Topic: Executive Bonuses

The Federal Reserve is described as a private cabal of banks that enriches its members through fractional reserve banking and close ties to firms like Goldman Sachs. Professor Bill Black highlights that Bernanke supported gutting accounting rules at the behest of the American Bankers Association and the Chamber of Commerce. These changes allow banks to hide losses and report artificial profits, which in turn justifies massive executive bonuses.

Reports indicate that $60 billion of the federal bailout funds are being directed toward executive salaries and bonuses rather than consumer lending. Some institutions, like Wells Fargo and Barclays, initially resisted government funds to maintain independence. The Treasury Department's insistence on universal participation is characterized as a move to hide which banks are truly insolvent.