Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for October 28, 2011

I am shredding my Bank of America cc.

But if BofA didn’t pay $11M to Price and Krawcheck, then they might leave to go wreck another financial institution.

This is one of those moments where most conservatives and liberals agree on something. Who knew Barry would be such a uniter with the results from the bank bail-outs? If they can afford to give such bonuses, they really didn’t need the bail-outs.

@Richard: agreed!

The rationale behind the nameless and faceless escapes me. But the harm they seem to do affects so many.

GT has simultaneously mocked OWS and justified it. How many cartoonists and writers can do that?

GT I’m so glad you are part of this world.

Thank you for storyline.

maybe, but GT is funny

“Corporation: An ingenious device for obtaining individual profits without individual responsibility.” — Ambrose Bierce, 1906.

Capitalism should be all about investing your sweat and your money in a business and getting rewarded for your work and your risk if you succeed. It has become a means by which a few invest everyone else’s money and work, and are rewarded whether they succeed or not.

Why is it that they are called “police” when they enforce laws you like and “regulators” when they enforce laws you dislike?

The Parrot is right, of course. It is much easier to start up a new company and compete when you don’t have to worry about justice, honesty, or the public interest, and can do any damn thing you please.

JJRock’s spiritual heirs strut all over the business world today. Most of what they do turns out to be perfectly legal, but it is hard (impossible) to admire.

I doubt that Price and Krawcheck will feel shamed as they count their money. I do wonder if this national notoriety will affect their future job prospects. Does Trudeau’s influence extend to corporate boardrooms?

Is there cause for a libel suit in this strip?

Plutocratic oligarchy crockery ultimately cracks.

Two years ago I owed over $19k on my BoA credit card with payments of $500/mo and over 19% interest, and a smaller amount to Discover. At that rate of interest, I would never get the credit card paid off. I wrote both companies to ask to have my interest rate lowered, as I had a good credit record with them both, never missing payments and even paying early. Discover readily gave me a lower, more manageable interest rate. BoA told me they didn’t think they would do it. No reason given. I applied for a Discover Personal Loan with an interest rate of 14%. I will have the loan paid off in 4 more years AND the payments are $100 less than to the credit card. Will I ever do business with BoA again? NO!

Bierce was a cynic. That is how you know he was telling the truth. And you clearly wouldn’t know truth if it was put in your birdseed.

Shame the shameful! GOTP delenda est…

Parrot – Just so I’m clear, you think we’re in this mess because the financial business is too regulated?

FriscoLou (from yesterday), the only place in Nancy Pelosi’s neighborhood I could afford to live would be IN the recycling bin…

The last CEO of Washington Mutual, Alan Fishman, walked away with a golden parachute of $19 million after being on the job for 17 days. WM declared bankruptcy and the stockholders lost everything. JPMorgan took over the banking operations and laid off thousands of employees. The next to last CEO, Kerry Killinger, was paid $14 million for 1 year on the job as the bank plummeted toward the largest bank failure in US history.

“Sharing” – Says the guy with his head hidden in a paper sack.

“Regulators bypass the legislative process and enforce their own laws.” Bzzzzzzzzt. Wrong!

This is how the game is played. Reward success or failure and, either way, step on people.

““CEO Seminar 501: How to Rake It In While Your Company Goes Down the Drain”?” Typical Mafia way of doing business.

“I’m gonna be on the right side of the profit line for a change.”

In your dreams.

“Well, it can’t be libel if it is a true fact…” As far as society is concerned, it can’t be a true fact if it isn’t proven to be in a court of law. Your side has one lawyer who will take your life savings. The multinational corporation will have thousands of lawyers at its disposal. Do the logic, do the math.

lol Susan, yeah “New Adventures” is pretty funny!

btw folks, I got lured in at first by the gambling psittacine. But it’s just a troll, mindlessly regurgitating Fox party line. A harmless echo.

Where is the libel? The fact is their combined severance packages totaled $11 million.

I pay my credit cards in full every month. I don’t pay a penny of interest to the masters of destruction.

In the words of RR “There you go again”

You could use the few shares you bought to attend stock holder meetings and holding the BofA executives responsible for their actions. A British MP bought stock in News Corp so he could attend stockholder meeting where he attacked- verbally, not physically- the Murdochs.

“Do you think those two crooks will sue GT for libel?” They would if they cared. They’ll look at the odds. Garry Trudeau has plenty of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ to pay plenty of lawyers. The “two crooks” will see that he isn’t a “little person” who can barely afford one lawyer, if that. They know that a public trial will lure the gossip mags/websites. They will see that they can’t win by intimidation and offers of cash (as they would to a little person). And they will back off.  They’ll private-jet off to the Great Barrier Reef to spear some exotic colorful sea life instead. Bottoms up!

Our money is still in BoA only because we won’t be getting charged. May, as a show of unity, pull it all anyway and put it in the credit union with whom we still have accounts .

Right, if it weren’t for regulations I could start a bank and compete with BoA! lolI will be leaving them shortly, also, even though they say they canceled the fee. Just on general principles.As for small banks, somehow my state leads in bank failures. Must be them dang rules!

@AKHenderson- 82% of the student loan debt is from the last decade because most of the old loans were paid off. It would be useful to do a comparison of the ratio of tuition & college debt compared to salaries over the last 30 years or so. I’m guessing that the cost of college has risen much more sharply then the salaries graduates make.

Was with what turned into BoA for over 15 years and through approximately 4 takeovers. Left them years ago after they bombed me with overdraft fees when my debit card was stolen. The thieves charged $800 to my card and BoA charged me approximately the same in overdraft charges before they were able to grasp that the card had been stolen. Fighting my way through their automated “support” system on a holiday weekend was a nightmare all it’s own. I left and will never go back.

I tend to compare the United States with the Roman Empire. During his time as President “King” George W. Bush compares with Emperor Constantine in many ways. The Empire arguably declined and fell starting with him. The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) wanted America to rule as much of the world as they could. But just as the Romans were checked by military foes (Persia to the east, Germanic tribes to the north and north-west), so America met its match against “asymmetric”, decentralized foes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and various other points around the world. And as Rome rotted from within, we are as well, as the OWS “kids” are pointing out.

“Hewlett Packard will probably hire them. They’d compliment the new CEO.” You mean Meg Whitman? The candidate for governor of California against Jerry Brown? The candidate who went down to defeat because she employed an illegal alien for many years?

According to my financial calculator, if Joe Price or Sallie Krawcheck were to take $4,500,000 (I strongly suspect they’ll take home at least this much of their severance packages after tax) and invest it in very conservative investments that paid out nothing more than the current inflation rate (presently 3.87%), they could have an annual annuity of $222,976.25 for the next 40 years. Consider: $223,000 a year to do nothing but hang out at the country club for most probably the rest of their lives.`I realize that $230,000 may not be sufficient to adequately support the standard of living Joe and Sallie have become accustomed to. However, I dare say the majority of the readers of this post would be capable of muddling through. It’s a safe bet that the greater part of the 30,000 ex-employees of Bank of America managed to live on much less before they were dismissed.

Yeah, I see your point too. But I don’t think the American Empire can last as long as the Roman Empire did. I mean, I see our decline coming much faster against the impositions of economically rising nations such as China and India.

From my memories of my long-ago, high school Latin, I think delenda est means is/ has been destroyed.

“If I was the head of another financial institution I wouldn’t give Price and Krawcheck the time of day.” Of course you wouldn’t. Neither would the rest of the plutocrats, not the time of day, just $11M, that’s all.

Ya know Parrot predatory capitalism, is a lot like hunting with Dick Cheney

That second panel could also describe the way his generation has been raised.

They were paid to come on board and paid to leave!! Shouldn’t that frost your cookies?!

Palos, who are you mourning?

TP and OWS, while you were relaying messages, America moved on.

GT, thank you for all you do and have done for me; a fan from WAY WAY back when GUILTY! GUILTY! GUILTY! was news.

BofA is horrible POS bank. Don’t give them money. Don’t deposit money with them. Their ads are lies.

@Richard: Agreed.

BoA wrote that book!

Why does Mark question naming them? He’s used the same tactic several times, and rightly so.