Bringing accountability and transparency to the financial bailout Learn Act Donate Share

What is Operation Accountability?

Public Citizen has seen the slew of reports of irresponsible corporate spending and

Check back often for action items, useful facts, photos and more ways you can help us fight for accountability and transparency in the financial bailout!

behavior amidst the financial bailout and, just like so many other taxpayers, we're outraged.

Take Bank of America, which spent $10 million on advertising during the Super Bowl while at the same time taking $45 billion in bailout money. This is unacceptable -and just one example of the irresponsible behavior occurring right now.

Operation Accountability is our campaign to bring accountability and transparency to any financial bailout. Not one more penny of taxpayer money - YOUR money - should be spent until tone-deaf CEOs and companies are out of the picture and that financial institutions start taking some accountability for their actions.

By the numbers

Tracking the wasteful spending in the bailout

$700 billion: Amount of taxpayer money being used to bail out financial institutions

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$123 billion: Amount the government loaned AIG last fall
$444,000: Amount AIG paid for a week-long retreat at a resort for its top insurance agents
$90,000: Amount AIG executives spent to travel by private jet to go partridge hunting in England

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$45 billion: Amount the government loaned Bank of America
$10 million: Amount Bank of America spent on Super Bowl advertising, sponsorship

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$350 million: Amount of compensation for former Lehman Brothers CEO Richard S. Fuld Jr. between 2000 and 2007

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$1.2 million: Amount former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain spent to refurbish his office suite

Take Action

Feb. 18: Act Now to Restrict Executive Pay

The fact that CEOs are receiving huge salaries, perks and bonuses while taxpayers are facing worries about unemployment, foreclosures and the general state of the economy is outrageous. Public Citizen is calling for an effective cap on executive pay and the restructuring of executive compensation - one that doesn't contain loopholes and doesn't take a long time to implement. Pay restrictions are a crucial part of fixing financial regulation so we don't have an economic crisis like the current one again. Take action.

Feb. 3: Bank's Super Bowl Spending was Super Mistake

Did you or someone you know watch the Super Bowl last Saturday? What you may not have realized is that Bank of America spent huge amounts of money on sponsorships and marketing ploys for the game. This is the same bank that is taking $45 billion in taxpayer funds from the Wall Street bailout. Thousands of Public Citizen activists told Kenneth Lewis, Bank of America CEO, that he deserves a pink slip for this latest wave of irresponsible spending. See the petition.

Spread the word

A great way to help out with Operation Accountability is to spread the word to your friends and colleagues and get them to pledge their support by taking action and signing up for our emails. Simply show them this Web page and encourage them to sign up for our email alerts.

What our activists are saying

Have an opinion? Email us at feedback@citizen.org.

"This is equivalent to saying 'Let them eat cake.' The people are struggling because of mistakes that big business has made. Don't you think it's time to have a little humility while WE bail you out??" - Marsha Moreno

"As a former banker in corporate trust administration, I find your behavior beyond the pale." - Pamela Blum

"People in positions of trust must begin to understand the importance of being trustworty. This type of behavior undermines the foundations our country was founded on. Shame." - Jill Gumina

"The CEOs have caused the people of America and the world enough loss. It is time that they paid up." - Daniel Sutton

"Shame on you and those that believe they are entitled to act without conscience and responsibility to the American taxpayer." - Joy Steinmuss

"I have trouble understanding how large corporations that have failed to fulfill the roles given them can continue their wasteful business-as-usual activities while panhandling for billions of dollars of public money." - Forrest Jewell

"Since the bailout money is coming from taxpaying citizens, it should be used to keep the bank operating and help them, not more of the same wasteful spending that created the problem in the first place." - Maryann Kirchenbauer