Obama Officials Tell Citibank To Ditch Plans For $50 Million Private Jet

[min0 lee]

I salute you Mr. President.

Obama Officials Tell Citibank To Ditch Plans For $50 Million Private Jet

According to a report from ABC News, President Obama is not taking kindly to corporate greed, especially when it's funded by taxpayer money. Read more from ABC here:

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...

ABC News has learned that Monday officials of the Obama administration called Citigroup about the company's new $50 million corporate jet and told execs to "fix it."

On Monday, the news broke that bailed out bank was going through with its $50 million private jet purchase even though it had recieved $45 billion in government funds:

The New York Post's Jennifer Keil and Chuck Bennett reported in Monday's paper that Citigroup, which has received $45 billion in government bailout funds, is about to upgrade to a new $50 million, twelve-seat corporate jet.

The plane, the Dassault Falcon 7X, is a luxurious jet with a range of 5,950 nautical miles (meaning it can fly from New York to all of Europe and South America, as far east as Riyadh, and as far west as Honolulu or Petropavlovsk, Russia). The Post reports it has "plush interior with leather seats, sofas and a customizable entertainment center."

 

[min0 lee]

Please tell me everyone agrees with his action.

 

[NeilPearson]

That depends... how much does citibank lose by breaking the contract to buy the jet? When did they agree to purchase the jet? It's not like these things are just sitting around in a jet dealership and they decided yesterday to buy it. I don't think they mass produce these things. It was likely custom made which means contracts. Did Citigroup even want TARP money or were they forced to take it like some other banks?

Things aren't always black and white but it is trendy and looks good to the public for Obama to come down on them

 

[brogers]

Aren't we currently debating a $1,000,000,000,000 "stimulus" (pork) plan to supposedly get the country running?

Do you have any idea how many people/how much money it requires to maintain an aircraft? Pilot, co-pilot, cabin staff, mechanics... pretty good jobs.

What if they bought a Gulfstream or Learjet made in the USA, supporting all those jobs, would it be ok then?

The government is going to waste that money somewhere, if Citi isn't using it on a plane the gov't would be blowing it on some worthless money pit.

"We're gonna a spend $1,000,000,0000,000, just not allow any of that to support aircraft maintenance/operation industries!"

1) No bailout
2) No stimulus
3) Let the idiotic businesses die and the good ones thrive, rather than forcing them to pay more and more taxes to support the idiots.

 

[NeilPearson]

I think the whole TARP thing is stupid but it was supposed to be to get banks loaning money so people could refinance and not foreclose thus saving the housing industry and the economy.

The money was never intended for buying aircrafts or renovating offices.

 

[min0 lee]

Aren't we currently debating a $1,000,000,000,000 "stimulus" (pork) plan to supposedly get the country running?

Do you have any idea how many people/how much money it requires to maintain an aircraft? Pilot, co-pilot, cabin staff, mechanics... pretty good jobs.

What if they bought a Gulfstream or Learjet made in the USA, supporting all those jobs, would it be ok then?

The government is going to waste that money somewhere, if Citi isn't using it on a plane the gov't would be blowing it on some worthless money pit.

"We're gonna a spend $1,000,000,0000,000, just not allow any of that to support aircraft maintenance/operation industries!"

1) No bailout
2) No stimulus
3) Let the idiotic businesses die and the good ones thrive, rather than forcing them to pay more and more taxes to support the idiots.

How about they not do it with our bailout money, sets a bad example.
I think they should be held accountable for every dime the government gives them. It's our hard earned tax dollars that's being misused, if you feel so bad for them write them a personal check.

I am sure they could have used it on other things instead of a private air limo.

 

[maxpro2]

That depends... how much does citibank lose by breaking the contract to buy the jet? When did they agree to purchase the jet?

You are clever to consider this. However, you are wrong for multiple reasons.... especially those of policy.

If we had a rule that said these companies cannot spend bailout money on luxurious things UNLESS doing so would void a contract.... then other companies would have an incentive to continue to contract for other luxurious items as they please, so that they could fall into that exception and get what they wanted.

Obama's actions remove this incentive and prevent this from happening. I am not sure if your skepticism of his actions are really founded on a concern for these companies having to pay expectation damages for breach of contract, or whether you are just trying to find fault with President Obama.

But continuing on... even if the contract were breached... both executive intervention and the possibility of widespread public opposition which would severely hurt their image and business in the midst of a worldwide economic crisis seems to me to be a good impracticability defense to breach of contract.

And even if it weren't, the jet company would be required to mitigate their damages, which would offset and minimize the cost to the company for the breach.

A President finally stands up to companies who are wasting taxpayer money and all you can come up with is a weak breach of contract criticism of the President? Give me a break.

 

[min0 lee]

You are clever to consider this. However, you are wrong for multiple reasons.... especially those of policy.

If we had a rule that said these companies cannot spend bailout money on luxurious things UNLESS doing so would void a contract.... then other companies would have an incentive to continue to contract for other luxurious items as they please, so that they could fall into that exception and get what they wanted.

Obama's actions remove this incentive and prevent this from happening. I am not sure if your skepticism of his actions are really founded on a concern for these companies having to pay expectation damages for breach of contract, or whether you are just trying to find fault with President Obama.

But continuing on... even if the contract were breached... both executive intervention and the possibility of widespread public opposition which would severely hurt their image and business in the midst of a worldwide economic crisis seems to me to be a good impracticability defense to breach of contract.

And even if it weren't, the jet company would be required to mitigate their damages, which would offset and minimize the cost to the company for the breach.

A President finally stands up to companies who are wasting taxpayer money and all you can come up with is a weak breach of contract criticism of the President? Give me a break.

 

[min0 lee]

A

ccording to a report from ABC News, President Obama is not taking kindly to corporate greed, especially when it's funded by taxpayer money

I'm sure Brogers will find disgust when a person on welfare buys rims with our tax dollars......Oh pity the rim salesman. same shit.

 

[maniclion]

Aren't we currently debating a $1,000,000,000,000 "stimulus" (pork) plan to supposedly get the country running?

Do you have any idea how many people/how much money it requires to maintain an aircraft? Pilot, co-pilot, cabin staff, mechanics... pretty good jobs.

What if they bought a Gulfstream or Learjet made in the USA, supporting all those jobs, would it be ok then?

The government is going to waste that money somewhere, if Citi isn't using it on a plane the gov't would be blowing it on some worthless money pit.

"We're gonna a spend $1,000,000,0000,000, just not allow any of that to support aircraft maintenance/operation industries!"

1) No bailout
2) No stimulus
3) Let the idiotic businesses die and the good ones thrive, rather than forcing them to pay more and more taxes to support the idiots.

Or they could spend money on commercial flights and help them keep the hundreds of pilots, co-pilots, Cabin staff and Mechanics, plus use the 50 million to build their company and hire more employees who can help them rise from the bottom...

 

[min0 lee]

Or they could spend money on commercial flights and help them keep the hundreds of pilots, co-pilots, Cabin staff and Mechanics, plus use the 50 million to build their company and hire more employees who can help them rise from the bottom...

Now that's using your noggin, you would make a great CEO.

oh and speaking of CEO's here's one Brogers would approve of.

Merrill Lynch CEO Thain Spent $1.22 Million On Office

When John Thain became Merrill Lynch???s CEO in early 2008, he hired Michael S. Smith Design to revamp his office suite, spending approximately $1.22 million according to documents.




Additionally, documents showed that Thain signed off on the purchases personally, and that he used over $30,000 to pay the expenses Smith incurred in doing the work.

The following is a list of the items in his suite:

Area Rug $87,784
Mahogany Pedestal Table $25,713
19th Century Credenza $68,179
Pendant Light Furniture $19,751
4 Pairs of Curtains $28,091
Pair of Guest Chairs $87,784
George IV Chair $18,468
6 Wall Sconces $2,741
Parchment Waste Can $1,405
Roman Shade Fabric $10,967
Roman Shades $7,315
Coffee Table $5,852
Commode on Legs $35,115

 

[min0 lee]

A commode on legs for $35.115........I would wipe his ass for a year at that price.......but for you Brogers I would do it for free.

 

[brogers]

Are you incapable of grasping my point?

The point is simple, if the government stayed out of this like it should have none of this would have mattered. However, now that we're debating more bailouts, "stimulus," etc, what's the difference between citibank/merril lynch using that money to pay pilots/mechanics/contractors/architects/etc.. and the government picking and choosing winners? Very little if any.

What do you think the stimulus plan is gonna be? You think a $50m jet is bad? lol..

and maniclion, your argument makes no sense, as you are comparing a seat on a commercial flight supporting a pilot/mechanic to a private jet. Not much different than me expecting to fly on a business jet for the same price as economy on Delta. No comparison.

 

[min0 lee]

No.

 

[maniclion]

Now that's using your noggin, you would make a great CEO.

oh and speaking of CEO's here's one Brogers would approve of.

a book I read said that Dyslexics tend to make great CEO's because they generally have unique perspectives on things due to compensation kind of like a blind man having better than average hearing.....

Here's an article on the subject....

When Alan Meckler, the chief executive officer of IT and online-imagery hub Jupitermedia (JUPM, news, msgs), was accepted to Columbia University in 1965, the dean's office told him he had some of the lowest college boards of any student ever admitted.
"I got a 405 or 410 in English," he recalls. "In those days you got a 400 just for putting your name down! Yet I was on the dean's list every year I was there, and I won a prize for having the best essay in American history my senior year."
It wasn't until years later, at age 58, that Meckler learned he was dyslexic. He struggles with walking and driving directions, and interpreting charts and graphs. He prefers to listen to someone explain a problem to him rather than sit down and read 20 pages describing it. As a youth, Meckler discovered a unique strength -- baseball -- and cultivated it religiously to compensate for weakness in other areas.
All of these things, according to Sally Shaywitz, a professor of learning development at Yale University, are classic signs of dyslexia.
Shaywitz has long argued that dyslexia should be evaluated as an asset, not just a handicap. She recently co-founded the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, dedicated to studying the link between the two.
"I want people to wish they were dyslexic," she says. "There are many positive attributes that can't be taught that people are generally not aware of. We always write about how we're losing human capital -- dyslexics are not able to achieve their potential because they've had to go around the system."

 

[danzik17]

Good for Obama.

Fuck those corporations. I don't give a shit if it would be good for the economy, you do not steal dollars out of mine and other taxpayers wallets and then go fucking buy yourself a luxury plane.

I would endorse spending the 10$ on a nice baseball bat to ram up their asses however.

 

[min0 lee]

Again, they want the taxpayer's money, they should expect to have strings attached to it. If they have a problem with being responsible then don't come begging for our money.
This may seem like he's micromanaging but damn it, someone needs to put a stop to this nonsense.

Just as long as he doesn't mess with the Yankees......the capitalism at it's finest.