AIG to Taxpayers: F@$% You

Attention AIG Executives:

THE NATIONAL BACKLASH IS COMING.  CASH THOSE BONUS CHECKS AT YOUR OWN PERIL.

_____________________________________________________

The below is an actual first paragraph of an article in the NY Times business section this morning.  Seriously, its actually real.

The American International Group, which has received more than $170 billion in taxpayer bailout money from the Treasury and Federal Reserve, plans to pay about $165 million in bonuses by Sunday to executives in the same business unit that brought the company to the brink of collapse last year.

Wait wait wait, there’s more:

The payments to A.I.G.’s financial products unit are in addition to $121 million in previously scheduled bonuses for the company’s senior executives and 6,400 employees across the sprawling corporation.

I’m not done yet, hang on:

A.I.G., nearly 80 percent of which is now owned by the government, defended its bonuses, arguing that they were promised last year before the crisis and cannot be legally canceled.

Ok, so the rest of the article is basically a detailed account of why no one at the Treasury or in Congress, including Tim Geithner and Chris Dodd, have been able to figure out how to get the taxpayer out of shoveling more millions at the rocket scientists who’ve done such a great job that their multinational conglomerate collapsed.

We own 80% of this company and have plowed in with over $100 billion in rescue capital for both AIG and its thick-as-thieves counter-parties and we can’t find a way to slow the bonus machine?

I’ve come up with a solution.  Send a team of recently-returned, battle-hardened Army Rangers down to AIG with a pile of these “bonus” checks and let any of the execs who feel frisky enough to wrest this money from the taxpayer “come and git it”.

This is a much more effective solution than having Geithner’s DC puppy dog lawyers and accountants on our side.  We, the taxpaying citizens, who have watched a handful of recklessly greedy elites bring our economy to the brink of depression, would prefer to see a different appendage of the government watch over our hard-earned assets from now on: The military.

Let’s see ’em try to steal now.

Full Story:  AIG Planning Huge Bonuses (NYT)

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  1. jh commented on Mar 17

    The problem I see with it, is they tossed out the capital with no restrictions. Do I feel they should be giving bonuses to this division…probably not from the public information available. However, this seems merely a distraction to shell away the govs moronic mistakes of pumping hundreds of bils out with out thinking. I hope AIG will challenge the gov in court on this one if need be. They can not destroy hundreds of years of contract law simply because they did not structure this deal properly. It is a matter of legality, they do not have the legal right nor legal ability to my understanding to revoke these contracts and modify compensation.

  2. jh commented on Mar 17

    The problem I see with it, is they tossed out the capital with no restrictions. Do I feel they should be giving bonuses to this division…probably not from the public information available. However, this seems merely a distraction to shell away the govs moronic mistakes of pumping hundreds of bils out with out thinking. I hope AIG will challenge the gov in court on this one if need be. They can not destroy hundreds of years of contract law simply because they did not structure this deal properly. It is a matter of legality, they do not have the legal right nor legal ability to my understanding to revoke these contracts and modify compensation.

  3. jh commented on Mar 17

    The problem I see with it, is they tossed out the capital with no restrictions. Do I feel they should be giving bonuses to this division…probably not from the public information available. However, this seems merely a distraction to shell away the govs moronic mistakes of pumping hundreds of bils out with out thinking. I hope AIG will challenge the gov in court on this one if need be. They can not destroy hundreds of years of contract law simply because they did not structure this deal properly. It is a matter of legality, they do not have the legal right nor legal ability to my understanding to revoke these contracts and modify compensation.

  4. European commented on Mar 18

    Good point.

    I have for some time told all my collegues that what the financial sector really needs now desparately is not quatitative talent, nor legal professional, nor regulation.

    We need people who are not brain washed by Chicago School microeconomic thinking and self interest. People who are reasonably well educated but have also been taught some principles:

    “duty, honour, country”

    We need West Point.

    Amwerican banks must be led by generals. Please kick the MBA’s and quants out. Cut their renumeration programs, bonuses, get rid of them, now.

    These people cause all but havoc and stall renewed economic activity. They have been trained to take the money now and leave the risks for the next gut.

    We need people who takes in the loss now and gives the future generations something to build on.
    Believe me on this on: there is nothing to loose by wiping off the top bankers. Not even connections and favours.

    They are broke.

  5. European commented on Mar 18

    Good point.

    I have for some time told all my collegues that what the financial sector really needs now desparately is not quatitative talent, nor legal professional, nor regulation.

    We need people who are not brain washed by Chicago School microeconomic thinking and self interest. People who are reasonably well educated but have also been taught some principles:

    “duty, honour, country”

    We need West Point.

    Amwerican banks must be led by generals. Please kick the MBA’s and quants out. Cut their renumeration programs, bonuses, get rid of them, now.

    These people cause all but havoc and stall renewed economic activity. They have been trained to take the money now and leave the risks for the next gut.

    We need people who takes in the loss now and gives the future generations something to build on.
    Believe me on this on: there is nothing to loose by wiping off the top bankers. Not even connections and favours.

    They are broke.

  6. European commented on Mar 18

    Good point.

    I have for some time told all my collegues that what the financial sector really needs now desparately is not quatitative talent, nor legal professional, nor regulation.

    We need people who are not brain washed by Chicago School microeconomic thinking and self interest. People who are reasonably well educated but have also been taught some principles:

    “duty, honour, country”

    We need West Point.

    Amwerican banks must be led by generals. Please kick the MBA’s and quants out. Cut their renumeration programs, bonuses, get rid of them, now.

    These people cause all but havoc and stall renewed economic activity. They have been trained to take the money now and leave the risks for the next gut.

    We need people who takes in the loss now and gives the future generations something to build on.
    Believe me on this on: there is nothing to loose by wiping off the top bankers. Not even connections and favours.

    They are broke.

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