The Rich Are Different. They Have Jobs

by Tula Connell, Nov 20, 2009

Wall Street doesn’t look back at the disaster it wrecked on Main Street.

Goldman Sachs, one of the Wall Street firms that got the H1N1 flu shot well ahead of millions of America’s school children, sent this health tip in a memo to its pampered, out-of-touch execs: “Resist the urge to open your own car door; let your driver do it.”

Yo, Jeeves. While you’re at it, dust around the edges of those massive CEO pay packages. Because according to a report released today by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), top executives at four companies that jettisoned their employee pension plans received $49.5 million in retirement and severance benefits in the years before the companies filed for bankruptcy, while retirees saw their benefits cut by as much as two-thirds.

Yet Wall Street bankers are making that cash flow keeps coming: Yesterday, writes David Dayen, Senate Republicans bowed low before their corporate masters and delayed a move by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) to immediately take up a bill that would freeze all credit card rates, charges and fee increases.

The freeze would be in effect until the CARD Act, a bill passed earlier this year, became law. Because of the time lag between passage of the CARD Act—which prevents arbitrary interest rate, fee and finance charge increases on existing balances—and its implementation next year, credit card companies have been jacking up their rates in what Dodd described as “a last-ditch attempt” to pad their profits until all of the provisions of the CARD Act became effective.

Back on Main Street, the scene is bleak. Not only do we not have any drivers to open our limo doors, millions of us—more than 26 million unemployed or underemployed—don’t have jobs. And by January, 1 million people without work also will be without unemployment insurance—unless Congress acts fast to extend unemployment aid.

Now you’d think throwing a lifeline to people—to voters—would be a no-brainer. But seems many of the same Republican senators who blocked a freeze on credit card interest rates are likely to be those who block a vote on extending aid to jobless workers. They did it this fall, stalling passage of unemployment aid for weeks. Guess they haven’t figured out that if they want U.S. consumers to pay outrageous interest rates on credit cards, they need money to do so.

Extending unemployment aid to people without jobs is one of five points the AFL-CIO union movement and our allies are pushing for in our jobs initiative announced this week. The others include:  

• Rebuild America’s schools, roads and energy systems.
• Increase aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services.
• Fund jobs in our communities.
• Put TARP funds to work for Main Street.

We’ll take this message to the White House as part of President Barack Obama’s Dec. 3 Jobs Summit. Already, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka met earlier this week with House Democrats to explain our plan, which will “create or save” 2 million jobs over the next year.

Because America’s workers don’t need limo drivers. They need jobs.

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