Citiscrooge
It’s doubtful that Citigroup’s officer corps will experience a supernatural Dickensian intervention (or three) this Christmas season, but one can hope.
After all, this company is single-handedly putting the B.S. in “bailouts,” becoming the poster child for everything that’s wrong with our nation’s full-throttle, knee-jerk government interventionism.
For those of you unfamiliar with Citi’s recent history, the multinational corporation became the beneficiary of the largest taxpayer-funded bailout in American history this fall – a two-stage “rescue” that included $45 billion in cold, hard taxpayer cash as well as $306 billion in government guarantees on its, um, “troubled assets.”
The goal of the Citi bailout – like the other $2 trillion plus (and counting) that we’ve pumped into these stupid, naughty corporations – was ostensibly to increase the availability of credit.
The plan hasn’t worked, though, because corporate behemoths like Citi are frankly more interested in covering their own asses than they are in “increasing the availability of credit.”
Which is why Citi decided last month to go back on its word and raise its credit card interest rates (in many instances doubling them) on more than 10 million Americans – many of whom have never been late with a payment.
Yeah … that’s precisely what we needed heading into a make-or-break retail season.
This, of course, comes on the heels of perhaps the most egregious example of bailout boondoggling, Citi’s decision to shell out $400 million to name the new Mets’ ballpark.
Amazin’ … ain’t it?
Sadly, Washington politicians will keep giving Citi whatever it wants because the company has always lined Beltway pockets better than any other financial giant out there (Citi employees made some $23 million in political contributions between 1989-2006).
That’s pure clout, people, and one reason why the company is so shameless in advertising their own hypocrisy.
And for those of you hoping the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future come upon Citi leaders in their holiday dreams, don’t hold your breath.
Citi “never sleeps,” remember?
Comments
By redreader on December 16th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
CardWeb.com has a credit card locator tool that someone with a decent credit history can use to transfer balances from a high rate card (like citi) to a lower rate. Screw citi as the bank is using TARP funds to pay out dividends.
By John on December 16th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Why are these CEO’s, CFO’s and other officials not being taken out machiavellian-style and made an example of? I don’t understand why we’re rewarding bad behavior. Greed and avarice are not admirable qualities in a man, and it’s the executives of these massive credit companies that are steadily flushing this great nation (and everything it was founded upon) down the toilet.
I vote for secession! Yee-haw!
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