Administration Smacks Citigroup

Posted on 01/27/2009 at 10:20 am by JumpyPants

The Obama Treasury Department is taking action against Citigroup and their ridiculous airplane:

The Treasury official called the bank to complain and told the executive to find a solution. Among the possibilities would be selling or leasing the fancy flier, since there are penalties associated with killing the contract outright.

In any case, the administration does not want the plane put in service under the Citigroup banner.

No word on whether the administation will be tossing shoes. But they should. All of us should.

UPDATE: Citigroup refuses delivery of the jet:

The high-flying execs at Citigroup caved under pressure from President Obama and decided today to abandon plans for a luxurious new $50 million corporate jet from France. [...]

The company today issued a statement saying, “We have no intent to take delivery of any new aircraft.”

BAM!

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  • camel54

    These people need to be held criminally liable for defrauding the public; for stealing public money because that’s what it is when you use someone else’s money for your personal enjoyment. These CEOs and CFOs and everyone at the C level of these bailed-out banks should be treated exactly the same way as you or I would be treated if we lied to them to take their money and then spent it on ourselves.

  • GItheCAPITALIST

    This is a fucking outrage. This goes against every free market supercapitalist principle that this country wasn’t founded on. What is next? Will President Obama put socialist regulations on the banks and give the middle class and working poor a fighting chance to establish marginal wealth? What is Rush’s phone number? I need to get on the air and bang some pots over this outrage. Socialism has always turned out bad for the nation. I mean look at France and their 35 hour work week and 6 weeks of paid vacation. Those people are enslaved. Don’t even get me started on their healthcare system or infant morality rate. GOD BLESS CORPORATE AMERICA!!

  • http://nanotyrnns.blogspot.com/ Nanotyrannus

    Maybe they could move Citigroup down to the bottom of the bailout list…”Awwww… we’ve only got $26.45 left over. Sorry. Wish we could help more. Hope you kept the receipt for that jet…”

  • http://nanotyrnns.blogspot.com/ Nanotyrannus

    Just for everyone’s edification…Cacerolazo, the popular form of protest in some Latin American countries…

  • http://hedonistperspective.typepad.com Alex Rose

    What idiots….

  • cminri

    Why do these executives have to be told to do these things? Don’t they get it at all? Are they so tone deaf that they cant see how wrong it is to use the bailout money for things like private jets, bonuses, fancy toilets, etc? I really dont know why there isnt a greater outrage about this.

  • trustno1

    cminri:a) they know they have little time left to try to pull these stunts.b) they don’t care what the general public thinksc) they think the public is stupid and/or not paying attentiond) they are so far removed from what the normal person goes through that they have no idea that this is a big deale) all of the above(You decide.)

  • cminri

    @trustno1 -Im afraid the answer is “e”.But if we throw enough “shoes” – someone is bound to notice.

  • Curly Lasagna

    “Victory Shoes,” as Jon Stewart called them.

  • SillyGit

    I want to play a game of “Victory Horse Shoes”™ using financial CEO heads as the stakes.I have to agree the answer is “e”They’re making fools of you and meBut if we smack them with a LART™They’ll still behave like a bloomin’ tart.LART = Luser Attitude Readjustment Tool = clue x 4

  • J M Ashby

    Cminri – Yes they are tone deaf. Being born with a silver spoon and groomed since childhood for big business has its side effects.

  • midad

    Most definitely “E”! Nano, thanks for the link. I wonder where that shoe thrower is now? He’s a freakin hero in this house.

  • jane

    Here’s my shoe: If all Citi mortgage holders were to delay payment, not necessarily even long enough to incur a late fee, could we affect their cash flow *just* enough to make an impact? I’m game.Oh yeah, I’m already late.

  • http://www.twoeightnine.com/ twoeightnine

    I’m not sure if this is still true CNN reported an update to the update in that Citi wasn’t sure what they were going to do because they were facing millions in penalties for doing so.

  • ceu

    Then they better open their wallets & pony up to the bar.They have no consciences, apparently. And aren’t people without consciences sociopaths? How did this country ever get to the place where it was being run by sociopaths? (see, Mr Reagan? This is what happens when you open the asylum doors and dump patients on the streets!)

  • bridget

    Did I just see a shoe fly?

  • jeff

    They would have had to order the thing 3-4 years ago, (that’s the wait), a non delivery penalty will cost them at least a third of the cost-if they go ahead and buy it, they have options -like selling it to someone on the 4 year waiting list and recouping most of their money. There is way more to this than anyone is reporting, and is anyone aware of how many jobs it created while it was being made in Little Rock Arkansas-while you sit in your made in America Toyota and talk about their made in France airplane, get some facts. Yes the bailout sucks, yes the banks have blown it-throwing a $15 million loss on top of this will sure help. Bottom line is they’re stuck with it, the criminal act would be pissing away 15 million to shut Katy Couric up.