You taxpayers are Number 1! Thanks for our well-deserved bonuses at AIG this coming week! Thanks Guys!
AIG would like to thank everyone who is trying to survive the current economic crises. Especially if you’ve lost your job or have taken a particularly hard hit on your savings and investments. You might be having trouble hanging onto your home or paying your own bills, but AIG fat cats are exempt from all that! Thank you for your extreme generosity in making sure that AIG super stars get their much-deserved multi-million dollar bonuses this coming week!
They’ve worked hard to bring the company to its knees and the bonus money proves it. It takes work and dedication to force an undiciplined insurance giant to the brink of ruin and demand that taxpayers bail it out. Multi-million dollar bonuses for the top AIG brass will be paid out this week.
Of course, not everyone’s happy about this raid of public funds. I know I’m not. I’m angry! So is Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell R-Kentucky:
“The message here, I’m afraid, to any business out there that’s thinking about taking government money, is let’s enter into a bunch of contracts real quick, and we’ll have the taxpayers pay bonuses to our employees. This is an outrage.”
Remember when you and I bailed AIG out last October? Two weeks after they scored the $85 BILLION dollar “loan” from us, those dudes took the money and partied out at the St. Regis @ Monarch Beach, where ocean-view rooms start at $565 a night and “world class luxury” is the rule. Here’s the resort and take a look at the tab we picked up for AIG’s excesses during a time when the average person is financially struggling.
AIG’s St. Regis blowout bill: $443,344
AIG American General spent:
$147,302 for banquets
$139,375 on rooms
$23,380 for spa services
$6,939 for golf
$5,016 at the Stonehill Tavern
$3,065 for in-room dining and the lobby lounge
$2,949 for gratuities
$1,901 at the Monarch Bayclub
and $1,488 at the resort’s Vogue Salon Link
If you can stomach it, here is the actual final bill from the St. Regis and it’s quite a bit more than AIG was willing to claim. But that is OLD news, now isn’t it? Back to the juicy bonus action coming up this week…..
This time, AIG’s chief executive, Edward Liddy, claims that the bonuses are legal and that the government cannot nullify those contracts. There will apparently be lawsuits by those fat cats if they don’t get their expected bonuses for their mismanagement and fraud! AIG’s “hands are tied!” Liddy stated to Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner. Hmmmm….. Is that Blackmail I smell?
Really, now. I think that each one of those fatties should have their name and the amount of the intended bonus published so us lowly tax payers can see just who is holding us tax payers hostage. I don’t understand why any of these parasites even have jobs. The only bonus they deserve is a pink slip and a trip to visit Bernie Madoff. Since when are we obligated to reward people who are responsible for colossal failure? ABC News has a spirited discussion going on right now and if you are interested, here is the link.
I’m 100% with you, Vix. AIG claimed that it really needs these top exec’s, ’cause they’re the only ones who fully understand the complicated financial agreements with AIG’s customers. But, I’ve been around a long time, and most top executives I’ve seen do not have the technical knowledge or expertise its customers pay for – the techinical people do this. What the top executive brings to a company is a network of personal friendships and obligations with other top exec’s throughout an industry — and it is EXACTLY this web of friendships that needs to be wiped away. Hey Art, you listenin’? This is a libertarian thing. When a company pisses off a customer (and U.S. citizens are customers now that we’ve given ’em a bucketful o’ money), the customer shouldn’t do business with ’em anymore. I’m a customer, and I’m pissed. Let ’em go bankrupt, and let the un-bonused exec’s sue their bankrupt company. We can figure another way to stablilize the companies they insured.
Red,
Outrageous! Obama blew this one. AIG should give the money back to the U.S. taxpayers.
I Thought about calling 21 century early Monday and thretening to cancel by the time I secure car insurance elsewhere.
I have been with 21st for over 15 years.
Instead , I’m going to tell them to either lower my rates by 15% of I’m walking by the end of the month.
If these big companies are getting bailed out , they might as well trickle down a few crumbs to the working middle class taxpayers.
Art, I believe this was Bush’s “no strings attached” bail-out money.
*President Obama stepped up this morning, at his
small buiness outreach to say, he had Timmy Boy on the job – telling AIG Exec’s they would not be getting their Bonus program this year! Nice touch! The only thing that AIG Execs deserve is being found out that their “Bernie Madoff Accounts” cannot be covered up any longer! Let’s hope the new SEC Chief jumps on each and every one of those people with both feet!
Wait just a minute.
We cannot afford to lose our “best and brightest” executives who collectively lost $62 billion last year. They deserve their bonuses. After all we promised it to them. If they quit where will we find such talent to take their place?
Signed. AIG
We the taxpayers should not file taxes anymore. We
don’t get it anyway.So, what is the point. Small
businesses employ the people that really want to
work. Go on vacation, fall down in front of a
business and sue. we live in Amercia. Do what you
want. I wish i could get some kind of bail out. I
need milk and bread for my husbands lunch,who i
might add that is retired but still works full time
to make ends meet. I work at a vegetable stand for
a few dollars a week. Obama, say NO NO NO NO NO.
Remember who voted you in. Little old taxpayers.
Those bonuses were already paid out last Friday it would appear. Grrrr..
via Business Insider: http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-blodget-furious-cu…
Andrew Cuomo’s mad as hell about those AIG bonuses, too. And unlike Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner, he might actually do something about them.
Today’s letter to AIG (see below):
We were disturbed to learn over the weekend of AIG’s plans to pay millions of dollars to members of the Financial Products subsidiary through its Financial Products Retention Plan. Financial Products was, of course, the division of AIG that led to its meltdown and the huge infusion of taxpayer funds to save the firm. Previously, AIG had agreed at our request to make no payments out of its $600 million Financial Products deferred compensation pool.
We have requested the list of individuals who are to receive payments under this retention plan, as well as their positions at the firm, and it is surprising that you have yet to provide this information. Covering up the details of these payments breeds further cynicism and distrust in our already shaken financial system.
In addition, we also now request a description of each individual’s job description and performance at AIG Financial Products. Please also provide whatever contracts you now claim obligate you to make these payments. Moreover, you should immediately provide us with a list of who negotiated these contracts and who developed this retention plan so we can begin to investigate the circumstances surrounding these questionable bonus arrangements. Finally, we demand an immediate status report as to whether the payments under the retention plan have been made.
We need this information immediately in order to investigate and determine: (l) whether
any of the individuals receiving such payments were involved in the conduct that led to AIG’s
demise and subsequent bailout; (2) whether, as you claim, such individuals are truly required to unwind AIG Financial Product’s positions; (3) whether such contracts may be unenforceable for fraud or other reasons; and (4) whether any of the retention payments may be considered fraudulent conveyances under New York law.
Here is another approach. Taxing the bonuses at a higher rate (I suggest 90% 😉 ):
Source: The Atlantic
(…)
Speaking of punishing AIG: Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI) plans to introduce a bill to tax AIG bonuses at a high rate this year. A spokesman for Peters says that details are still being worked out. Targeting legislation at one company is tantamount to the Congress’s passing a bill of attainder against AIG. But these are extraordinary times.
Read more: http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/03/treasury_consid…
Here is the contact information for AIG directly.
https://securecontent.aig.com/contact-aig_20_19050.html
Let them know how you feel.
The tax payers own 80% of AIG. In effect we are the employer of these bozos. We should select a new Board and dismiss all those responsible for the bad decisions.
As employers we can decide to withdraw bonuses based on poor management performance.
We can place new management to look out for the best interest of the company owners – the taxpayers.
To start let us redirect the bailout money directed for management perks and bonuses to economic relief for the taxpayers.
WE THE TAXPAYERS ARE THE OWNERS OF AIG. WE CALL THE SHOTS, NOT AIG’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE,Edward Liddy. He should be the first one fired.
You guys are ridiculous.
AIG gave BILLIONS in stimulus money to OTHER BANKS.
This is called, in popular parlance MONEY LAUNDERING.
But people who are getting money they are “contractually obligated” to get, and you don’t like it? These are the people who actually DID their jobs.
Own a business? If they can take these guys money, they can take YOURS.
Smoke and mirrors.
Easy to hate business today when government is failing you.
Terry,
AIG’s business and the nature of their financial loss is Mortgage Insurance.
They insured the bad loans when they knew they were bad loans.
The businesses that you mention recieving the bail out money are those that made the bad loans and those that invested in the bad loans. AIG insured these bad loans. They also knew the nature of the ponzi scheme.
They did not take money from busunesses, the CEOs
of those businesses were willing partners.
The only ones not imformed were us the taxpayers. For added insult we now must be taxed to correct their ponzi scheme.
The past administration allowed this ponzi scheme to happen.
“It is easy to hate business when government is failing you” is not accurate.
It is easy to hate the businesses in question and the past Administration for failing the taxpayers – is more accurate.
Terry,
“These are the people who actually DID their jobs.”
No, these people didn’t do their jobs, unless their job description contained the words “losing money.”
“Easy to hate business today when government is failing you.”
As usual, you don’t get the issue. It is not about “hating business”. It is about businesses, and everybody, including the government, being held accountable.
Interesting that you don’t like that. But not surprising.