Off-Topic: Rant about AIG - again

Saw this on my yahoo e-mail sign-on page yesterday:

AP - Joining a wave of public anger, President Barack Obama blistered insurance giant AIG for "recklessness and greed" Monday and pledged to try to block it from handing its executives $165 million in bonuses after taking billions in federal bailout money. "How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?" Obama asked. "This isn't just a matter of dollars and cents. It's about our fundamental values."

Saw this on today's yahoo sign-on page:

AP - Senate Democrats vowed Tuesday to all but strip AIG executives of their $165 million in bonuses, as expressions of outrage swelled in Congress over eye-catching extra income for employees of a firm that has received billions in taxpayer bailout funds.

Here's a link to AIG's homepage: http://www.aig.com/Home-Page_20_17084.html and here's their contact information: Contact AIG by email or phone Call M-F 6am-8pm ET USA: 1-877-638-4244 Worldwide: +1-908-679-3150

I realize that a lot of people depend on AIG for life insurance, auto insurance, retirement services, relocation, investments, etc. I get that, and I get that it would be horrible for AIG to go out of business.

I also realize that according to some, the bonuses mentioned above were promised, and therefore, AIG is contractually obligated to give out those bonuses. Question: can't the people who are contractually obligated to receive the bonuses... REFUSE THEM? I'm thinking that even if they can't refuse the bonuses, it would really behoove these executives to return the money to the company. Some way. Some how.

Come on, AIG. Do the right thing. Stop wasting MY money.

As for everyone who does business with AIG, look into moving your business elsewhere. If clients disappear, AIG will be forced to close its doors. Yes, I'm also thinking about the employees like secretaries, accountants, file clerks, maintenance, etc. - the people who really run the company. Wouldn't it better for them all to look for new jobs now, or for a nice competitor of AIG to hire all the employees carte blanche.

President Obama: We expect you to handle this.

Senators: Yes! Absolutely STRIP these AIG executives of their bonuses and anything else you can.

Just my uninformed opinion, but I'm furious about AIG. Aren't you? Vikki

UPDATED March 18 2009 at 6:15 AM: Can American Taxpayers bring a class action lawsuit again AIG for misuse of taxpayer funds?

5 comments:

Melonie said...

I agree wholeheartedly. I wouldn't be surprised, though, to learn that the people who get such huge bonuses are counting on them to pay their bills. All too many people - wealthy and poor alike - in today's society overextend themselves.

Any of them that *aren't* in threat of bankruptcy personally could very easily turn those bonuses right back around and divy them up between AIG's employees. $1million goes a long way...let alone $165 million. Or maybe they could put it into a payment toward our huge national debt - made exponentially larger because of their company? ;-)

Barb said...

Okay, so what about the contract between GM & the unions? Some in the congress seem not to care about that contract or the contract between big companies that go under that leave their pensioner's high & dry. (As you can tell, AIG bothers the heck out of me.) Just take a rich, palm-greasing company & it's so important to follow the contract. Let's hope Obama can straighten this out for the American people.

Anonymous said...

The love of money is evil. And there are so many "evil" people in this world. Most of them are in Washington, DC. AIG just happens to control the retirement funds for Congress so they have a VERY big interest in making sure they are taken care of. AIG just happened to contribute over $100,000 dollars to Mr. Obama's election campaign. The pockets of all politicians are lined with someone's elses money and that is how they control them. You don't really think your congressman or senator cares about you , do you? It appears they didn't listen to us when we asked them not to pass the bailout (either time). I think it is time to pass term limits so this large companies can not control the politicians. If there was not so much money being pumped into getting someone elected we might not have to endure 18 months of elections just to elect "some a__hole that owes everyone favors".
This is about more than AIG, banks, Wall Street. This is the end of the world as we know it. Things are going to change so much it will be scary to think what tomorrow could bring. Obama can't even find his birth certificate how is he going to help us?

Anonymous said...

the sensational hype about these bonuses in the media is really misguided. the total amount that these bonuses are compared to the amount they have taken from taxpayers is so small its absurd. aig has wasted nearly 160+ Billion (with a B) dollars paying most of that out to foreign banks and previous employers of the current fed employees making these bailout decisions. 180 million is nothing compared to the hundreds of billions wasted this year or the 1 trillion that the government announced it was printing today to buy its own debt. that's the scariest news of the past year and is not getting reported on at all.

Anonymous said...

Well, Geithner and his Treasury people asked Sen. Dodd (D) to protect the bonuses. And Dodd did. And the congress voted it in. Who did AIG give big campaign $$$ to? Follow the money. And this is now serving as a smokescreen for HR1388.