Bmwolf21 Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Two members of the House of Representatives are demanding that the Mets scrap their $400-million naming-rights deal with financially troubled Citigroup because of the bank's receipt of federal bailout money. Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) and Ted Poe (R-Texas) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner requesting he "dissolve" the contract with the Mets to name their stadium Citi Field. The Mets' home opener there is set for April 13. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/met...,0,617549.story Columnist Anthony Reiber: How should you feel about two members of Congress calling on the new Treasury Secretary to force Citigroup to cancel its $400-million naming-rights deal for the Mets' new ballpark, Citi Field? Before you answer, take out your most recent paycheck. See the line that shows how much was taken out in federal taxes? Now think about this: Under the Mets' naming-rights deal with Citigroup, some of that money - your money - is going to make a four-part journey. It will go from 1. your paycheck to 2. Washington, D.C., to 3. the coffers of Citigroup to 4. the Mets. That's right. Citigroup can't afford the 20-year, $400-million deal it agreed to in 2006. It can't afford a lot of things right now, which is why the company has shed more than 50,000 jobs and needed a $350- billion bailout from the federal government. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/met...,1844423.column
stuckincincy Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Glad to see they are looking out for the proper function of a Federal government and not pandering to be a lobbyist for Citi. I guess they have other outfits sewed up for sweetheart $$$ when they leave.
KD in CA Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 I still want to see them call it Taxpayer Bailout Field.
BuffaloBill Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 Two members of the House of Representatives are demanding that the Mets scrap their $400-million naming-rights deal with financially troubled Citigroup because of the bank's receipt of federal bailout money. http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/met...,1844423.column My hunch is that there are serious cancellation fees that Citi will have to pay so arguably taxpayers get stung either way. The gov't started down a slippery slope long ago when they bought into the notion of "too big to fail." At the end of the day at least one one of the big banks will fail .. perhaps through a soft landing sort of break up but it will happen. Congress continues to play both sides of the game ... I wonder how many of them are still taking PAC money or individual donations from employees of any of the rtroubled banks or their industry associations. Don't be naive to this .. I bet the banks are lobbying hard and fast and throwing money around to do it.
Bmwolf21 Posted January 30, 2009 Author Posted January 30, 2009 Glad to see they are looking out for the proper function of a Federal government and not pandering to be a lobbyist for Citi. I guess they have other outfits sewed up for sweetheart $$$ when they leave. To be honest, half the time I have no idea what you're talking about when you post things like this.
Bmwolf21 Posted January 30, 2009 Author Posted January 30, 2009 My hunch is that there are serious cancellation fees that Citi will have to pay so arguably taxpayers get stung either way. The gov't started down a slippery slope long ago when they bought into the notion of "too big to fail." At the end of the day at least one one of the big banks will fail .. perhaps through a soft landing sort of break up but it will happen. I just wonder why Citi realized (with some nudging from the WH) that taking delivery of a $50M corporate jet is bad but Citi has no problem paying $400M to put their name on a ballpark.
IDBillzFan Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 I still want to see them call it Taxpayer Bailout Field. Out!@#$ingstanding.
Bmwolf21 Posted January 30, 2009 Author Posted January 30, 2009 I still want to see them call it Taxpayer Bailout Field. How about Bailout Ballpark or Federally Funded Field (from the second article).
Fingon Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 The sure fire way to get these companies back on track is to ban them from advertising!
stuckincincy Posted January 30, 2009 Posted January 30, 2009 To be honest, half the time I have no idea what you're talking about when you post things like this. Sorry - I will try to be more explanatory. I know you are sincere. stuck
Bmwolf21 Posted January 31, 2009 Author Posted January 31, 2009 Sorry - I will try to be more explanatory. I know you are sincere. stuck Fair enough.
/dev/null Posted January 31, 2009 Posted January 31, 2009 Reps. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) I still want to know how the Keebler Elf lookalike convinced a red head 30 years his junior to marry him http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1191/858708286_285a30c95a.jpg *Edit - On further review of the pic I linked, I'm not so sure Kucinich is a Keebler Elf. Now I think he's a Keebler Elf Zombie
Bmwolf21 Posted January 31, 2009 Author Posted January 31, 2009 I still want to know how the Keebler Elf lookalike convinced a red head 30 years his junior to marry himhttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1191/858708286_285a30c95a.jpg *Edit - On further review of the pic I linked, I'm not so sure Kucinich is a Keebler Elf. Now I think he's a Keebler Elf Zombie Saw them walking together at the local Labor Day parade this year. She's not smoking hot (but I wouldn't say no and wouldn't kick her outta bed) -- but is definitely way out of his league.
yall Posted January 31, 2009 Posted January 31, 2009 I still want to know how the Keebler Elf lookalike convinced a red head 30 years his junior to marry himhttp://farm2.static.flickr.com/1191/858708286_285a30c95a.jpg *Edit - On further review of the pic I linked, I'm not so sure Kucinich is a Keebler Elf. Now I think he's a Keebler Elf Zombie Kucinich is Croatian for "talented tongue". Apparently that trait serves him well at work and home.
Bmwolf21 Posted February 3, 2009 Author Posted February 3, 2009 My hunch is that there are serious cancellation fees that Citi will have to pay so arguably taxpayers get stung either way. The gov't started down a slippery slope long ago when they bought into the notion of "too big to fail." At the end of the day at least one one of the big banks will fail .. perhaps through a soft landing sort of break up but it will happen. Congress continues to play both sides of the game ... I wonder how many of them are still taking PAC money or individual donations from employees of any of the rtroubled banks or their industry associations. Don't be naive to this .. I bet the banks are lobbying hard and fast and throwing money around to do it. Update: Looks like Citi is, at the very least, looking into ways to get out of the naming-rights deal: (Reuters) – Citigroup Inc is exploring the possibility of backing out of a nearly $400 million marketing deal with the New York Mets amid concerns over how lenders are using government bailout money, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Officials at Citigroup have made no final decision about whether to try to void the 20-year agreement, which includes naming the Mets' new baseball stadium after the bank, the people told the paper. ----------------- If Citigroup backs out of its agreement with the Mets, it likely would not happen immediately and could involve the bank paying a break-up penalty to the Mets, the paper said, citing people familiar with the situation. Could be just a PR move to quiet some of the criticism, but who knows anymore. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090203/bs_nm/us_citigroup_mets
EZC-Boston Posted February 3, 2009 Posted February 3, 2009 I'm glad the government thinks it knows how to run a bank. This isn't a million dollar crapper, it's publicity/marketing and has value.
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