In 2008, “the brokerage units of New York financial companies lost more than $35 billion.” According to a report by the New York state comptroller, these companies simultaneously doled out an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses, “the sixth-largest haul on record” and the same amount as distributed in 2004, “when the Dow Jones industrial average was flying above 10,000, on its way to a record high.” Reacting to the news, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs characterized the story with one word during yesterday’s press briefing: “Outrageous.” “Whether it’s government or the financial system, we’re not going to be able to do what is needed to be done to stabilize our financial system if the American people read about this type of outrageous behavior,” Gibbs said. When the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) was passed last September, Congress made a show of limiting executive pay. President Obama will have to strengthen TARP and other financial regulations to make a real impact on outrageous corporate malfeasance.

From The Progress Report