Waxman's Crusade

A recent letter from Representative Henry Waxman to the CEOs of nine major banks asked why they were using taxpayer dollars for employee compensation instead of increasing lending in the banking system. Waxman, Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, accused the banks of using $108bn of the $125bn provided by the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to maintain inflated bonuses and salaries while failing to ease tight credit conditions. Last week, Waxman grilled former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan about his tenure as chairman and commitment to deregulation.

Snapshot asks, if the economy falls into a recession or even depression, will Wall Street face a popular backlash led by Representative Waxman?

FT - Goldman Partners' Reduced Rewards
Bloomberg - Wall Street Won't Surrender Bonuses Amid Outcry, Veterans Say
Henry Waxman - October 28, 2008
Bloomberg - Citigroup, Goldman Asked by Waxman to Justify Bonuses