Merrill Lynch spent $1.22 million redecorating for John Thain

funny how the bailout money is creating more job loss,i know someone who worked for merrill and was laid off with alot of other people tue the day our new president took over.all this noney did was bailout corp america and screwed regular hardworking,dedicated people,thanks

What he spent is miniscule compared to what the dumbocrats have spent. Pelosi has to have a 50+ seat jet to fly her arrogrant ass to and from Washington. We're paying for that, and that has NO residual value. Barney the faggot and his thieving henchmen have stolen BILLIONS from we taxpayers with their stupid pandering to people who cannot afford houses they were encouraged to buy with now worthless mortgages.

Don't bail them out. Let the big guys go down if their business plan fails. Another company will emerge to take it's place, and perhaps operate ethically. If a few of the large businesses were allowed to collapse it might send a message that being a poor steward of corporate assets doesn't pay. Bail out money is just the incentive these guys need to continue business as usual. You know the executives at the top are carving out their share from the bailout money. Fuzzy numbers, fuzzy ethics, etc...

Obama's inaguration was an historical event that has never happened before so, I believe it was a necessary expense. Unlike the ceo's and other politicians robbery of taxpayer monies. What about Laura Bush's $300,000.00 china?

Also, Laura Bush spent a somewhat smaller amout on second set of china.
At least michelle Obama dresses her and the !st daughters beautifully at a very sensable and reasonable cost.
I applaud president Obama for immediatly freezing congresses and the other staffs salaries. Wish I could name my own salary and pay raise.

Shocked, yes. Surprised, no. Wake up U.S. Congress and Senate and make the "Chief Thiefs" responsible for their actions at the expense of us common taxpayers!!!!

Don't even get me started. The greed of the corporate financiers is just so outrageous in lieu of the recession that is affecting millions of Americans. Their ought to be caps on corporate salaries and bonuses, although this purchase is just another corporate spending tax wright off. Shame on you, John Thain. May you experience poverty in your next life. You obviously are totally out-of-touch with real life America and fully self-serving. I wonder how much you personally donated to charitable causes last year (either time or money)?
Speak up America!! Our voices and actions can make a difference. Stop supporting those corporations who actions you don't believe in!

A RUG IS SOMETHING YOU PUT ON THE FLOOR AND WALK ON. HELL, IF I SPENT THAT MUCH MONEY ON A RUG, I SURE WOULD NOT WANT ANYONE WALKING ON IT.

you get what you are worth!

Beau..one of Obama's first actions was to put a freeze on payrates in Government. If one wants to get into which party has spent money, then you must look at the debt created by the mismanagement during the Bush Adm. as well. Do not forget that even though he is no longer President, this economic crisis happened during his(Bush) time, and it has been a slow but sure downhill trend. It goes way back, but was becoming evident that Govt was going broke when Katrina hit and FEMA had a mere 2 million dollar budget. This recession started at the top and is going to be long and painful as it trickles down to middle class and poor. This makes it even more hard to stomach as we find out about lack of oversight and the gross spending of the greedy CEO's who seem to think they never have enough. They could care less about loyal employee's who are losing their jobs. This includes Bill Gates, who made the majority of his fortune in America, who now is laying off thousands while trying to get work visa's for employee's from other countries to pay them less, claiming there aren't enough qualified Americans. I use to respect him but now see him as just another greedy b**ta*d. They come from all political parties, not just one. It's all about the almighty dollar, billions of them.

ToMarilynbo6- Mcconell has never been for YOU- he has always been for his own advancement and perks which = $$$$$...Our government is NOT for the American people- ONLY a select few..even Illegals get more support. We have the most out of touch Senators/Reps- they depend on Lobbyists-OUCH!

I'm not surprised at all by this behavior. We are governed by a bunch of morons in this country that got duped by financial institutions. They do it everyday to the public,why not the government too? Bloodsuckers.

Absolutely awful, but its no wonder the country is going bankrupt. Where did you guys learn math.

One lady blogged to "give the bailout money directly to the american people. you could give the hard working people $100,000 per family and still not use all the $350 billion left in the stimulus package."

Not so Einstein! $350 billion spread evenly among 75 million Families is $4,666.

No wonder this country is in trouble!

people like this should think about the people in our homeland that are loosing everything and starving on the streets with their children ?!!!!! this is shamefull!!! riches and greed on this earth will only mean HELL in the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

He is a worthless piece of shit and out of touch with the problems we are entrenched in. It is our taxpayers dollars spent for him to make his office look good. Who gives a shit when people are out of work and losing their homes. He is out of touch and should be tarred, feathered, hung and beaten like a pinata.

Times are tough ... get smarter folks ... and don't depend on government to bail you out.

Oil prices just hit $47 today (and they'll go to the moon again because Obama won't drill - and the rest of the world is increasing usage)... and ...

Three weeks ago I bought options at $20. Time to retire and just laugh at the Dems ... and by the way ...thank you Dems! CAPITALISM WORKS!

$100,000 to re-decorate the white house? This is the Obama change after a 140 Million spent at his swearing in party? Jesus, when does people's intergrity kick in? Thain should be sent to prison or stripped of his assets period...he raped a financial institution and working people and our county.

The RAT BASTARD!!!!! I have my 401k with those idiots. It is worth about half of the value since BOA took over. These guys should be jailed!!!!!

CEOs who lock themselves in ivory towers and believe that they deserve such perks, especially in today's economic woes, are not fit to walk on the same sidewalk as most hard working folks. Equally guilty are the board of directors of such corporations for not putting a stop to such behavior. I hope that the new administration will demand an accounting and that absolutely no funds are paid out to any failing company without strict guidelines. The board members should each be put immediately on minimum wage and see how difficult it is to survive out there! What a bunch of arrogant despots! Remember what so many of us did in the 60's and 70's? We demonstrated! Now, we can do the same by demanding a change in behavior or, if not satisfied, pulling our money out of their bank or rather, our bank, since we are paying for all of this.

Maybe the Chinese have it right when it comes to major corruption. The two people who were responsible for the melamine in the powdered milk will be executed and another individual is going to prison for a long time. Possibly if a few of the people like Mr. Thain and say the head of AIG were to face such harsh punishment for helping to bring down the entire American banking system and possibly the economy as a whole then these crooks would think seriously about what they are doing before they bring their corrupt little schemes to fruition.