What happened to the bailout money? Why, it's being used as bonus gifts for the Big Boys! Didn't you know?

U.S. taxpayers, who feel they own a stake in Wall Street after funding a $700 billion bailout for the industry, don't want executives' bonuses reduced. They want them eliminated.

``I may not understand everything, but I do understand common sense, and when you lend money to someone, you don't want to see them at a new-car dealer the next day,'' said Ken Karlson, a 61-year-old Vietnam veteran and freelance marketer in Wheaton, Illinois. ``The bailout money shouldn't have been given to them in the first place.''

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Goldman, the largest and most profitable U.S. securities firm in the world last year, paid Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein a record $67.9 million bonus for 2007 on top of his $600,000 salary. That was justified, he told shareholders at the company's annual meeting in April, because of Goldman's superior financial results. Full story...

See also:

1. Former UBS head gives back SFr12 million...
2. Goldman Sachs ready to hand out £7bn salary and bonus package... after its £6bn bail-out!!!
3. Switzerland: top bankers bonus payouts come under fire...
4. Credit crunch? Not for the fat cats; they're still laughing all the way to the bank...