$1.6 BILLION to the failures

AP study finds $1.6B went to bailed-out bank execs(AP)

APs first line sums it up better than I can:
Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an Associated Press analysis reveals.

Some other highlights:

Goldman Sachs: Bailout amount: $10 BILLION
CEO Pay in 07-$54 MILLION
Top 5 Executives combined - $242 MILLION
Poor bastards: Top 7 execs in 08 will only make base pay of $600,000
Its hard out here for a pimp.
$233,000 PER EXECUTIVE in leased cars and drivers.
The reason they pay these wages: to retain and motivate executives "whose efforts and judgments are vital to our continued success" (ea)
Success? You call needing government handouts to stay in business a success?

Capital One: Bailout amount: $3.56 BILLION
CEO Pay - Took a $1 MILLION hit in compensation (how much do you get paid when they can take a MILLION off the top?)
But he still got $17 MILLION in stock options.

Merrill Lynch: Bailout amount: $10 BILLION
CEO Pay - $83 MILLION (!) THIS $83 MILLION DOLLARS WAS PAID TO A MAN WHO WORKED 1 MONTH! (signing bonus) He wasn't responsible for Merrill's troubles, but he was the COO at Goldman Sachs (See above for the bailout they received under his operational genius)
Merrills losses - $7.8 BILLION (yet they got $10 BILLION - There's a profit right there!)

Wells Fargo took $25 BILLION in bailout dough. They also gave all of their top executives $20,000 EACH to hire, get this, FINANCIAL PLANNERS!!!

Bank of New York Mellon spent $66,748 for a financial planner for the CEO. Must've been a fine financial planner. Maybe the bank should have just hired him directly? (the CEO was also paid nearly $8.5 MILLION, got $178,000 for his car and a driver, and $846,000 for relocation expenses)
This bank is the custodian of the bailout funds! Yes, they've chosen a banker to distribute the money. The Fed couldn't do it themselves why? (P.S. They were paid undisclosed amounts of money to perform this service)
Bank of New York Mellon Will Oversee Bailout Fund(NYT)

JP Morgan Chase: Bailout: $25 BILLION
A chairman commuted from Chicago to New York and ran up a $211,182 private jet tab.

Your bailout dollars at work America!!! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go puke.

THIS is whyipaytaxes.