RECENT POSTS
- Don’t Trust Buybacks
- Buying the Right Sell-Off Stocks
- Buy Broken Stocks, Not Broken Companies
- The Biggest Market Myth There Is?
- The Key to a Successful Turnaround
- Lightning Round: Corning, Visa, NYSE Euronext and More
- Cramer’s 3 Stocks to Avoid
- Cramer: Play Defense with B&G Foods
- Cramer: Chico’s Proves Ailing Retailers Can Make a Comeback
- Cramer's Advice for the SEC
MAD MONEY FEATURES
PODCASTSWatch the Lightning Round whenever and wherever you want.
OFFICIAL MAD MONEY WIDGETGrab this all-in-one application and get recaps of the show sent right to your desktop or blog.
CRAMERS SOUNDBOARDAdmit it: You've always wanted to hit the "They
know nothing!" button. Here’s your chance.
CHECK OUT OUR PHOTOSCheck out Cramer on set, back to school, behind the scenes and more.
SHOP FOR MAD MERCHANDISEBuy Cramer books, bobbleheads and other Mad Money merchandise.
RING TONESPick up the phone! It's Cramer! New Mad Money sounds for your cell phone.
TEXT MESSAGE ALERTMad Money's mobile. Get show highlights sent to your phone.
Text Size 
Cramer: Hey Washington, Wake Up
Citigroup has decided to raise employees’ base salaries to avoid the backlash that could come with big yearend bonuses, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. Some employees could earn as much as 50% more as a result. Cramer was outraged by the move, he said during Mad Money, especially because Citi’s largest shareholder, the US government, knew nothing of the plan.
Cramer said he doubted that the rank and file, the supposed beneficiaries here, would be the only workers getting a fatter paycheck. He assumed the traders and investment bankers – hardly average employees – would see plenty of extra money themselves. He might feel differently if the bank in question had paid back its TARP loans, but Citigroup [C
Loading...
()
] has not. In fact, America’s taxpayers are on track to own 34% of the company, making the pay increases bold, to say the least. As long as Citi’s living on the government dime, Cramer wants the firm held accountable.
A better idea, he said, would be to create a two-tiered pay plan, with small incentives for employees who don’t take risks and long-term compensation, such as vesting stock, for those who do. The latter is especially important because it was long-term risk in exchange for short-term gain that sparked the banking crisis in the first place, Cramer said.
Investors can expect these things to happen when Washington, despite its large ownership stake, has no pick of its own yet on the board of directors. The White House has no voice in the operation of the company, Cramer said, and doesn’t seem to even want one. In the very least, he’d like to see Alan Belda, the head of Citi’s compensation committee, replaced with a government man. And any holdover board member should get the boot as well. After all, they presided over the company’s near collapse.
Cramer’s bottom line? We as taxpayers have a plurality of votes, and we should use them to keep Citi in check. The fact that Obama, as far as we know, was caught unawares by the new pay plan is concerning. Wall Street, the markets, investors – they can’t afford that right now.
Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC
Questions for Cramer?
Questions, comments, suggestions for the Mad Money website?
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes
