Quote Originally Posted by denuseri View Post
If the stockholder doesnt like what the company who's stock he or she owns is doing (such as paying its employees etc) then they should perhaps sell the stock or use thier influence with the company's board of directors to change things and or dont buy the product they produce anymore. (gods I wish we could do that with the government too bad its not a company)
Which is essentially what they are doing. They now have a stake in these companies and exercising control. It is only the companies which are part of the bailout that are under these restrictions. Now, if you want to take it as a more general case and try to argue that individual shareholders should do this, that would require an enormously expensive proxy battle which the shareholder(s) would have to pay out his/her own pocket while the board can use company funds. There was a motion to require that executive pay be voted on by the stockholders. Shockingly, that did not get passed.

I also don't believe the government should have given one red cent to ANY of the companies period. Its my tax money I want it back in my pocket not lining the pocket of some politicians pals(any corperation).
This money is *not* a gift. The "package" is preferred stock which carries a required dividend payout if not bought back within five(?) years. Secondly, money doesn't evaporate, it just gets shuffled around. So your taxpayer money will be back in the coffers soon enough.

But heck I doubt that will happen. I doubt I will get my money back. It will be spent on more BS programs and even more of it will be given away on usless stopgate cuases that all ready are known to not have worked when used in the past.
The alternative is quite likely worse. The last time we had a meltdown of this scale, we did the opposite and it took over twenty years to pull out. Do I believe that they are doing everything correctly? Hell no. Is there a halfway decent chance that they will do more good than harm? Yes.

WTF.... I ask you is that slap on the wrist Obama gave the ceo's intended to do anything other than fool more taxpaying sheep into supporting him?
This was coming since AIG execs were caught red-handed being idiots. It wouldn't matter who was in charge. The "sheep" already support him. He's the messiah, remember?