limited to two terms. Plus another big demand is that all companies receiving our tax dollars as bailout money be FORBIDDEN TO DONATE TO ANY POLITICAL ORGANIZATION , PERSON OR CAMPAIGN!
Thanks Todd from Savannah Georgia
When i was younger back in the late 60 early 70’s their was this country preacher who also wrote songs. His name was Bob Willis, he wrote a song called Wake Up America For You are To Die. My american brothers and sisters it is time we woke up. The country I deeply love is not failing us, she is still as strong today as she was back then. The problem is our government and their cronings. Our government and the big business is gone amock. Do you remember the day when you knew your grocer, banker and worst of your neighbor. Myself included I am embarrassed that we have all lost tract trying to make a quick buck. Lets stop these giants like AIG, WALMART, JUST NAME A COUPLE and finally go out in your neighborhood and just meet one neighbor. It will cause a snowball affect, visit a neighborhood grocer, start shoping only locally owned business. As Mr Willis sung so long ago WAKE UP AMERICA FOR WE ARE TO YOUNG TO DIE. MAY GOD BLESS US ALL AND FORGIVE US ALL FOR THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DONE TO THIS GREAT COUNTRY.
We are all pointing the finger...well we need to point it at our selves. I would like to give everyone some in site of this so called melt-down and AIG. First, I was a Area Construction Manager in Orlando..Everything was booming, Well the counties had a big finger in it. They told the inspectors to hold up on passing homes. Look for every tiny thing to hold up the homes. Why,well this created a higher demand and drove home prices up. For them this meant Higher tax and more money in the counties pockets..Second, Now everyone was getting Rich from County, Builder,Contractors,subcontractors Etc. Now everyone needed stuff, like trucks, homes tools etc. Take me...I needed a new truck..I went shopping Used first ..All overpriced..I then went to ford...Now I had no Past Cridet History..Not a very good past work History I had only been with this Company 1 Year. I did have $3000 cash to put down. The sales-Rep as we all know works on Commission so we was there all day while this guy did what ever he did to get me financed...Remember this happened everywhere from homes to cars Etc. Now a week later I got a letter saying I had a different finance company...I didn’t understand why but I do now. They sold the Loan to another Company. Anyway the bottom fell out I lost my job, My truck Etc. So what I'm Saying is we all need to blame ourselves. I take the blame for getting a loan I couldn’t afford, The sales-Rep should Blame his self for doing what ever he did just so he could get the commission..All the People who had homes built for investment..and what I mean by that is One person would have homes built for resale at higher Prices. I seen one guy who had 6 homes built in different places....Why would any Company Loan this guy Money to build this many Homes ..well he went to different Loan Companies and different builders and each time had exceptable amounts of money to put down on each one..and that was as far as everyone looked. CASH IN HAND...We are all to blame for this so stop Pointing the finger and Just try to not get so greedy next time..ALL OF US.
When "transparency" has become so popular a term, why are we unable to use it in "everyday speak?" Instead of dancing around a polite way of reporting what Sen Chris Dodd has done, why can't we just say, "He lied?" He did.
Shouldn't the "employees" we've hired with our vote be held to the same standards we expect from these executives we've turned in to straw men?
The "hypocrisy watch" needs to police itself and use language that's truly transparent and honest.
To the news media-wouldn't it be more important to focus our attention on what is happen in Iraq and Afganistan – I am totally sick of the media harping on every little aspect of this bailout crap. we as american people kmew there was going to be some backhanded dealings- come on it's the fat cats of government. Everyone in Washington claiming their comcerns for the taxpayers – has to make you wonder where was all this concern for the past eight years. The republicans after eight years of burying their heads in the sand and blindly following bebind Bush and Cheney is now shouting foulplay. Where was all that concern for taxpayers when Bush and Cheney was putting the majority of the American people into the poor house.
I am a 79 year old grandmother. Several years ago in order to give my chilren some specific financial help, I took out a mortage with a company named The Money Store which I learned about from TV commercials. Then the company was bought ($) out by HomeEq. I have been paying on this for at least 10 years, not seeing amy appreciable decrease in the principal. Last year because of some health problems I missed a couple of payments. I entered into a repayment plan to pay those missed payments plus a company afixed "Coropote Fee" of 500.00, Since September of last year I have been paying 600,oo per month, and since then have paid over 4000,00, a thing not easy for someone living on a fixed income. I have one more such repayment amount to make, then will revert to a payment of less than 400.00 per month. I have kept track...and know my principal has only come down by a little more than 1000.00 since making these repayment funds. I would write this off...but doing so would mean that my daughter and her family would be homeless when I died, so I plug along, hoping to live long enough to pay this off. Oy yes. One of the Homeeq emyploees that I talked to recently told me that HomeEq was owned by Fannie Mae,and I really do feel that I am being ripped off. By the way, my mortage is at a fixed rate of 9%
It is one thing to be able to "legally" hand out 165 million in executive bonuses ... it is another to actually do it – with our money! This blatant lack of conscience is what is so disturbing.
WHY ISN,T ANYONE TALKING ABOUT TH CHINA DEAL THAT PUT UP OUR LAND IN THIS COUNTRY TO ASSURE THEY GET THEIR . MONEY...........
When is Congress going to do the same and take a paycut to help the American economy?
Don't get me started on this same Democratic Congress, Democratic Senate along with 3 Republican Senators who voted to remove E-Verify Program to insure all monies go to American citizens and now allow illegal aliens to receive taxpayer money. Now we have Pelosi calling us Americans "Unpatriotic"....and illegal aliens the good guys. This tactic has nothing to do with a good heart...she is promising them citizenship for their votes. This is just a Civil War Tactic.....you vote for us will give you a mule and 30 acres....it is disgusting.....she should support our Immigration Laws and all our officers...instead she slapped them in the face.
The Democratic Congress, Democratic Senate and the 3 Republicans who voted yes on the Job Pork Stimulus...without even reading it....owe Mr. Liddy an apology for what he has been put through....and they need to be under oath in the same chair as Mr. Liddy was in. I add the media needs to apologize as well. We need to know who told Chris Dodds from the White House and the Treasury Dept. to remove Republican Snowe provision and put his in... this is why the bonuses were parceled out. We have been Blagoviched with an "F".
This Democratic show grilling was heinous....and beginning to smell of Chicago Politics....notice Obama is out of town when it gets hot. The buck stops with Obama....no this entire problem was started by him. The "My Fault...I am the President"..the "buck stops here"....not good enough anymore...getting real old. This Obama show has put AIG employees in danger....and the media can take their share of the responsibility.
I also agree that the media is falling down on it's job when it refuses to cover the outrageous comments made by Nancy Pelosi. This woman speaks to an audience of illegals and illegal sympathizers, and says that existing immigration law should be ignored. Didn't this woman take an oath to uphold the laws of the land? There also was little coverage of her trip to Italy and what transpired in her meeting with the pope. You can bet if it were a Republican acting in such irresponsible ways, CNN would be all over the story.
I think Barney Frank and the rest of Congress needs to give up their Federal Bonuses as well.. Congress gets paid to much to start with and they vote every year to give themselves a raise!! I wonder how they will vote every year.
The arrogance of Congress yesterday was ridiculous. Their attacks against Mr. Liddy, a guy who came out of retirement for $1 per year, was embarrassing. Mr. Liddy had nothing to do with the bonus contracts that were signed early in 2008. Maybe Congress needs to look at their own automatic pay raises. Maybe Congress and President Obama need to look at their own spending habits. Does Mr. obama really need to be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to jet around the country to continue his campaign tactics? How big is the carbon footprint is Air Force One leaving? It is time Mr. obama spend a little more time actually working in the oval Office rather than running in this perpetual campaign mode. Mr. Obama said that Tim Geithner is the hardest working person in Washington. I believe him. Unfortunately, the hardest working person should be the President, and he seems to prefer to party, campaign, and fill out NCAA basketball brackets. Pretty sad to see what the American people elected this time around.
I understand that the "bonuses" given to AIG are extreme and unacceptable. However the people who received these bonuses are not the ones at fault. AIG had to live up to their legal contracts, as irresponsible as they seem, or face the consequences. What I really would like to see is the people, who didn't read but voted for the bailout, step up and take responsibility. As nice as it was to see President Obama take responsibility since he did have some sway over congress's opinion. He had nothing to do with the actual vote and once again personal responsibility (this time of congress) has flown out the window.
I wonder if Senator Dodd, Pres. Obama, Senator McCain and all the others who received large campaign contributions for AIG (who was definitely in finincial trouble at the time of the contributions) will pay back those contributions. They are all extremely outraged at AIG. I also wonder if all those who received considerations on their mortgages: Dodd and Pres. Obama to point out some examples – from AIG companies are feeling any remorse – like they are the favored few – all this is at Tax Payors expense!!!!!! Please, where are the ethics ??
So, NOW Barney Frank wants the names of Americans who may recieve bonuses, does he? He and the rest of Congress were only too happy to perform the dog and pony show yesterday, as long as our attention has been diverted from the BILLIONS of tax payer dollars that went overseas.
How in the world do we get to the point where emotion trumps law. A contract is a contract in this country and is legally binding. We may not like it, but following the law is what holds this society together. Recognize the agreement and move on, please.
I have been on SSD for 10 years and want get back into the workforce, servered my country and have degrees, but is homebound, is there programs that can help me or anyone can point me in right direction.?
KiSSeLMo
It seems that everyone except the government is responsible. Not only are our tax dollars bailing everyone out, why is there no outrage over the Congressional wage increase? While regular folks get laid-off or wages cut, Congress takes care of themselves.
We Amercians I think are tired of someone in this government saying "they are responsible", when there are no consequences
for accepting said responsibility. If Obama now says he is responsible for the fiasco involving the AIG bonus payouts, then he should resign. If he's not responsible, then someone needs to be
fired. Either way, I want my money back.
Now that the AIG CEO has exposed the truth about the heretofore little secret admendment to the bailout legislation, why are the American people not outraged at Sen. Chris Dodd and the incompetance of the Treasury Department? Who gave Sen. Dodd the power to insert a critical change in the legislation that made the bonuses legal? It seems that his actions have had an incredibly negative impact on all taxpayers, yet only the voters of Conn. have the power to vote him out of office. He has taken political power to a new level.
By the way, you guys have totally ignored the outrageous and, in my opinion, treasonous comments made by Nancy Pelosi regarding illegal immigrants. She basically said current US immigration laws should be violated. Are you protecting her? Why? What she said was a disgrace and an outrage to the American people and to the rule of law.
My only concern with President Obama appearing on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" is that the tone on that show compared his tone at the town-hall meeting in Los Angeles could be greatly differentiated.
Leno may try to crack a joke or few which is always entertaining, but will this really be the right time for that? I guess the only comfort I can reserve myself to is the fact that Obama can "chew gum and walk at the same time."
Hi There:
As an overly Taxed citizen I am tired of the fake outrage of these politicians. I think tax payers should rise up and demand all politicians have a 25% pay cut , be forced to pay into social security and be limited to two terms. Plus another big demand is that all companies receiving our tax dollars as bailout money be FORBIDDEN TO DONATE TO ANY POLITICAL ORGANIZATION , PERSON OR CAMPAIGN!
Thanks Todd from Savannah Georgia
I was extremely impressed by President Obama's tone yesterday at the town-hall meeting. While showing much frustration against AIG, he remained calm and collected while voicing the key steps ahead for great change.
AIG is a prime example of all the big corporations that took advantage of the American people and their tax dollars. I firmly believe that because of President Obama, instances like this will become a thing of yesteryear. The problems may not disappear altogether, but these recessionary times will subside if the Obama Administration can stick to their plans.
Unfortunately though, the subsiding of recessionary times calls for our patience. The economy may not repair in the next four years or eight, but we will be back on the right track. Corporate America enjoyed a near decade-long of overspending and it's Corporate America that has ruined it for the rest of us, even for me and my fellow Canadians north of the border.