The liberal media's favorite targets - Wall Street "fat cats" - have endured a firestorm of outrage and attack over bonuses since the financial meltdown. As some, like CNBC contributor Rick Santelli pointed out however, part of the screaming is the result of it is Obama and the White House whipping up political outrage.
Now we'll have a chance to see if it's also selective outrage.
Fox Business anchor Eric Bolling uncovered embarrassing and questionable bonuses being received by those charged with keeping an eye on banks - government regulators. But who watches the watchers?
Bolling told FNC's "Happening Now" that even as the economy has struggled, the government was handing out millions of dollars in bonuses to workers - and not even for a job well done.
"You should be really ticked off if you're mad at Wall Street fat-cats," Bolling said. "Barack Obama tells us we should be worrying about them. How about in their own administration - they're rewarding people in the FDIC, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and in the other offices that are charged with keeping an eye on the banks."
Bolling noted that, under the watchful eye of the regulators, nearly two hundred banks failed since the financial meltdown. But through the Freedom of Information Act, Fox Business and company discovered that that didn't stop government officials (such as the presidential-appointed Comptroller) from giving each other green hand-shakes and pats on the back:
"The problem is when the FDIC was under scrutiny, and the OTS was under scrutiny, they found that they weren't performing and that's a lot of the reason why some of these banks failed is because they weren't holding these banks to high enough standards," Boolling said. "So these banks fail - they look bad. Things start to get better in the economy, banks start to turn around - they start giving each other bonuses."
Bolling highlighted one example where an official received bonuses equaling nearly one-quarter the salary:
"In one instance, one of the regulators made $179,000 salary - and $41,000 in bonus. This is just crazy. If you're mad at Wall Street, take a look at some of these regulators."
So will these "fat cat" regulators be subject to the scorn of the media and the president? Don't count on it. More likely, they'll join Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the list of liberal approved protected entities.
