Bailed-out Wells Fargo plans Las Vegas junket

You can thank Barney Frank and Chris Dodd....and the rest of Congress for this rip-off. Stop doing business with these banks....there are several alternatives.... How can they be putting on a party for mortgage brokers? The tax payers are paying for this after getting screwed....We must stand up and stop this..... and the only way to do it is to bring them down. How can our government sit back and put us under? We have got to clean house and stop our corporate/government from major genocide. Don't they realize thousands of people are homeless and starving while big business gambles away our money? How evil can you be?

OMG!!!!! Ok, I have really had enough. When is someone going to put a stop to all of this crap. People are still losing their jobs left and right. People are losing their homes, health insurance and Wells Fargo needs to take 1000 employees on a junket.

Take all of our money back now, and close down all the financial institutions and banks and start over with new people that care.

I will never do business with Wells Fargo Bank again. If all it's customers pull their accounts, they won't need to worry about junkets or bailouts, they'll be out of business!

Can Congress really not tell them that they CANNOT do this. Part of their culture?!? Well, welcome to a cultural depression!!

There is only one way to end this crap; stop giving them tax dollars. Then if they continue the abuse, they simply go under. There will always be a legitimate bank to move in and fill the need in the market.

I wonder why our Washington geniuses can't understand that?

Enough of garbage in the media.....REALLY! WHO CARES!

Shame? Are you serious? The corporation has no shame. As for your boycott(s). They are all connected into one big anus kissing collective.

You'll need to propose a much more drastic measure.

Perhaps allowing Iran to test their nuke capabilities? Just don't do it when the Santa Ana's are blowing as I live to the SW.

Or, the boys in LV need a bailout. Better yet, blow jobs or adultry stamps (like food stamps) may be in order.

This is horrifying. When will these people wake up and realize that the old "traditional" ways have GOT to change. Their shareholders might not have minded this crap in the past, but now WE are their shareholders and I certainly mind.

If anyone in this country believes anything Barney (the Massachusettes idiot) Frank has to say....you seriously have to have your head examined. He is one of the biggest crooks in congress....and the sooner we rid ourselves of him, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Charlie Rangel, Chris Dodd, Kenney and a few others...the better off our country will be for doing so. They are all pathetic representation of this country. Frank is the biggest fraud of them all....Democratic Hypocrits!! Barney gave a 12 million bailout to a bank that is failing miserably....I'm sure it's huge payback!!!

Well, part of my culture is to punish those who take advantage of the less fortunate!!!! Your days are coming to an end quick!

ENOUGH. Not with my taxpayer money. Toss your own money down the toilet or set it on fire - I don't give a rat's ass. But with OUR money - get real. They should all be fired. Right now.

I worked in the corporate world for years and have been on plenty of such "junkets". However, when times were tough, they were not held. Simple economics! How DARE Wells Fargo spend the money of hard working Americans to show appreciation to their top performing employees! The money would be better spent helping their CUSTOMERS! If it weren't for us there would be no top performing employees. Yes, it isn't fair to the employees, but that is LIFE! When times are tough, you suck it up and do without!!! That means Wells Fargo! If the big boys and girls at Wells Fargo want to thank their top performers, PAY FOR IT OUT OF THEIR PERSONAL BONUSES!!!

gozo, quit blaming Frank and Dodd for all the problems. from 2001 to 2007 Frank and Dodd were minority members of their respective committees and had very limited power, yet Bush and the repub majority failed to do anything to hold off the financial meltdown...blaming 2 people for this problem may provide you some simple-minded comfort, but the causes are way beyond Frank and Dodd. this thing has been building through republican and democratic administrations and congresses. Bi-partisan ineptitude on a massive scale combined with greed, arrogance, and dishonesty in the business sector.

justthinkin,

I agree I'm closing my Wells Fargo account and opening a new one with my local bank.

I just can't believe these banks don't get this year is not the time to do this. Talk about stupid.

I love Vegas as much as the next guy, but good lord! Have they ever heard of Public Relations?

Can someone who knows how to do this stuff, please e-mail this article to the Secretary of the Treasury and cc: President Obama. I'm not joking! We, the people, need to let these politicians know that we are aware of what's happening out here and we are not going to go away quietly! They need to have their noses rubbed in it!!!! Thank you!

May I suggest that EVERYONE that has accounts at this Bank....

close them immediately and move to a Local Credit Union.....

This is what they understand!

Freaken THIEVES!!!

Can you name three credit unions in your city? If you can't, it's time to start learning.

I am supposed to leave a comment......but I am at a loss for words! My wife and I thought about moving out of the great USA a few years ago. I am now questioning our decision to stay. This is all a joke at the taxpayers expense.

GOZ) - come on now - aren't you forgetting someone on your thank you list?

They couldn't have done it without Bushs Help!!!

So, this nice junket is to show the employees that their contributions to the company and hard work is recognized?

W T F!!!! AREN'T THESE THE SAME FREAKING IDIOTS THAT GOT THEM INTO THIS HOLE IN THE FIRST PLACE??? VALUE THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS??? TO WHAT, MAY I ASK???

Ya know, this really takes iron balls to do something like this. How can they move forward with this extravagance when their company is in trouble, and the TAXPAYERS are bailing them out?

Larry Wilson, above is exactly right. Close all our accounts with Wells Fargo, and go someplace else with our money.

This is like they are giving the government and all American Citizens the finger, and mooning us all at the same time!!! (Hmmmm... I wonder, can you physically do that? Well you get my drift anyway.) Words cannot express how totally pissed I am.

I wonder how the 25,000 to 28,000 soon to be laid off employees of Wachovia through the recent integration feel about this. Save that money and hire the good ones back.

We gave them the money. Democrats and Republicans and Independents. Now we need to contact our representatives and tell them enough.

My company cut back on all this and I still feel valued. I am grateful I still am emplyed while I see co-workers get laid off every 3 months. When America is back on it's feet, reinstitute this program. Until then, enough...just stop.

You would think that since our President is pushing to have all of this money for bailouts happen as fast as possable that he would be on top of this missuse and ask for the money back. The company must not be hurting to bad if they are going on vacation and taking their favorates along with them. I say let them fold, there is always another bank that is willing to take their place.

If they gave me a percent of the money they are giving all these poor companies that can not make it, I would not be going on vacation that is for sure.

This would be why a great many are believing we NEED to let the banks crumble if they will. When you do something wrong, you get punished and you (hopefully) learn your lesson not to do it again. However, if you don't feel ANY pain when you screw up, you don't get the chance to learn a lesson, and so you repeat the behavior. Don't believe it, see the difference between a child that has to buy their own clothes after they quickly tear through them vs. one that has their parent continually replace them - amazing difference a little pain and sacrifice can teach you.

Take the money back while they're in Vegas and let them FAIL.

At this point, they are all just spitting in our faces and laughing at us...

"Part of our culture"?!?!?!? Sounds like a massive tax write-off for Wells Fargo to me!

I love how the republicans - like Gozo - are trying to make this a democratic-congress-inspired issue when it isn't.

But regulation is socialism, remember? We can trust the wealthy to regulate themselves in a free-enterprise market, remember? If congress had enacted legislation that told banks what their bailout funds could be spent on, the President at the time would've veto'd the legislation. So stop trying to put the blame solely on the shoulders of democrats in congress.

The entire system, and conflicted individuals who want one thing, believe in another thing, and do nothing; are part of the problem. Not just democrats...not just republicans.

If Wells Fargo or Wachovia were my banks or I was a stock holder I would send a clear message by closing my account! For any business to engage in this type of lavish behavior whether the economy is strong or not is just arrogant & foolish!

Take the money back!! Screw that!

I cannot believe this! This is totally outrageous! Our government keeps giving them money and they keep blowing it on themselves! Let's not just blame the previous President. Our current President is trying to get our country in more of a hole to give these criminals! Enough is enough! Give the citizens the money and let us pay off our mortgages, loans, etc., then the banks will have the money to operate on. Simple? Evidently too simple for the government to see. Hasn't anyone figured out that the reason these banks and corporations are broke is because the American people are broke? What makes them think that everything will be ok, if we can't afford to buy anything??

President Obama:

You voted for this bailout.

Are you hearing this horsesh*t?

Are you seeing Americans' tax money wasted on a plan that you voted for?

You're in charge now--now fix it.

-the USA

It is simply pleasing fiction that all problems in this country are the fault of liberal Democrats. There is plenty of blame to go around within the Republican party as well. The two party system is their tool, their weapon if you will that they brandish to keep power while we suffer. You seem to have forgotten the fact that the "bailout culture" was invented by Bush Republicans. The Dems are just getting in on the act for themselves now that they see how easy it is to screw the taxpaying people. We are suckers, easy marks for the grifters in Washington D.C. Our collective short memories in America is what allows all of this nonsense to occur repeatedly. And both parties are steadfastly dedicated to keeping this a fight between the Dems and Republicans. We fight amongst ourselves about which party is the worse offenders of decency and the more blatant rapists of the Constitution and economy while they raise the bar on how they will stick it to us while we are ready to kill each other over how we voted in recent elections. They are partying it up while the nation suffers. Preserve their staus quo on both sides of the aisle while we look for jobs, food and shelter that will allow us to barely get by. They must laugh at us behind closed doors about how stupid most of us are while they kick it in Vegas, relax like royalty at California spas and bird hunt in Europe (the last two events both products of Bush's bailout before he bailed the White House). No crony left behind, on either side of the aisle. Obama is appalled at thier actions all right, but what will he and the Dems do to stop this? If he convinces Wells Fargo to cancel this junket, then I will begin to believe he actually desires some change, but not until. If you believe one party is alone to blame for our present circumstance economically, you are still being duped big time by Fox News. The networks' news is only slightly more realistic than Fox News, but it is all a matter of "selling the drama" to the nation while politicians and their cronies get richer and learn of new ways to cheat us and screw us. Does it hurt them if we have a depression? Nope. Then they can just buy up everything for pennis on the dollar with our tax dollars just like after the ast Depression in '29-'33. If you take a look around and can't instantly spot the mark, the sucker, the fall guy in this bailout culture scam... then guess what... you're it! We're all it. If you are not in on the fix, then you are one of the millions of intended victims.

What did you expect? Here is the other side. They did not need a bail out, as they had enough money to buy Wachovia bank.

Just left Wells Fargo office in Gold Canyon, AZ....... closed all three accounts.

No...they have no shame. SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL CREDIT UNION INSTEAD. Once a member, you're an owner!!

You know Wells Fargo did not want to accept TARP funds because they were doing just fine with out the Feds help, but the Treasury Secretary insisted they accept this money "for the good of the nation". So it's probably not fair for us to demand they change the ways they do business because they were strong armed into taking the TARP monies. Just my 2 cents.

Shame on wells fargo, I'm banking somewhere else!

I would like to host a convention for my employee's to let them know, that they are VALUED. Oh wait, I can't. I had to take a pay cut and layoff all my employee's to save the company. Enough is enough with all these financial giants getting bailed out and misappropriating billions of the tax payer dollars without being held accountable. This has to stop NOW!

Wait everyone!

Since our tax money is being spent for stays at Wynn, then don't we all get at least one free night there a year?

It's OUR MONEY! Whoo Hoo! I'm calling Wynn right now for a reservation!

I understand the outrage - but what is not being mentioned here is that the Fed and the Treasury required Wells (among others) to take the $25B - there was no option. And Wells was not in the same hole as were many of the others. Their business decisions did not place them in the financial straits of many of the others. This is not on par with AIG and their boondoggle - they were failing and needed the $85B to ensure they did not bring others down with them! If a company is successful, it's not for us to tell them how they should reward their employees.

Wells Fargo is one of the strongest, safest banks in the world and the only US bank to receive a AAA rating from S&P. It neither needed nor wanted the government's money; it was forced to take it. If you need further evidence of its financial footing, it recently completed the purchase of Wachovia Bank. Its policies are extremely conservative, which has saved it from the fate of many of its peers. I am not a Wells Fargo employee, but I am a customer. I am happy to have my money in a bank that is so well-managed. Its employees deserve to be rewarded.

I just refi'ed my mortgage two months ago with,you guessed it, Wells Fargo. I am going to give them an extra note along with my next payment telling them to kiss my a$$.

If they want to party, then return the money. Let's see how big a party they have then. If they go under, then they go under!

i usually don't write into these things, but i was simply in disbelief when I read this article. I don't give a crap if its culture or not to party. Our culture use to say it was ok to kill people for stealing or own a slave etc etc etc. There are thousands of examples anyone could throw out there to tell Wells Fargo that Cultures and times change especially during these trying times. That someone from their bank would say its ok because its there culture should be fired. Our government is to blame to. How do you give billions of dollars to someone and have no stipulations attached like uhhh no damn parties? This country is killing itself and it sure would be nice if some of these rich companies would start giving back to their communities instead of partying it up like nothing is wrong

lotta paws had good post about companies needing to scale back druing hard times. I work in sales and have been to many sales conferences where they wine and dine the top salesmen. Of course, I got a 1099 for the approximate monetary benefit. I tried once to opt out of trip and get them to pay me the monetary value in cash, but they wouldn't. It wasn't free to me. Kind of like a vacation at reduced price. It has been kind of how things are done.

But when you are a company that took tax payer money things change imo. You simply HAVE to cut those kind of things out for awhile. They have to be smart enough to realize that, but maybe not.

This is bleeping outrageous!! Anyone with banking at Wells Fargo, pull your money out now and go with another bank not in trouble or being bailed out. Why don't we just let these banks go under and let the good banks have their deposits and business? We need a grass roots capitalist revolution in this country, this can't go on!!

My 401k is from work is through Wells Fargo. I took a stinking bath from them last year, I wonder if they will be inviting me along on that junkit to let me know I am still appreciated?

No one in Washington is going to do crap about it. Why, because their IDIOTS. Their balls fell off. You think Mr. President will do anything. Hell No. Traditional my ass. The circus has begun folks and guess who's leading it? You got it. HOMEY THE CLOWN (OUR NEW PRESIDENT). Yep, the Ringmaster himself. Does it make you feel like your an idiot for voting for him? It does me. What a damn JOKE. Drop your drawers folks. Here it comes again except just a little harder.

This is absolutely insane. Obaqna and cohorts need to step in to the corporate world and put a stop to this sort of thing unless the company has made a profit in its lqast accounting period. That goes for the unbelievable compensation that these men making these decisons make. In the mean time I wonder if my 1200.00 per month Social Security check is safe. You know, the insurance I paid for with over 50 years of sweat equity. Come on Obama, come on congress, do your damn jobs and put a stop to this.

Hold on a second everyone. Wells Fargo did not request or need a bail out and was and is in very good financial shape. As far-out as this may sound, the government put pressure on even the banks in good financial shape to get in on the bail out because they didn't want a negative stigma associated with the banks that needed a bail out to survive.

Wells Fargo is in one of the best or the best financial shape of any of the US banks and had very little exposer to the subprime mortage mess.

Wells Fargo should not have accepted and did not need the bail out money to begin with and should give the money back or they're going to hear a lot more of this stuff

Doug

Enough already! How can these CEO's look at their selves in the mirror? Reminds me of Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Congress should make the banks account for the bailout money because it is obvious that the money did not go where it was intended.

Apparently recognizing that their business culture must be adjusted to fit reality is out of the question.  Did they need bailout assistance or not?  My guess is not.  What gaul---I want my money back.  We have other places with real need to spend it on. 

Eli

Enough of theblame game by party! The leaders of the financial industry, the regulatory groups and the greedy public just did not do what they were supposed to do and now will have to accept responsibility! The boards of all the corporations did not do their fiduciary responsibility and MUST pay the piper not just the public.They must be charged in the courts and hopefully their day will come. Hopefully we will , in the future, with new and proper oversite that is binding -not forget human nature as even Greenspan admitted in his testimony to congress.

Let us JUST get together, compromise and present and pass a fair equitale legislation that will get us out of the mess we are in. No one will win all points<however the public wil WIN.

Thanks Paulson! You really know how to F**k the people. Why don't you do the right thing and go away. You're not wanted here.

Don't come back.

where's the messiah on this one? its part of the company's culture!! b.s.!!!! this is the type of crap that got them in the situation that they needed to be bailed out. bail me out damn it. i want to throw rediculous parties and have someone else pay for it. unbelievable! simply unbelievable!! so here i sit waiting for the annointed to start cutting back on the frivilous spending!

Oh sure, Melissa Murray, spokewoman for Wells Fargo, says these lavish events are still part of their culture. Well maybe it is time to change this type of culture Ms Murray since your company was among the recipients of American's hard earned tax dollars as part of the "bail-out". Can you not motivate your employees to be top performers without these excesses? This kind of stuff is over the top and does not bode well with American hard working people, even those at executive levels. Wake up Wells Fargo.

If the government gives them anymore money I think the people should stop paying taxes. I think the President should get all the money we gave them back ASAP. Then pay it on the deafest. Don't spend it pay down the bill!

Mr. President do something even if it's wrong just telling them there bad does not cut it. The American Family is having trouble paying there bills and still eating and you just say it wrong take all the money back now. We the taxpayer are sick of this @!$%#.

I really do not care if Wells Fargo was told to take the money even if they did not need it. This is not the time to take a stupid EXPENSIVE junket. It sends the wrong message to us the customer and tax payer. BTW - all this money going around - why is it that not one of us TAXPAYING CITIZENS has gotten any money or tax break?????

They are in need of culture modification: going out of business and firing all their useless managers. I hope the fold along with all the other major banks. F-em.

There are hundreds of other well run banks looking for our business. if you have an account with Wells Fargo, pull all your money out and change banks. Wells Fargo has a reputation for being rude and arrogant anyway.

The Audacity of Dopes! When are going to put a stop to these thieves???

TOKAMAK...

I want my money back.

Hey! That's a FABULOUS idea! Let's all write to Hank Paulson and demand a refund!!! I love it! We could also write the Senate and Congress and demand one, too! Obviously, they listened to all the calls and emails that people sent opposing this stimulus package. This is what's needed. Mass complaints. We can stop the madness! I'm going to do that right now!

omg...someone stop the madness!!! These executives need to be fired, (maybe even jailed) their 401k & stock taken away and share the pain of so many hard working Americans that are struggling to get by each month. I am so ashamed of our business leaders, it makes me sick. What has happened to the American pride?????

Have any of you noticed the source of this article? The AP, a liberal joke, coupled with a former disgruntled employee. If the perks for her had been so lavish, then why did she leave, unless it's something that she's NOT sharing despite her mouth being so wide open.

The fact is, as only one person I see in the chain below has acknowledged, Wells Fargo & JP Morgan Chase were the only two banks that said, "No thank you" to the government's bailout money. Despite that, they were straddled with the obligation of taking it and then reporting on its use thereafter. Wells Fargo did not need this money, nor have they earmarked it for the purpose of supporting an event as the one described. The culture at Wells is one that is has supported by it's own sound business practices. You don't survive 150 years as an industry leader by making stupid decisions, and that has not changed. Wells Fargo exists in a Capitalist society. Any of you ever hear of such a thing? In case you have, but don't know what it means, it means that it is allowed to do with its profits what it wishes, bearing in mind the obligation to it's shareholders as a publicly-traded company. If I'm not mistaken (I'm not), Wells Fargo recently announced a 4th quarter dividend distribution above it's estimates. In other words, Wells Fargo provided to it's shareholders a profitable return in one of the most dire economic periods of any our lives, collectively.

It's easy for a liberal writer to use the tag-line he/she did when writing this article, but the substance is not supported by action. Wells is using its own hard-earned capital to support it's employees, and in a capitalist society, I say, great job Wells Fargo. Pull your heads out of the sand and think about it.

Are the majority of you really so naive: Have any of you noticed the source of this article? The AP, a liberal joke, coupled with a former disgruntled employee. If the perks for her had been so lavish, then why did she leave, unless it's something that she's NOT sharing despite her mouth being so wide open.

LoL - You don't read too well I guess...the story was backed up by a Wynn resort spokeswoman, WHO STILL WORKS THERE.

So try again...

Hey Larry and all others who still support Barney Franks, please watch this in his own words...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMnSp4qEXNM&NR=1

Go to wellsfargo.com and on their home page there is an email address to report fraud. I believe this is fraud - theirs.

The Dept. of Treasury has a website and you can file a complaint with them. Interesting. Perhaps we should file a complaint on Hank Paulson. He's the one who grossly mismanaged our money. He needs investigating!

I am waiting for the political cartoon that depicts a broken down "American Car" labelled as "our economy"with a huge hole in the gas tank labelled "Corporate America". There is a gas can labelled "the bailout"which coincidentally is our last can of gas that we could possible save to put some other vehicle. Holding and pouring the gas into the tank is a dopey guy labelled "US Government". The Dopey guy is being controlled by an electric "zapper"leash held by the driver prodding the dopey guy along. The guy driving the car looks like the slimiest used car salesman you've ever seen with a big grin on his face as he prepares to open the car door and abandon ship and collect the unused gas. He is labelled "Corporate Executives or America". The car is headed for the abyss called the "greatest depression ever seen", or alternatively "the demise of our society". And you can just guess who all the passengers are in the car strapped in helplessly and labeled "Joe Public". That, my friends, as Mr. McCain is so fond of saying, is the situation we are in. All I can say is that itdoesn't look good!

Talk about a PR nightmare for Wells Fargo! As much as I would love to see a run start on this bank right now, the main people who end up hurt are the totally innocent, the account holders, tellers, janitor,etc. The CEO's of this company are pure scum. Actually scum is too nice a word for these dregs of society.

Wells Fargo is going to lose my accounts too ... ALL OF THEM! I WILL be writing to President Obama on these issues and more shortly. It is my opinion that this is OUR country and our hard earned "tax dollars". Wouldn't any of you love to go on a lavish vacation all expenses paid on someone elses money? Come on - sure you would!

Not that I remember his exact words, but President Obama said something to the effect "this is OUR neighborhood and you are my neighbors"! I'm ready to take charge of my neighborhood, are you willing to fight for yours?

Time to demand they repay the $25B now before it is all gone. Let them go down the tubes like the taxpayers are. If you bank with them it is time to go get your money before Friday and look elsewhere for banking services.

Hey, why not celebrate with the "free" money from the taxpayers?

Too bad one of the conditions of getting the "bailout" money wasn't actually making loans. Instead, Congress, in its infinite wisdom, just gave them the money and even encouraged them to use the money to buy up weaker banks and build their own little empires.

Way to go Barney Frank and Chris Dodd. By the way, can you spare an extra $million?

I think I caught two posters that have it right. Wells Fargo had the government money handed to them when they really didn't want or need it. This to me looks like a AP and liberal trap. What if every corporation quit going to Las Vegas. What would the employees in Vegas do? Join the unemployment line? This article should tell all of us what the liberal agenda is, "tell every corporation how they should do their job".

It's a shame that the government has stepped in and given away our tax dollars. But since it is already done it's a bigger shame that we are headed for the government calling all the shots in the business world.

Yes while they are parting with our tax dollors.. Did i not read yesterday about Banks laying off thousand of jobs only to turn around and give 25 thousand visa to people from INDIA to come here and work... This is getting more and more sad everyday that passes... When someone has the balls to start something to get these ass to be accountable please let me know cause i want in on it..

what is next?????

Does anybody on this site understand anything about the TARP, or finance in general? The Feds forced Wells Fargo - and other U.S. banks - to take the $25B. Wells didn't want it, tried to avoid it.

Here's a question for ya: How did the government and we, the taxpayers, "bail out" a company that made over $3 billion in 2008?

Furthermore, Wells just announced yesterday that, per the provisions of the TARP, it will pay the government a $375 million dividend on 2/15. That's a guaranteed 5% rate of return for the government on a nearly gauranteed investment (Wells will repay the full $25B principle investment to the fed within 5 years). Not sure about all of your portfolios, but that sounds like a pretty good investment to me.

So you - the taxpayer - is going to make $1.5B annually on this investment for each of the next 5 years, and then get your initial $25B investment back, and you're complaining that Wells Fargo is spending maybe several hundred thousand to reward employees and, by the way, infuse some cash into the Las Vegas economy?

Get your heads on straight. Lest you think the savers are going to lead us out of this recession, God help us all.

“Recognition events are still part of our culture,” spokeswoman Melissa Murray said. “It’s really important that our team members are still valued and recognized.”

How about these people, including Ms Murray, recognize that they are broke, borrowed money, and are now stepping out on tax payers money? Would they lend money to Jim or Jane Main Or Side Street, if they knew they were going to use the money to go live it up in Vagas?

When will these corporations recognize that their culture is offensive and abusive to those who they borrowed money from including the share holders?

How about they realize that we recognize their greed, selfishness, wastefullness, selfcenteredness, arrogance and poor management skills that have run their institutions into the ground and imploded the financial system and the economy?

Why don't they recognize that this is a flagrant disregard for economy, especially at a time where many people are losing everything including their jobs, and instead should appologize to the peoples of America and that they should be thankful for and recognize their own good fortune at having a job?

Why don't these corporations who took the taxpayers dime, recognize that we don't hold them in any regard, and that we recognize that they are inept, and lacking in any modicum of self control or have any ability for critical thinking or good management to wit their company is now on the dole, yet they are still spending lavishly what they don't have or can afford? They are doing the very thing they criticized the tax payers of doing- being fiscally irresponsible.

To show The Team Members that they are still recognized and valued by their corporation ?. Ha ha haa...

How does that help the rest of us who are sinking fast without a lifeline, as we watch our homes plummet in value and more people lose their jobs every day, and will now never be able to get a loan from any of these very same financial institutions who are using our tax dollars to finance such outrageous extravegances?

Perhaps someone will hand them their pink slip and claw back chits at the front desk of the hotel.

These are the corporations that the Republicans think need a tax cut and other help. The old trickle down economics thing.

Why is it that only misery gushes down?

The problme is very simple - we all got conned into a bailout without any oversight. They said at the time there would be new regulations, oversight, watchdogs .... none of theat has come to pass. Now they are going to buy all the "troubled" assets, at book value apparently cuz they aren't wotrth anything otherwise, and put them in a big bad banks owned by the taxpayors. This si going to cost between 2.5 - 5 Trillion (or so they say .... The big question is if we were going to buy all the bad assets, why didn't we use the FDIC to nationalize all of these banks (we could have bought almost 80% for 800B) and then we get the good with the bad? This whole TARP mess has wasted almost a Trillion dollars on absolutely nothing - lets put that in perspective - for that money we could have housed all of the homeless in their own homes - free and clear! Health Insurance for everyone!!! converted much of the country to geothermal / green energy! What did we get for our money at Citi stadium for the mets, trips to Vegas and Califironia and a bunch of million dollar bonuses for bankers. Sounds like a great deal to me!

The best and only way to deal with these people is to not do business with them. Instead of expecting incompetent and corrupt politicians to take measures, just look for a bank that still has some conscious left. Consumer Power, I'd say!

My guess is that the next time anyone needs a bailout, they will seek it from non US source, the Chinese or perhaps the UAE would love to buy into these banks, and then they can have the jobs over there. The media and Washington have everyone looking at every little expense these people make, and you are all missing the big picture. Just because the feds gave them a little money is that any reason that the employees should get dumped on. How about if the Gov told you that while on unemployment, you were not allowed to eat out, go to movies, parties, have cable or satalite service, and your auto could only be used to drive to job interviews. That is basically what the public seems to want of any company that got money from the fed. Yet I bet no complains about the salary of your local sports team, who is playing in a stadium funded by tax payers in a lot of cases.

Wells Fargo says it is part of their "corporate culture" - my husband and I have a culture of wanting to put a roof over our heads and food on the table for our family - this is totally shameless and outrageous! Our Wells Fargo accounts will be closed in the morning!

Doug,

I understand that Wells Fargo did not lose money and was not in need of the bail out handouts, but t5he problem we are having here is that the people that are putting their faith in the financial industry, people like myself that cant afford to lose a single penny, need to see fiscal responsibility, even if it is just on the surface the the ones I had the faith to put my money with will not squander it. I know that they did not "lose" it so to speak, as though it were misplaced or used on someones house payment. But when you have the consumer confidence index bottoming out you have a certain responsibility as a bank to assure its customers that they are not doing anything wasteful while its consumers are pinching every penny.

You want to see a bank, or any other business, take off like a flippin' rocket? Announce that the CEO will not be taking a single dollar in compensation for the year. People will flock to that just out spite for what CEO's and other upper management have been doing to the corporate coofers.

So very much is about appearance in business. You do not want to give the appearance of wastefulness, even if you were not one of the ones wasting.

You must have a conscience in order to feel shame. The culture of this organization and those in charge obviously do not have a conscience.

I will NEVER do any business with Wells Fargo again!

I understand that people are upset with having a conference in Las Vegas. I am more concerned with the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM having their conference in Davos Switzerland, probably one of the most expensive places to travel. Who is paying for our US representatives to travel to economically deprived Davos? I suspect it is all of us taxpayers. Maybe they should have held the conference in Detroit.

If Wells Fargo is having a conference in Las Vegas then I would expect the attendees to foot the hotel and flight bill out of their own pocket, the same as I do when I travel for work related conferences.

To all you guys threatening to pull your accounts from Wells Fargo - If your bank balances match your IQ and insight into this issue then they Wells won't be missing much....take your $20 and go on...

Bull**** I will and hope everyone else does not do any business with these corrupt bankers. Way to to congress. When are we the people going to take back what is ours? Well iI guess never , because we the people do not have a true leader. If there is a revolution then maybe we the people will have a say but until then we are the laughing stock of the world. ThPlease someone step up and lead us.

The behavior of these bankers are shameful and we should not support any rescue since they do not appear to be able to change for the better Instead they continue to party as before. Very very shameful.

Easy fix to this, just pull the 40 Billion back. Apparently Wells Fargo does not understand that the instant they take tax payer money to fund their buisiness, whatever culture they have just went out the window. They are free to go on all the junkets they want, just as soon as they have paid us back our 40 Billion plus interest. Until then, they get to decided if they go on a junket or not. We the tax payer do, and the tax payers says NO!!!!!

Bid Dawg -

You complete and utter lack of insight is astonishing. You follow that up with insulting statements about people that are frustrated with todays economy and are tired of being mistreated by todays business CEO's as though they have no responsibility to the people that keep the money in their banks becasue they know if they go under the Feds will bail out the clients.

But then again, I would not expect a person like yourself to understand. The little pink elephant bank on your momma's nightstand is not FDIC insured.

I have two words for everyone ---- CREDIT UNION!!! I've been with one for over 25 years and they treat me with respect, they value my business, and I pay less in fees than a conventional bank. And most of them are fiscally stable and sound.

Don't deal with banks... how many credit unions have failed? Do they have to rely on the Fed to survive? I can't say I have ever heard of any outrageous behavior from the officers of one of these groups. I haven't dealt with a bank for over 20 years. The credit union has been my shelter fron those banking azzholes. Let the banks fail and all those execs live under freeway bridges where they belong, with their possessions in a shopping cart.

Lookup,

Only one word for you...............IDIOT!

Wells Fargo is the only company out there doing the right thing! They are spending the bailout money into the American Economy! All the rest of the banks and companies are holding onto their money............That won't help anyone much less the economy!

I think Wells is doing exactly as they should. This trip is a PR disaster but more companies should not put their lives on hold because it is not PC to do so. Good for them, WF didn't create this mess, Congress did. Once more. WF is spending their own money on this trip not the tax payer's money. WF is a great company, with great management and employees. Let's all stop this poor me crap, while people lose their jobs, so what, life goes on.

Really? Wells Fargo was at the meeting with the Treasury because had they not elected to take the money, the Treasury would not have lent money to the other financial institutions. Additionally, these are employees we are talking about. Had any one of us been working for a company like Wells Fargo and been promised a bonus package for being a top performer, would you honestly say "NO, because we were bailed out as a company I have to refuse this." Come on, that's like saying to any one of our bosses, "you know, I'll forego my Christmas bonus this year because I'd rather the company keep it." Right.

There is a huge difference between corporate waste by taking care of employees who perform at the top and spending money on CEOs who are running companies into the ground (which to be quite honest, Wells Fargo didn't need the bailout money to stay whole just look at the annual report). The real solution to this would have been to allow either the bad assets to fail, or assist the banks by shoring up the bad assets themselves, not just giving them a check.

Additionally, this is just like we Americans. We ride the wave as long as we all can. We spend, spend, spend and once our credit card company tells us we're over limit and they want us to pay them back, we flip them the bird and walk away. There is no such thing as financial prudence or personal responsibility anymore. I'm saying all this while working for a company that is just struggling to stay on its feet and accepting a reduced salary in the meantime. I'm saying this having gone through credit counseling...but I paid back every penny I owed...I just requested leniency on the time to pay. I paid for it with years of less-than-stellar credit. But I leared that if I'm going to buy something, or own something, I better damn well have something put away if the storms come.

The better portion of our tax money could go to the children, widows, elderly and disabled in this country who have no chance to help themselves. Not the rest of we whining babies who expect everyone else to live the same life as each of us. Let's get off our butts and do our jobs. Our government can't (and shouldn't) do this for us anyway.

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes that which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

--Thomas Jefferson

Wells Fargo was and is in very good financial shape. People and institutions with the money to spend (Like WF) should be spending it!! WF was required to take the bail out money because our friends in Washington thought there would be a negative stigma associated with the banks that NEEDED the bail out to survive. By mixing the good banks into the bail out, they thought there would be less of a stigma.

I know you are not going to believe it, but WF did actually put up a fight to not take the money. This happened before the Wachovia take over.

If you don't like Well's culture, then don't shop there. It is that simple. As a liberal Democrat, Wells does not appear to be the problem in our financial industry. One can be punished due to their culture, but it is not up to our govt. We'll do that with our money. Well has the TARP, and is making payments. If they want they can probably give it back. Having a cushy cash reserve at a very low interest rate will only provide them with added bonus. Why should they give it up? We are not practicing Indian gifts. Let's move on. There does not appear to be any violation.

Obama and team needs to focus on establishing consistent regulations and healthy enviorment for our country businesses.

This is absolute madness. I don't care how many bad mortages these screwoffs wrote, they still wrote up bad mortages. Now they get rewarded at the expense of the other employees who work at WF as well as the shareholders. If I owned stock in that bank I'd be selling off the stock in a heartbeat. The banks upper crust is pretty much telling everyone, including customers, employees and shareholders that they don't give a damn, they're going to party, party like the kings they think they are but aren't. Nice going you bunch of selfish, greedy, inconsiderate S.O.B.s!

it is obscene... time for taxpayer revolt... withhold withhoding... the govt is supposed to be by the people, for the people....

they seem to have forgotten who pays for everything...

I won't pay anymore...

we also will no longer do business with WF. They have no integrity. How will their people feel if their business fails and they don't have jobs. Bet they'd wish for the money spent on the LV waste. Honor your employees but with restraint within the bounds of decency.

As a taxpayer and shareholder of WFC, I object to this kind of behavior. How can management justify this type of expense for parties to celebrate mortgages that helped bring the banking system to it's knees? The money would be better used to help stave off forclosures of struggling homeowners.

No, they do not have shame, morals, ethics, etc. Shouldn't there be a contract written when they are given bailout money that prevents the useless spending of taxpayer dollars such as this? this MUST STOP! I am all for a petition to stop all business dealings with companies that get our money then throw lavish parties. If I wanted to spend money on a trip and party for friends I would be the one greeting them at the door!

Comon, its really time to stop pointing fingers at everyone. It really doesn't matter whether Dem or Repub did it. ITS HERE!

Remember when gas was outragous? We stop buying and 'magicaly' the price went down.

Economics 101, boycott is ideal but a lot of organization. Are we up to it?

Wells Fargo did not request or need the bail out money. Washington wanted the banks (like WF) that were in good financial shape to receive bail out money because they believed there would be a negative stigma associated with the banks that needed the bail out money to survive. I guess the logic was that if you mix in the banks that are in good financial shape there would be less of a stigma.

Making people and institutions with money (like Wells Fargo) feel guilty about spending money is only going to make the economy worse.

Pull all your stock from this company, close all your accounts, encourage everyone you know to stop business with Wells Fargo. The people have to speak as these banks are operating with our money now.

and the USA needs to reconsider public stoning for white collar crimes!

You are all not thinking. This is as much your fault as the banks that the economy is in the condition it is. Sure the banks gave you the money, but you over extended yourself too. I hope Wells Fargo has the party. I hope they extend it and tell everyone of you to stick it. Close your accounts; you'll regret it in the long run when you can't find the convenience, reliability, or your money in the local bank.

If you look at the balance sheets, Wells Fargo posted a profit while most other banks were failing. Wells Fargo's chairman did not want the money, but the fed was hoping they could loosen-up the credit market so they needed all of the big banks in on the deal. Wells Fargo is one of the few good banks left and did not need to be bailed-out. They also saved the tax payers a boat-load by buying Wachovia. Initially, Wachovia was going to be bought by Citi Group for 1.6 Billion with taxpayers on the hook. Wells Fargo came in with an offer for 15 Billion of their own money with NO Fed strings attached. They are also preseving thousands of jobs by keeping the company together rather than breaking it up like the Citi Group/Fed deal had proposed.

Wells has the highest credit rating of any bank in the country and is the safest place to keep your money. Don't trust me...do your own homework and avoid jumping to conclusions based on things you read in the news.

Everybody just wait a minute. Wells Fargo was not bailed out. At that infamous meeting of all the big bank CEOs back in October (or, at least, memory recalls it being in October), Kovacevich specifically said that Wells Fargo neither needed nor wanted any bailout funds. Nevertheless, Paulson, Bernanke & Co. held a gun to their head and they were forced to take them. (And, for that matter, neither did Ken Lewis want any bailout funds but now he welcomes them since the government is forcing him to go through with the Merrill deal.)

Back to Wells, I hope they have a blast in Las Vegas since, as they say, this junket is part of their culture. When the government imposes, even by force, as in this case, their will upon an entity or an individual, your freedom is stripped away. My hat's off to Kovacevich for carrying on with business as usual. Now if everybody wants to get lathered up over something, the AIG spa boondoggle in the immediate wake of having received TARP funds is another matter. They needed the money, they took the money and then they squandered some of it on self-indulgence. This is a totally different situation from Wells, which did not need to be bailed out, which did not even want any of the TARP funds, but which had it forced upon them.

someone should call wells fargo on their crap. This is so ridiculous......what a joke!

You people need to get the whole story.

As a proud retiree of Wells Fargo, I think people are over reacting. If you all pull your money out of Wells so they go under, you will have 120,000 employees out of work. Wells Fargo is the best company to work for and/or retire from. At least they were upfront about the conference and tried to explain the "culture" of these conferences. I think it is unfortunate that the other banks who received bailout money did some insanely extravagant spending and now Wells Fargo is being raked over the coals for wanting to continue a time honored tradition. They did not receive the bailout money and decide to spend it on this conference. These things are planned at least a year in advance. I was a non-management employee who was a very high producer and hard worker. As recognition for my hard work, I was honored to go to the conference, in 1995, in Puerto Rico. I have never felt so appreciated for a job well done. I understand in these hard economic times this "junket" seems extravagant. Perhaps it is, but Wells Fargo values its customers opinion and with what I have been hearing on the news, public opinion is against them. I was always proud to work for a company with integrity and compassion. Chairman of the Board, Dick Kovacevich and CEO, John Stumpf are men of honor and have always made decisions that were best for the company, its customers and employees. The things written about them and Wells Fargo as a company, are truely unjustified.

Lottapaws wrote one of the most ignorant satements I have ever read:

How DARE Wells Fargo spend the money of hard working Americans to show appreciation to their top performing employees! The money would be better spent helping their CUSTOMERS!

This is just about appreciation, it is about rewarding those who do give their customers the best service and HELP their customers through these hard ties with sound banking advice and guidance.

I would like to know if your place of employment has any employee incentives? I agree that the top execs do not deserve million dollar bonuses, but rewarding top employees for TOP PERFORMANCE is not wrong. I am a Wells Fargo customer and I think it is well worth it.

Think before you speak next time!

What a joke!!!While there are other people losing jobs. We have executives that received free money to spend at LasVegas. I am taking my funds and money out of Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo exec. ARE A JOKE. Please go to hell.

When the hell is enough enough! These execs should be hung!!!!! As I said again. ...I am taking my money elsewhere. Screw you Wells Fargo!

As a proud retiree of Wells Fargo, I think people are over reacting. If you all pull your money out of Wells so they go under, you will have 120,000 employees out of work. Wells Fargo is the best company to work for and/or retire from. At least they were upfront about the conference and tried to explain the "culture" of these conferences. I think it is unfortunate that the other banks who received bailout money did some insanely extravagant spending and now Wells Fargo is being raked over the coals for wanting to continue a time honored tradition. They did not receive the bailout money and decide to spend it on this conference. These things are planned at least a year in advance. I was a non-management employee who was a very high producer and hard worker. As recognition for my hard work, I was honored to go to the conference, in 1995, in Puerto Rico. I have never felt so appreciated for a job well done. I understand in these hard economic times this "junket" seems extravagant. Perhaps it is, but Wells Fargo values its customers opinion and with what I have been hearing on the news, public opinion is against them. I was always proud to work for a company with integrity and compassion. Chairman of the Board, Dick Kovacevich and CEO, John Stumpf are men of honor and have always made decisions that were best for the company, its customers and employees. The things written about them and Wells Fargo as a company, are truely unjustified.

No, these people have no shame and claim that this type of lavish activities is part of "their culture". Well, I for one have to say: "If you don't change your culture, you go under"!

Where is the Dem government oversight for those billions of $ spent on these banks? Yes, employees should be recognized for their efforts during the year, however, let's have that in proportion to the situation. These clowns party like there is no tomorrow or worry where the money is coming from.

And as for "Keep Oregon Green", well your name says it all. You are two bubbles short on a dozen.

one more note to the unhappy taxpayers...read the article below and see how Wells Fargo is already paying dividends!

The one way we can change this folks...

find a local credit union and join it.

close your accounts with Wells Fargo and BofA

Demand your tax dollars back, a full accounting of what they did with every penny, and jail time for the politicians who gave it to them.

We've been robbed. What are we going to do about it?

Amen !!!....Let's get over this crap of crazy expenditures!!!! Let's see who wants the top performers for an extra special price if no one is offering that price. Let the market place prevail!!!! It's not that great for anyone on the way down. Let's all suffer on the downside....as we all benefitted on the upside

Well Fargo is doing great! Check out this link...

http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/28/news/companies/wells_fargo/index.htm

Here's a way to fix Fargo for good- Whenever they offer 90 days no interest on a purchase, take it. Work with THEIR money. DON'T borrow any money from them so that they get NO interest. No money, no vacations, no compensation for executives.

They are acting like they are congressmen

If Wells Fargo or all the other financial institutions did not need the money, then they should not have taken it. No one held a gun to their collective heads and told then ' you gotta take it or else we will send you to Gitmo'. If the big 2 auto have to be accountable for the little amount of money they received, then these other corporations are also accountable.

For those who believe that once the people's or stock holder's money is taken, the banks/ financial institutions/corporation can do whatever they wish with it, even waste it, are either trolling for these institutions/banks/corporations or are symptomatic of what ails the country which is - zealotic capitalistic greed, wrapped up in irresponsibility, selfishness, self-centeredness, meanness, lack of moral values, need for instant gratification at the expense of others including one's own clients/family/friends, lack of ethics, often lacking in pertinent knowledge base, skill or experience pertaining to the job title they hold, power hungry and power possessed, pretentiousness mascarading as reality and ability to do the job, and often times down right stupidity.

These institutions are being held to the standard that these institutions hold some of us, ie they require that we are fiscally responsible.

By the way the amount of money received as unemployment benefit is so small that there are few people, if any ,could afford to eat out or party on it much less go to Vegas.

If these banks want to get into bed- if they have not already- with other countries like for e.g. China, then they will have to deal with the consequences of their actions when these companies call their notes. Pity that they will not be held to the same level of punishment for their misdeeds and mismanagement etc as some of these countries hold their own people. In some countries they do send their white collar types to do some serious hard time in the penitentary -after they have had to appologize publicly to those harmed,- for misdeeds/ miss-management, etc don't they? LOL

Unfortunately you bought what the media sold you. I'm a retired WF employee of 32 yrs. Read WFs response posted at 7:36 tonight. It is true. The annual sales event is for tellers, personal bankers, not top execs!! Been done for years--recognizes top employees through intense competition for the prior yr. I never qualified but had a few employees over the yrs who did--they were great with customer service, sales results, etc!!

ok, so lets get the facts right, 1st of all Wells Fargo did not want or need the govt Bail-out, they, like all the other banks were requird to take the money to help free up lending practices, Wells Fargo has the best loan to forclosure ratio in the morgage industry aprx 96% of all morgage accts. by

Wells Fargo are good Loans and are paid on time, Every year wells Fargo Takes the best of the best in all departments on a vacation to say Job Well done, this was going to be done without the bail-out, again which Wells Fargo did not want or need so before you start throwing stones please get your facts right...dont be ignorant

Who gives a damn about whether or not they needed the money. The bottom line is that they got it. Give the money back if you don't need it and then go on your JUNKET. To (sue s in Minnesota), who cares where you worked. Dabar, who gives a damn to you to. It's taxpayer money any way you look at it. I want my tax money back. Wells Fargo isn't in that good of shape or they wouldn't have taken the money. GET REAL.

No Give back just waste it,why did they cancel the trip?Take a couple of Politicians too!If we are dumb enough not to put any restriction on the Tarp, its piss it away like the rest of the money they lent to the dead beats!I say recall that cash and tighten the grip if they need it.The people who need loans are going to pay threw the nose now.The Banks will make huge profits at the taxpayers expense.This was the worst in- justice ive ever seen, sure is unfair to the hard working honest people who pay on time!

The corporation has no shame or any other emotion.

They get on their Marx. Get set. Stop.

Feed their ridiculous hierarchy.

So if we take the approach that corporations who receive tax payer money should not be allowed to spend their money on junkets like this, do we take the same approach with individuals receiving welfare, and prevent them from spending money on anything considered for enjoyment or amusement?

To what extent does the government have the right to limit how you spend their aid, be it corporate or private?

looks like the foccking morons got the outrage of those at newsvine and other places, now about ridiculous CEO payments and spiffs when the daily pay for a CEO is more than a regular person makes in a year! that is foccked up, what is up with that? I have my bank of america stock, it went from $50,000.00 in value a year and a half ago and now worth $5680.00 and this foccker get a bonus? that is HOOEY bull@!$%#

You can thank Barney Frank and Chris Dodd....and the rest of Congress for this rip-off.

Why single them out? Have they done more to support this idea of obscene bonuses for CEOs? No...it's just the thing to do in this day and age. The Democrats are in power, so it's up to the Republican sympathizers to bash leading Democrats.

It's not what Congress has done. The "rich get richer" philosophy is the way CEOs think now. They are emulating Dick Cheney's Halliburton buddies who have been lining their pockets with taxpayer money for eight years now. Worse, the CEOs have the attitude that bailout money = CEO money, and dammit, they are going to get more than their "fair" share. It started way back when, with AIG doing the same exact thing: sending their highest management on some "spa retreats" and "dove hunting" expeditions in England...remember that?

Limiting higher management income -- salaries and bonuses -- to a maximum of $400K a year is a start. It'll weed out those that are in it strictly for themselves. What they should do is tell these greedy CEO types that if they exceed $400K in a year their next stop will be CEO of the Graybar Hotel...

Wow....I am amazed at the blogs about this article.

Free money????

Really -- do your research before you blog. This money was not free and Wells was forced to take it against their wishes. And for those who are saying Wells needed the money in order to buy Wachovia -- again, do your research. We raised $12B in capital with a stock offering (which, by the way may likely cost the bank less than the "free" money the government forced on them.)

As for the $25B that the government gave Wells -- this money was given to a number of banks in order to keep banks lending money -- NOT so that the banks would then turn around and give it away. Wells Fargo made new loan commitments of over $70B in the fourth quarter of 2008 alone. Nearly 3 times the amount of money that the government forced them to take.

All of you talking about boycotting and the horror of it all...do you all really want to live in a world where the government can step in and tell businesses how to operate, what to spend money on, and how to do it?

Not me. For those who do -- there are plenty of countries you can move to where that's standard operating procedures. Move ther.

In the mean time - if you don't know the whole story - get educated.

So lets see, first it was airplanes that got everyone excited, then boeing and cessna had layoffs, lear and the others will soon. Then it was travel, and the airlines are once again reporting huge losses. Now if a company tries to say thank you, they can't hold a bonquet or take thier employees to a nice american retreat, so now the already hurting hotel and casino business will start to see a lot more hurt, and you all think you are the winners here because they canceled the trip.

Next cancellation, your job.

When the rest of the world economy picks up. don't worry shopping in the US will pick up in a whole new way, and the offshore companies take ownership of one american company after another, and they will buy them for pennies on the dollar.

If Obama wants to save this country he should mak eeveryone who wants to vote pass the same test that imigrants have to, so they at least know they can read and comprehend.

You folks are not saving america, you are about to sell america into ruin, not the banks, not the car companies, but the everyday joe, who whines about every move without an understanding of the facts.

"("In light of the current environment, we have now decided to cancel this event as well," the company said Tuesday night in a news release that also said the it had never planned to use taxpayer bailout money for the trip.)"

I'm sorry, but if the company received a bailout package... then it wouldn't be using their own money for it. That's like saying we'll use your money for the business and our money to party. Makes no sense.

And you wonder why they are in trouble in the first place?????

They have no shame and think we are stupid. We must stop this. The gov't must insure that all perks are stopped if they take taxpayer money. If they persist, they should have to give the money back with interest!!!

I seriously doubt that it has been canceled, just postponed till we're not looking.

Their ability to lead this company is in to direct proportion to the spa treatments they receive.

Spare the rod, spoil the banker.

I agree, I have a Wells Fargo credit card and I have been laid off unable to find another job. I am one day, one day behind and they start hassling me on the phone morning, afternoon and nights. no matter what if I make arrangements to pay they continue to hassle me until the day comes for them to take the authorized darn payment out my checking account and overdraft my account to the point that I can buy milk for my kids... enough of these crips.. they need to go to jail!!!

Free tax dollars? Partys on! Bush`s going away present to Wall Street? Well after the tax cuts?

Sorry Bastards - excuse my language - but that is all I am able to write - VERY angry. "Angry", is just one letter short of "Danger".

If it's true that Wells Fargo is solvent, and doesn't even need the bailout money in the first place, then that money shouldn't have been handed over to them, it should be used somewhere it would do more good. Even if that is the case, with so much of the country in such dire straights, for them to put on such a lavish display in front of the rest of us reminds me of Marie Antionette let them eat cake kind of thinking. That was part of French culture, and look what happened to them! Not good to rile up the peasants. Other companies get by just fine without taking people to Las Vegas for 12 days of lavish entertainment to hold a 4 day sales conference and write it off as a business expense. Bailout or no, as long as they do some "business" during this shindig, they can write off part or maybe even all of it, it comes out of our pockets one way or another. If they have laid off even one person in the last year, to plan on continuing with such Marie Antionette culture is in bad taste for them to display before so many people who are out of work, and some who are struggling to pay back mortgages to them. Other companies get by just fine having a one evening employee appreciation banquet at a local restaurant, and having sales conferences at *gasp!* ....*The office!* What a concept! If they are solvent, and don't even need the bailout money for such a thing, then the flak is undeserved, but still in bad taste right now. This shindig only honors thier top 1,000 people company wide. How many people could they employ for a year on what they want to spend on this? How much more interest could they pay on accounts of people who chose them as a place to put thier savings and investments? If they are remaining solvent due to closing any of their branches, or doing any layoffs, that doesn't look good either. If they want to show some appreciation, how about distributing those funds as small bonuses company wide? I'm sure their rank and file would appreciate a leg up these days. I wish I had a credit union in my town, unfortunately I don't or I would have gone to one a long time ago. It's too bad that Wells Fargo is taking unjustified flak for bad banks getting bailed out and turning around to slap us in the face. The way the banks that did need the bailout are treating it is shameful. I wish the feds would think about forgetting all about that, and distribute those billions of dollars to taxpayers instead, let us practice some trickle up economics this time around, we could pay off our mortgages and credit cards, the banks would be bailed anyway because we wouldn't owe them anymore, and we could use the leftovers to do things like support local small businesses. Even if a taxpayer were to put the whole thing into a savings account, that too would help the economy. Your savings account is part of the money a bank uses to write a mortgage with, and the interest paid to your savings account is part of the interest that was collected by the bank on the mortgage. As George Bailey said, "It's not in the saving and loan, it's in your house, and yours, and yours". Not to mention owners of small businesses trying to stay solvent could use it for purchasing, advertising etc, and maybe still be in business next year. They are the ones who would really be able to use bailout money. Ah well, as Aerosmith sang, "Dream on...."

Do you even understand the dynamics behind the economic bailout? Wells Fargo did not want the money, they HAD to take it. Secondly this event is held not for executives but actual team members who make 30 - 60k and is a recognition even for their top sales people, top customer service reps and those who go above and beyond the year before. So the rest of the country is going through a depression, recession - call it what you want but for Wells Fargo this is an event for people like you and I. The money that is paid for these events is from the revenue those top agents bring in. So instead of celebrating their accomplishments and hard work, you are punishing them for the bad decisions of others.

No, they do not have any shame, that's why there's no barrier to them behaving this badly. IMO these people are what shrinks call sociopaths. No conscience. I have read about this personality "disorder" in an effort to understand corporate greed, corruption, etc. It seems that this type of person has no ability to feel normal emotions like shame, love, etc, the things we consider good emotions that have a lot to do w/teh species being capable of "civilazation." Sociopaths may have been successful in the prehistoric past but in a civilized society they are misfits. Unfortunately, they are often clever at concealing their deficiencies, and their lack of a conscience presents a no bars option to profit from ripping off others. Corruption, theft, deception, are their means, and acquiring wealth and POWER are what they crave. This type is attacted to careers in corporations, govt, etc, where they can have the opportunity for great power and weatlth and control over others. Perhaps we should be getting our CEO's and politicians from a different gene pool altogether.

Brilliant. Wells Fargo just canceled the trip. This late in the game, they are at 100% penalty, plus I'm sure all the airline tickets have been purchased. So they are spending the money and getting nothing. These trips are not "junkets". They are sales incentive programs to stimulate sales. Studies show that non-cash incentives are three times more effective than cash incentives. In other words, they would have had to pay 3x in cash bonus to increase sales the same amount. These incentive programs pay for them selves with a positive ROI. Is it ok for the governement to create a stimulus plan, but corporations can't stimulate their own business. Let's also consider the ripple effect. The service industries are huge. Not allowing businesses to spend on incentive travel and business meetings is crippling the service industries. How many people have lost their jobs in Las Vegas because corporate travel has come to a stop?

Another example of the rich getting richer and partying with the middle and lower class people's money. It will catch up to them as all bad-doers get theirs in the end. President Obama will fix them once their pay is cut and they won't be able to survive on lower pay as they only know how to live big. Can't wait to see it!

Michael Boyd - what do you mean "who let them in"?? My entire Eastern European family has legitimate jobs and works hard full-time jobs. Bad people come in all races, ethnicities, etc..., they are not just foreigners who were "let in". Get rid of your ignorance idiot.

I agree with Um, no 100%! You took the words right off my mouth! That is the simplest most efficient solution, but for some reason, nobody wants to see it! What kind of leaders do we have? Total idiots or corrupted greedy bast...? (excuse the language) . I cannot believe I read posts here justifying this kind of behaviour, because Wells Fargo was actually not insolvent! This is not the time even if you had the money for wasting money like that! Are they really so sure, considering how the whole economy is going that they are not going to go down in the future? Outrageous!

I have worked for Wells Fargo for the past 7 years. It is a great company to work for. We have to work extremely hard to even qualify for the trip. It is for the Best of the Best! The trips are 4 days long, there are business meetings everyday & it IS taxable income!

Lisa the greats comment was completely correct...I am a single mother of three and live paycheck to paycheck. I am also one of the many who lost their homes to foreclosure in 2008.

I was told that I won the trip on 1/21 and was told this morning that the trip has been canceled. This trip meant a lot to "the little people" in the company that don't get bonus's or noticeable raises. This was one of the few things we had to look forward to.

Hi...I can see how everyone is upset over this, but we need to know all the details about the Wells Fargo trips. Were they incentive trips for the regular joes who worked in the local branches? If so, then these employees worked very hard for those awards and it is unfair to cancel because the general populace thinks they're being had.

If you're upset about taxpayer money going to these trips then you should be equally upset with your President for having frequent cocktail parties so he can smooze the members of Congress into giving away even more money.

So lets see, first it was airplanes that got everyone excited, then boeing and cessna had layoffs, lear and the others will soon. Then it was travel, and the airlines are once again reporting huge losses. Now if a company tries to say thank you, they can't hold a bonquet or take thier employees to a nice american retreat, so now the already hurting hotel and casino business will start to see a lot more hurt, and you all think you are the winners here because they canceled the trip.

Are you serious? Because if you are, you might be the biggest blockhead on here.

Wells Fargo took $25 billion in taxpayer money in the bailout (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/03/billion-bailout-wells-fargo-goes-vegas/) then promptly announced that they were taking approximately 1,000 employees on an all expenses paid, 12 day trip to Las Vegas. Not on my dime! That is an insult to every American struggling in these lean times -- and there are lots of us -- who can't even consider doing something like that. Yet these pampered few (if 1,000 is a few) get twelve days and night in Las Vegas, courtesy of the American Taxpayer.

Tell you what. I'll schedule myself 12 days in Vegas, and arrange to have the bill sent to Wells Fargo. I mean...they want to send their people to Vegas on my dime; it's only fair that they return the favor.

Anyone else want to go to Vegas, all expenses paid by Wells Fargo?

You folks are just spewing verbal diarrhea. These people worked hard to get to these recognition events. They aren't using your tax dollars for these trips. Believe it or not, if you look at the financials for WF, the came out ahead a few million dollars even after the loss they took for Wachovia. As far as the bail out money is concerned. They didn't take taxpayer money, they were forced to take the money along with a few other banks. The only true bailout was to AIG, Citi, and Bank of America. Don't fall into the hype, learn to think for yourselves and read the facts.

Wells Fargo is not in trouble. They are actually the most financially stable, so who the heck are you to tell them where they can and can't spend their money. How would you like it if you wanted to take a vacation and they told you that you couldn't do that with your hard earn money. Get past the bailout because that is not even an issue. Associated Press should fire the reporter that wrote this story because she doesn't have any facts.

stop paying taxes! stop using businesses that feed at the trough of bail out money...

Who let them in?

Hitler warned us all in Mein Kampf but who has read it?

You had the potato famine and migration from Eastern/Southern Europe. The US stood there and welcomed all.

Bottom line, the honorable, righteous people are what is commonly called SCREWED.

I can't help but notice how quickly these newsvine comments fill up immediately after a story breaks. It just occurred to me that it's obviously a sign of how many of us are sitting at home with nothing else to do but read MSNBC, instead of being at work, where we belong. This story broke less than an hour ago, and already, look how many folks have posted comments.

By the way, this makes me sick!!!! I'll bet by tomorrow morning we'll read that Wells Fargo has cancelled this exursion due to pressure exerted by the Whitehouse. Does anyone know how many jobs have been lost due to Wells Fargo? SunTrust Bank took mine and gave it to an Indian in Banglore - and forced me to train the gal so that I could receive a severance package.

j. hicks: I can't help but notice how quickly these newsvine comments fill up immediately after a story breaks. It just occurred to me that it's obviously a sign of how many of us are sitting at home with nothing else to do but read MSNBC, instead of being at work, where we belong.

You do realize you are criticizing yourself right? Self-righteous much?

michael boyd-755064: Hitler warned us all in Mein Kampf but who has read it?

FYI - Hitler was only a genious to the 80 and below I.Q. crowd...might want to rethink your chosen role-models.

I bank at Suntrust. As soon as I possibly can I'm moving to a credit union.

Direct deposit takes time to move.

As far as work goes, I'm off today

maybe they will take all of us that is wondering were the money is going to come from to pay the electric and mortage payment. and put food on the table. i think everybody should take there money out of any business that deals with wells fargo

Yes, and now they're crying like freaking babies because the fed is giving them too much regulation. Well, you theiving bastards, without regulation, look what you have all done to this Country. You should all be hung as traitors or terrorists. Hey Gitmo will be empy soon. Send the theives there to rot.

the longer this economic situation lingers, the more of the whores and crooks come floating to the surface. Who will be next?

we as citizens must teach these bastards a lesson the only way they will listen. PULL our MONEY out of their banks and take it someplace else. The small town banks would welcome our business. Take it there but NOT in the bigs where all the whores reside.

Michael Boyd - let's make it a priority to get everyone a copy of Mien Kampf....

And I think one caveman warned another not to stick his finger in the fire....

What the hell is your point?

b dune

He's trying to make an anti semetic comment related to the financial industry (one of Hitler's pet peevs was the control of finance by Jewish interests which he claimed caused the German Recessions in the interwar period). Should be removed since it is both inflammatory and racist.

Leprechaun.

The only problem is that they haven't really put any new regulations in force yet - they still haven't even doing oversight on the first TARP payout. We need a severe re writing of the entire credit/monetary system in this country to include everything from transparency in the borrowing / collection process, revamping of credit reporting / credit rating, appraisal and collateral requirements, and a review of the Fed and the commercial banks money creation mechanism under the fractional reserve system. Finally we need regulation of derivatives and other credit products, hedge funds and wall st in general. We need all of this, and it should be done before they waste another dollar on a system so far gone that it should have been buried years ago ....

lookupward,

Idiots like you are what has become of this country................very, very scary!!!!!

econ 101 - thanks for the explanation - I have not read Mien Kampf yet. So your insight has been of help.

How many people working in Las Vegas will lose their jobs due to the lack of visitors?

At least this bank was putting the money back into American workers.

Jhicks, believe me, I wish I was working. layoff 10/24. Faxed and emailed 30 + resumes since october.

Me too wm david - my point was that there are so many of us out of work these days, including myself. I wish I had a job to get up and go to instead of sitting around reading MSNBC all day long and blogging on newsvine. But it's better than watching soap operas.

Blizzy - you're a little dense.

Exactly my sentiments-they're lucky to still have their job, especially in the banking industry. Wells Fargo-you need to wake up-America ain't taking this anymore. Just ask Tom Daschle.

You are so right. They should be thankful every single day they have a job to go to - and a paycheck to support their family. I think most people would say that part of their "tradition" is to take care of their family - and that has been taken away from so many hard-working people who will never get a chance to go on a junket to Las Vegas. WF - you should be ashamed of your attitude. When I get a bailout I'll make sure to take a nice trip - but oh that's right, I'm not eligible because I'm just a middle class hardworking American. Enough with the entitlement!!!

I agree 100%! How about showing the taxpayers that they are valued and that they appreciate the bail out money from us by cutting such wasteful spending practices. It is just a slap in the face to the taxpayers to hear of this sort of stunt.

Apparently their value was in bringing this country down and forcing a bailout that is financing their party. Stop banking with this evil coporation....Bring them down.

The spokesman, and the company, apparently don't understand that their "corporate culture" is NOT something to be celebrated, and that, when taxpayer $$$ are handed out, taxpayers are going to make sure, because of abuses like this, their govt representatives cut Wells Fargo out of the line. Hope they have some warm memories of Sin City when their corporate culture collapses and they're out in the cold.

They should know that they are valued by still having a JOB!!!!!!

Ok, then there are other ways of letting employees know that they are valued. Have lunch sent in one day for the employees. A lot cheaper and you can do it for more than just a 1000 employees.

Corporate Culture, my horses pitut. Tell their company spokeman it is the American Culture not to reward people for non-performance. If they have enough money to fund these extravangazas then they don't need a taxpayer bailout. If congress let's them get away with this, my next vote in the next election in two years will be for anyone currently serving in congress. This is huzbah at its finest. Get yourself in trouble, cry for a bailout they throw an expensive party for those that got them in trouble. As soon as they have the first party, congress should either call in the loan and let wells fargo go bellyup or take over wells fargo and immediately fire anyone in an upper management position. At the least, they should be blacklisted so that they are never eligible for an more money no matter how much the cry.

I'm afraid, Peter, that this HAS become our American culture. It is definitely a new day in more ways than one.

Oh brother! Wow, how profound.

It's not Wells Fargo. These people will only receive SERVICES, such as lodging, food, entertainment, etc. It is LV who will receive the MONEY. And, that's the idea.

The AP reported that illegal gambling was a $128,000,000,000.00 annual business. So, does the Wells Fargo people intend on an even playing field for the illegal boys?

I can understand preserving culture. Another culture we have is that benifits like this are taxable as income. Let's tax these benifits at 100% and recoup the wasted part of the bailout funds!

I bet the employees would feel more valued if Wells Fargo spent 20% of the cost of the junket on bonuses and cancelled the trip. I wonder, are they going to reward all the mortgage officers who wrote subprimes??

I paid off my mortgage at WF last year. I guess I'll cancel my credit card with them tomorrow.

Well, Well, Well,

Not sure how anyone can say "this is not Wells Fargo" and then blame this on Las Vegas when Vegas doesn't make companies come there and reserve such lavish accommodations, they are like any other city, they offer these establishments but the companies themselves are the ones that plan and pay for the extravagance they've all become accustomed too, thus the following comment from Wells Fargo:

Recognition events are still part of our culture,” spokeswoman Melissa Murray said. “It’s really important that our team members are still valued and recognized.”

Wonder how they would feel if I didn't pay my $800 + mortgage payment and then wrote them a little note about managing their money a little wiser. This is another abuse of power and greed and since they can afford such nonsense, they need to immediately repay the tax payers for the $25 billion they got, obviously with business being handled like this they really didn't need it.

You are so right about that! Ugh ... day in and day out these clowns take our tax dollars and spend 45k on toilets, etc ... this is madness!

Well, on the lighter side, they are stimulating the economy. I guess that was the idea, right? I guess Las Vegas is as good of place to start as any. Maybe they can buy their employee's some new cars to help the auto makers. Hey, I said it was the lighter side, the a##wipes in Washington gave them the money without strings, I guess they think they can spend it however they want.

Elizabeth

You took the words right out of my mouth and beat me to it!

My sentiments exactly Elizabeth. They have jobs and receive paychecks from Wells Fargo, that is compensation enough and they should just be grateful for that alone.

Wonder what would happen if every one with a mortgage loan currently with Wells Fargo sent them a letter that we need a "bail out". Yep the economy has really bared down on us simple, normal, live within our means folks and we need a "bail out". We might not get a vacation this year and since we have been so compliant about paying our mortgage and since we feel we need a little pat on our head or some type of "cultural" acknowledgement for doing so, yes we're gonna need a suite at one of those dam swanky places or else just give us a 3 month reprieve in paying our mortgage, I mean since you took $25 billion that you didn't need nor did you ask for seems like you could accommodate our wishes.

They would think we're crazy and so the reason for the uproar from tax payers, this is crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Abso-freakin-lutely!

And folks, this isn't the ONLY bank doing these things. AIG took their "valued employees" on a spa weekend, and Citicorp/Citibank has been in contract to put their name on Mets Stadium in NY for $400 million (they want a bailout of $350 million).

Oh and by the way, to the person who wondered about us posting from home without jobs - I have a job, I'm on a break!

All of these bank heads keep telling us they need to keep the "talent" happy - what are they talking about? where are these guys going to go? I haven't heard of any other banks/investment firms poaching staff these days - everyone is laying people off. So who are they keeping them safe from?

elizabeth, so I guess if your company rewarded you for doing a good job, I bet you would say, "hey, we're in a recession, please don't give me my reward.

YES BBB some people have. Everybody at my main job took a cut in hours so that we would not have to lay anyone off. Overtime (which for me was 25-45hrs a week at time & a half is now 4-6hrs a week or none at all most weeks), which makes it tighter for me (since my wife was laid off before x-mas, they did not want to pay for insurance, so let some peoplego) but we are still making it, as are my coworkers and their families. I would rather have it that way than see my friends & family getting laid off completely. Stand together or we all fall. As for my other job there are no threats of layoffs, and my sidework has never been anything I relied on. Everyone needs to stop with the Greed over Patriotism.

TR,
If you were working 25-45 hours of OT per week, you already took someone elses job, they gave that to you so they could save on benifits of a second person.

I would like to know that me, the customer, is valued! I have had so many problems with WF over the last 5 years. My husband and I have a few accounts with them and have had nothing but problems.

They are generally pretty rude when I get someone on the 800 #. They charged a $2 fee (up until very recently) to talk to someone at that # and half the time, they didn't know the answer half the time and I would spend all of my afternoon trying to find someone who could answer my question.

They always try to get you to put some type of overdraft protection on your account and they when you don't qualify b/c you are going to school full time and working but your credit sucks b/c you are in debt $70,000 from the college education you are trying to get, they say "well you can always open a savings account." If I don't have the money in my account to cover everything and am getting overdraft fee's what makes you think I am going to have the $75/paycheck to put into a savings account to cover the fees? Ok, so that is my scenario and it doesn't apply to everyone but you see the problem here.

I have a mortgage, a car loan, student loan and checking account with them. At one point my husband and I both had WF Student Visa Credit Cards with them-we have since paid them off and closed the accounts. As you can see, I have made quite an investment with this bank. All I want in return is a little feeling of knowing I am a valued customer to them. Apparently not but oh well b/c my accounts are gone ASAP!

I think you might be right - WF typically stayed away from that market...........they still don't deserve a trip to Vegas on bail-out $$$......

At this point I don't think it matters. Banks are supposed to be the fiscally responsible ones. This sets a terrible example. Why did they need bailout money if they weren't part of the subprime?!?

It's true Wells Fargo was one of the least affected by the subprime loans until it took over Wachovia.

The best I can remember, I could be wrong, but when this bail out came about Wells Fargo said they didn't need any money, but it was pushed on them by the feds. I think I remember reading that story. Sort of like, we don't need the money but if you want us to take it, ok!! Supposedly WF is in pretty good shape, they didn't make a bunch of bad loans that I know of. They sort of shied away from them.

Folks:

Thirteen of the nations leading banks were invited to a meeting to discuss taking some of the TARP funds. It was an ultimatum type of meeting in which all had to accept money so that none would come off looking needy.

Strange business, but true. I think WFB was one that really did not want the money, still this may be a good time to look sensitive and frugal. Why not give this money to charity, or have a raffle for all people with troubled WFB mortgages, or do something besides having a party when most of the country feels very uneasy about money.

I'm sure a little sharing would also make the top performers at WFB feel good, too!

Good Luck.

I can appricate the fact that cooler heads prevailed and they avoided the sub-prime mess and that they were profitable as a result, but they should have used their profits to purchase Wachovia not our tax dollars!!! Now return the 25 billion you did not need in the first with interest, immediately.

The Irony is that virtually every major bank in the US is insolvent today. Even a minor run on their reserves would topple WF tommorrow. So what's the difference between these guys and the people who lived high on the hog on borrowed money, who according to the bankers, caused all of this mess?

It's true Wells Fargo was one of the least affected by the subprime loans until it took over Wachovia.

I'm sorry with all due respect, this cannot be used as a reason for Wells Fargo receiving any "bail out" funds. The reason why I say that is because if any one should remember, Citi Bank was going to buy out Wachovia and then Wells Fargo stepped in. There was almost a lawsuit between Citi and Wells over that merger. If they were ready to go to court against Citi to buy Wachovia then they can't very well turn around now and use it as an excuse!!! They knew ahead of the buyout that Wachovia was in trouble.

Just one gal's opinion!

Yes, I am sure the loan officers going on this trip were consulted before they bought Wachovia.

I moved my money from Wells Fargo several years ago. It was right after I started a new job and tried to set up direct deposit. They couldn't find my account which had been open for more than eight years.

elpasocherokee

That's really scary!

Having worked for Wells Fargo and Credit Unions; I can assure you that Credit Unions make as many if not more financial mistakes as these big corps do. I have actually left a credit union (as an employee) before because of the serious blunders they were making with asset risk management. Everytime your credit union raises a fee here or there; it's because they didn't manage their assets responsibly (just think of the nature and economics of a not-for-profit).

Cling to your credit union utopia and continue to be oblivious to the fact that you are bailing them out when a transfer fee is raised. Simple ROA, if they can't break even, they make their members pay for it. And you do, because a it is a good, a decent organization; who cares if they know how to manage money.

With all things it isn't black and white and there are some very smart credit unions, just start asking "why" if one of your fees goes up. Don't forget to ask for last quarter's ROA. I've been in countless meetings where we offset a neg ROA with a new fee.

Steve-860651, sounds like you should open your own bank. Do you need some investors??

There was a recent Saturday Night Live skit that parodied "top performers" at AIG. You became a top performer by misleading or flat-out lying to your customers. It is all about commissions. ALL major banks use this as their comp plan. If you don't meet their highly aggressive sales goals, you lose your job. The employees are NOT there to help you, just sell you. They use the guise of financial consultant. This will not change unless the public demands it.

Yea really. I had to pay taxes on my $50 Christmas bonus. Will these companies be paying taxes on the money that it cost to send them to Vegas??? Can't believe that they think that this is owed to them. We as tax payers need to boycott these companies that have taken bail out monies and still have these junkets. BOYCOTT!!!!

Yes they will. I had to pay taxes when I went on one of these in the Bahamas with another Subprime lender a few years ago. And unfortunately we really dont have any right to tell these people how to use their money. They get money from us all the time in deposits, us buying their shares, etc. You dont like it, you should have demanded from your congressman and senators to not vote in the stimulus package. If they did, vote them out. If you dont, you can only blame yourselves, not the banks.

Unfortunately Jake, it's not their money and never was!

Jake, you miss the point. They got MILLIONS of taxpayers dollars in the bailout. We do have a right to tell them to be responsible. We didn't give them a blank check and say spend away as you will. Whether it is in writing and signed in blood is not the point. The point is that banks have got to act responsible or they will face regulations like never before.

Billions, not millions.

justthinkin.....correction... BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars!

The employees attending will receive 1099's based on the "Total Cost" of the trip. This includes the $Millions$ gambled and spent by the upper-crust. I made this mistake once....and I mean ONCE!

I had a friend that worked for Levi Strauss in San Francisco in 87, when they wanted to reward the employees for the success of the 501 line, they gave every employee from management to the sewing machine operaters a $501 bonus. I think money is a great way to recognize the contributions of your employees

My division's last bonus from Wells Fargo was a $5 calling card (all divisional employees). And that was before the fiasco (with a full understanding that the fiasco was coming).

There is no cost of living increase, and most of us lost our lost our entire bonus before the bailout even happened.

So cry foul all you want, but that guy in the mailrom who came up with a cost savings idea deserves his first trip ever to Vegas. But if stifling productivity and ingenuity from a company that has an entire infrastructure designed so that every employee who has a cost savings idea can submit it for serious review doesn't seem to be the way out of this mess. Seems a little reactionary.

And for my liberal blogging friends here; take a minute to find out what charities Wells Fargo has historically supported.

No Clarke, it is their money. When you get a loan from the bank to remodel, they dont tell you where to shop or what you can do. It is your money. And as i recall, WF was forced to take the bailout. They had been turning a profit before this.

Excuse me, but which party was it that pressured President Bush to issue this extensive bail out and which party tried to put some restrictions on it?

I wish I owned stock in Wells Fargo. I'd sell it.

Paulson came to Congress with a two-page "request" for $700 billion, no strings attached, not accountability (an eight year recurring theme!). Congress passed in overwhelmingly (suckers!) and Bush approved it. Since Paulson convinced them that the sky was falling, they did not take time to put in proper restrictions. Sorry, but this happened under Bush's watch, and is completely consistent with his anti-regulation authority (trust us, we wear suits and are white guys, we will use this money properly without anyone needing to watch over us!)

Annette - pressured President Bush? It was his proposal!!!

And don't get too self righteous - your party offered no restrictioins..........

Is there anything that happens that you on the right don't try to rewrite?

Excuse me, but which party was it that pressured President Bush to issue this extensive bail out and which party tried to put some restrictions on it?

Annette - what you heard isn't always the truth. Do your homework sometime...it's way less embarrassing.

Patriot Tom-548724: Paulson came to Congress with a two-page "request" for $700 billion, no strings attached, not accountability (an eight year recurring theme!).

Thank you for dropping the facts Tom. Too many conservatives actually believe unregulated markets are the best way to get the country on track.

I do believe it was Pelosi, Reid and Franks gloating when the first stimulus was passed. You want to blame it on Bush, you forget about these idiots.

deb, you take furlough days. why don't you tell people what furlough is before you cry! basiclly you get paid to do nothing. hmmm, interesting.

I dont know where bbb-860291 works, but our furloughs are UNPAID time off!

I'll tell you what has to happen, Americans need to get off their Fat Asses and take control of OUR government!! This kind of crap has just about run it's course and needs to be stopped, by what ever means necessary!!!

There is no excuse for this anymore!!! Can you hear me Washington?!!!

Americans need to get off their fat asses, have you looked in the mirror lately at yourself. Those fat asses are out of work you idiot. and as for taking control of OUR government...... Um That's a death wish. You need to look up an article about what FEMA is doing ( Setting up Camps to stick us Control freaks in). And its not OUR goverment. We no longer have a say in what they do....

The FEMA thing is HR645. The bill is being considered right now. Also check out ammunition accountability dot org, legilsation being considerd in 18 states

Ultimately Slipping - Have you ever written your congressional leaders? What about your Governor? Did you send a letter to the President when the first bailout was proposed, and the minutiae were kept hidden from the general public? Some of us did...so we got our "fat" assess out while you type away nonsense.

We have control of our government, even the ones who voted for the other guy...the way we exercise it is by letting them know how we feel, and if they don't do their job, canning them collectively 4 years later.

What we need is the government to take control of the industries by leveraging the department of treasury and department of commerce to maintain regulations on spending ratios an use the justice department to enforce those regulations. That's not socialism at all...that's applying new logic from lessons learned.

You "conservatives" and republicans @!$%#ing about how the government isn't protecting us...how it's the "liberal Congress's fault"...how the government isn't doing it's job; need to evaluate what you said about the government when it wanted to do its job - you said less government. You labeled Obama a socialist for wanting to tighten regulation and improve standards of accountability using government entities to do the quantitative analysis. You followed your useless rhetoric distributors like Limbaugh and Palin who said the markets should regulate themselves. Now it's all the government's fault for not preventing this. You can't have it both ways...seems to be the mantra of conservatism.

Nina,

1) I too am out of work. I was 'downsized' out of a good paying engineering job last June.

2) It is OUR government and as soon as Washington is 'forced' to remember that little fact, the sooner these problems will be resolved.

3) I didn't vote to elect or re-elect any of the bastards that passed the bailout=handout package, so I can look at myself in the mirror just fine. Can you?

4) and lastly, yes I did write to my Congressman, Senators. On of them did not vote for this mess, but it was passed anyway. The other on did, but was re-elected anyway. Just shows how stupid the majority of Americans are, so yes, I will continue writing telling you just how stupid you are, until you wake up!!

My congressman voted against the bailout. So I voted for him.

don't pay taxes... if they cannot manage the money, why do they think they have a right to take it from us?

stop paying taxes, up your decuctibles, lower your withholding...

If you're not yet a gun buff I urge you to get one..........!

USA - that's right - lets get off our fat asses and take control of OUR Government!!

That way we can have a common foe and not have to take anytime to look at ourselves and see if we created any of this mess....

Those damn Mortgage Companies made me buy the house I couldn't afford
Those damn credit card companies gave me too much of a credit line when they knew I would just go out and buy more things I couldn't pay for
Those damn car companies made it too easy for me to get that third car...

I agree - lets make our government accountable so I don't have to make myself accountable.......

If you're not yet a gun buff I urge you to get one..........!

I would urge him to try 2 Zyprexa and a diet coke...

The internet control will be done soon, I believe. Its already being tested in Australia (government filters and banned sites)

As far as guns...go to ammunition accountability dot org and click on legislature. Don't let this one pass if you're in one of the 18 states considering it.

They keep us busy in the media with big bank spending sprees and appointees leaving due to tax evasion. People really need to be keeping an eye on these little bills coming through that have the ABILITY of stripping you of your rights to protest against the government and hurting your ability news sources other than mainstream.

All I can do is laugh Chick.

I guess you believe we never landed on the moon either? It was all done in a studio.

dune, right on the money! Many people ( Not all ) were flat out stupid to do just what you said. The rest of us that did NOT refinance our house to buy the toys. Did NOT refinance our house to pay off the credit cards. AND buy a car we could not AFFORD are going to have to pay for all these idiots who can't manage money. Did you know you can go to these rental places and buy a big screen for only .... $85- week? My neighbor did this and much worse and now wants me to feel sorry for him. Ha! Wake up people ! We all caused this mess and it is going to be a looooong time before we get out unless we bring manufacturing back to this country. You can't run a country where 70% of the $$ moving in the economy is people buying STUFF we don't need AND Charging it on credit!!

Dune; Most intellegent post on this blog.

Is the argument "I obviosly don't know how to manage my money, so I'm mad at the people who lent it to me". Did you read your loan documents or did you just sign by the "X"s? It's all in there; often times in type so large you can't ignor it. But you thought this house will be worth 25% more in two years so everything will be okay. You took an irresponsible risk; now suck it up.

Go have a cigerette... you can always sue Big Tobacco later on when you get sick.

steve and dune,

I agree with both of you. some of the people on here are just flat out out of their minds.

bbb/steve/bob - nice to know there are at least some others out there who agree "responsibility and accountability starts with ourselves

I'm with you. There are local banks and credit unions in my area that deserve my accounts much more so than WF. I've not been happy with them for quite a while, and have been slowly moving accounts away from them over the past few months. This is the last straw.

make sure you tell them WHY you are leaving. We don't have WF in my area

I agree, change to a smaller local bank, Wachovia and Wells Fargo are 1! I am soo dumbfounded by this all I can say is WTF!!!!

All my accounts (such that they are) are with small, community banks. I am on a first name basis with the presidents. You don't get that at the big banks. You don't sponsors trips to LV, either

The only reason I am with Wells Fargo is because they bought my home mortgage years ago. So in the 15 plus years they have had my mortgage loan, I have never been late with my payment and they have yet to recognize me for being such a good customer and give me anything.

Good job paying back the money that you borrowed. You want a prize for doing what you are supposed to do? Unbelievable...

Ang, I think you may have missed the point, she was doing what she was supposed to do and did not get rewarded, the bankers did not do what they are supposed to do and get rewarded. On our dime.

yes that will help matters.. all because hard working middle class people who work 365 days per year were going to get a 4 day sales conference...go to work!

neenie - Thanks for the comment. I was going to answer Ang, by saying that I was being sarcastic!!! People can still do good work at there job and not have to be rewarded with over expensive un-necessary trips. It is my responsilbility to pay back my loan on time, which I am doing - but it is everyones responsilbility to do a good job at their place of employment, too.

What do many of you people dont understand is that WF was not in trouble and didnt need TARP money. They were forced to take it in the Wachovia deal after is was seized by the FDIC. Dont take the slant of a story by MSNBC to miss the facts. WF, by being profitable, wants to reward their low level employees for doing a good job. Who cares.

How about the tax payers start giving her the summers off... oh wait, they already do.

da5582 - Stop right there!!! My daughter is a school teacher and she works harder than you probably do. And no she does not get summers off. She teaches summer school.

They are not borrowing the money. They were given the money with no strings attached, no paying it back.

Teacher's have nothing to whine about. They have better health care coverage than I do and they pay less.

All right da5582, you just showed how #&*(# stupid you are. First of all, this thread has nothing to do with teachers. But since you wanted to show the world how stupid you are, let me help. My wife is a teacher. Are you aware that teachers have to have, at the minimum a bachelors degree, and most like my wife have a Masters. Compare them to anyone else with a Masters degree salary wise and see where they stand. People are teachers because they care about the kids (even the rugrats of idiots like you). You have some nerve bashing teachers. You freaking moran!!!!!

da5582...teachers don't really get the summer off. Most of them teach summer school as Donna has pointed out. And those that don't are still going in to get stuff all prepared for the upcoming year. My mother was a school teacher for years and years and years, and the most they get off is maybe 2 weeks during the summer time. You don't honestly think that they stop working when the kids leave and start on the exact same day the kids come back do you? If you do, then you've got some research to do before making such uninformed posts.

Rodfather...that's not always the case. It depends on the funding of the school district, what level the shool is, what type of school it is (public vs private). You cannot make a blanket statement such as that. Not all of them have such wonderful benefits.

Teacher, not a teacher, whatever. We ALL work hard and get stressed.

I realize this thread isn't really about teachers, but I feel a clarification is in order.  In many school districts teachers do not "get the summer off" unless they do so without pay.  In our area, the teachers are paid for nine months of work.  They can choose to receive their paychecks in those nine months with no paychecks over the summer or they can choose to have their salary divided by twelve (thus receiving less on a monthly basis but still receiving checks over the summer.)  Many of those teachers, although not paid to do so, put in time over the summer preparing for the next school year as well as volunteer time for after-school and evening activities.  The teachers with whom we have been blessed over the years have provided their home phone numbers to the parents in case questions or problems arise; have spent their personal time to meet with parents; support our kids even in non-school activities such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts; and in general give far above and beyond the meager salary they receive.  No, I am not a teacher nor am I related to a teacher.  I am a parent who has experienced the very best of humanity in the wonderful people who teach my children.  They do so without "whining" and without junkets; instead, they do so with smiles on their faces and goodness in their hearts.

Ok, I will rephrase it, teachers have nothing to whine about.

DeJay - check your facts. Wells Fargo issued the Treasury 25 share of preferred stock worth $1BB each. Wells Fargo pays quarterly dividends to the Teasury for the use of this stock. This wasn't a gift or stipend. The Treasury owns part of Wells Fargo and is making money on this ownership. Maybe if you and all of the other morons on this site knew all of the facts, you wouldn't be so quick to judge, or so anti-Wells Fargo.

Teachers are the backbone of American society because they spread knowledge and information to the future generations who will handle our nation's biggest problems.

da5582 - No idea where you got your information from, but I would sue your source...they just caused you to make an ass out of yourself in public.

Rod-Father - everyone has something to whine about. Teachers benefits vary from school district to school district, but one thing is true...the most qualified, experienced, educated teachers, still earn far less than they're worth - and they put out the effort to enhance their knowledge so they could share it with our kids in order to grow the next generation of society.

The point is, Rod Father, what qualifies you to sit in judgement on teachers at all?

Sorry guys, I have a few friends who are teachers and they don't seem to complain. As a matter of fact, they seem to be pretty happy with their lot in life. Yes I know they have their 4 year degree and their online Masters which didn't qualify them for anything. Yes I understand that some teachers will do summer school. Isn't that just taking more money to teach the students they failed to teach over the regular school year). I wish I could get paid more money if I failed at my job the 1st time around.

Onehappydude (although your name and tone of comments don't match) - I was just responding to the post above me.

Don't get me wrong folks... a good teacher is a wonderful thing. They are just few and far between, especially in the public school system.

I live in a rural state, lots of Native American and poor white kids. Teachers around here end up buying school supplies for the kids so they don't have to sit there empty-handed. Sometimes they end digging up some jackets and mittens too, and food if necessary. They don't get a big salary, so their own kids don't have a lot. I know there are some bad apples, but the teachers I know try very hard on very few resources.

My sister is a teacher and makes $80,000 a year and has every other week off. Lives in a $500,000 home. My heart bleeds for teachers. We take good care of them $$$.

Not where I live.

I am not happy about this either (see my comment above) but in the issue of fairness, Wells Fargo was not "bailed out" of trouble. They didn't want the TARP money but were forced to take it. They earned $3 billion in 2008. I still don't think they should be going to Las Vegas, but it is not like they were on the brink of failure. The term "bailout" is misleading and is not really appropriate for all of the banks that were part of the program.

Forced to take the TARP funds, they should be forced to return them with interest!

Barbara, Then maybe they should put the funds to good use to help the people who are losing their homes to Wells Fargo. I didn't need that much to bring my account current to keep my house. They could have used the money to make up the difference in the short sale offer I sent them, but instead they are foreclosing and auctioning off my home on the steps of the local court house. We were moved on military orders and had no choice but to leave our home. Now we have no home to go back to when we retire from service to this country. What is fair about that!!!????

I SAID I was did not think they should go to LV (and they aren't). I was just trying to insert a few facts into the argument (so sorry), since the term "bailout" made everyone assume they had been on the brink of failure and had none of their own money to spend, which was not true.

Maybe a lot of taxpayers should go. We could each grab a WF executive and make em disappear in the desert!

Like that idea!

Why doesnt everybody stop complaining on Newsvine and start calling Wells Fargo and your congressman. America's woe-is-me attitude is sickening. It is no wonder why we are in such bad shape. No one in this country has a pair anymore. They just @!$%# and moan but sit back and take it.

I agree Jake, why don't we start calling? You can reach Wells Fargo 24/7 with all your banking questions @1-800-869-3557.

A. Nab,

And vegas needs to be smart and ask a bailout now. I wunder how many dollars WF will pay for a canceled junket????

A.Nab, they did cancel it.

It is part of my "culture", that when someone tries to rob me, I pull my gun and blow em away!! How about that for culture WF?!!

It is part of my "culture", that when someone tries to rob me, I pull my gun and blow em away!! How about that for culture WF?!!

Right, because the money in your pocket is worth way more to you than someone else's life?

Stupid analogy.

tax cuts Tax cuts we need more TAX CUTS....give these greedy bastards somemore bush TAX CUTS...ok lol lol lol. I cant afford shells for my 22 cal. some armed revolutionary I would make. lord help us

The CULTURE of Banks has gone beyond survival!

They steal our hard earned dollars through fees and high interests.

Some would say that's the price of doing business, period. Is this Business Culture?

Banking is the brainchild of the government, read about what happen in 1913.

Blizzy, "USA's" analogy, while poorly expressed, should not fall on deaf ears.

Anyone who works for an institution that takes away the means to “survive” from other people in order to help the institution "survive," safekeeping their own employment, has no regard for the well-being of anyone except their own.

The institution, Wells Fargo, fosters a culture of taking; to make it (survive) is to take it.

One must appreciate that "USA" has had a rough life and needs to get away from where he lives! On the other hand, Blizzy, would you forfeit your keep and not "survive" if someone attempted to hasten your expiration by taking from you for their survival?

USA is being facetious, reaching out only with emotive truth not ill intent.

I wish I had some money to pull out of WFB!!!!!

I agree.... I think it's time the little guy in this country went from being the economic hostage, to be the economic force to be reckoned with. People need to start boycotting the banks and financial institutions that pull this kind of crap. Pull away every dime until they are forced to do the right thing. It doesn't matter if you aren't wealthy... if enough people band together, we can make an impact.

Time to take action against another Bank.

I have debt with Wells Fargo; yes, loans! Not for long.

The credit union I bank with will work with me to transfer all the debt.

Wells Fargo will not enjoy gaining additional interest from me.

Can't have it both ways, not with my money.

Be American, fight against corruption.

What's this Country come to? You ask? I'll attempt to answer!

I will be taking the same action against Wells Fargo Bank.

Reading about people like you taking action against corruption in the system makes me proud to be an American.

A new revolution has started in my back yard, is called "We the People."

Taking back America for Americans; never be ashamed of being from this country.

So pulling your money is taking america back... maybe back to the 1930's depression. the Chinese and Arabs will buy the banks, the aircraft industry will move to DuBai, the Koreans and Japanese will take heavy equipment such as Caterpillar. And the BIGGEST LOSER will be India, where the people will complain loudly when thier jobs are offshored to america, where the best new job will be in a call center at minimum wage. So yes I guess the fact that now the call center jobs are back, you could say you have taken america back for americans.

I offer you my congrats.

I don't lose any sleep. I let them repo my place & moved in with the kids. Much cheaper this way. F__k WFB.