Banks use "Dead Peasant" insurance policies to profit on deaths of employees

Dead Peasant Policies, sometimes known as Dead Janitor Policies, where a company takes out insurance on an employee and profits upon their death, were first made famous by companies like WalMart. If an employee died, the company could pocket a minimum of around $70K. No wonder WalMart hired all those elderly greeters!

Now, bank executives at Wells Fargo, Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase are benefiting financially from the deaths of their employees, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

This insurance is used as a tax dodge which pays bonuses to their key executives when an employee dies.

American taxpayers subsidize this special tax break that funnels tax-free income to the big cheeses that are named as the beneficiaries.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Bank of America and Wells Fargo both have $17 billion each in these life insurance policies. Chase has $11 billion.

The employee's family gets nothing, not a cent. Dang! Wasn't the bailout enough for these creeps?
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