Nobody is indispensable! Let AIG go belly up and the new startup may do better with better talents!

It time for the Federal goverment to demand repayment of the 145 Billion they owe us now. After they pay this amount, they cabn dp what they want.

I agree, we can do without them, let them go belly up. They are a liability. Someone explain to me why these people need bonuses? What have they done to deserve bonuses? This is beyond me. They are ignoring the presidents asking them not to. Yet they just go right ahead. No more bail out money for AIG. No more for anyone of these companies.

Here is a scenary from my industry. Instead of selling quality cell phones, I sell $100 billion counterfeits made in China. One year later all phones stop working. I cannot afford to replace phones. So the government gives me $100 billion and I use $10 billion to pay bonuses to my sales people who sold the counterfeit phones.

Replace "cell phone" with "mortgage".

When the auto industry needed money the Execs were hauled in front of Congress, treated like dirt, and had to work for $1.00 per year...and the money they were given is a fraction of what AIG alone has been given.

The Bank Execs not only should be working for a buck a year they should have to return the money that they've given themselves for the past two years.

If this happens its a complete sell out of the American people. If this happens I can no longer stand for this administration...

My aproval rating just went to zero...

This is big...

This shoulg be snufed out quickly, we will see...

Oh Yea – it's Obama's fault.  This started on bushwhacker's watch.  Nice way to tank a country – only took him 8 years. 

The raping of America must stop. now! Its not Obama its the greedy guys...

Time to let AIG Fall...

Its over...

Heck, Obama only took 3 months. Where the hell is the oversight? No employee is indispensable, and none should get OUR money as a bonus. Let the company go under. I was willing to give this administration the benefit of the doubt.....no more.

Yes Brianna, this falls squarely on the PRESIDENT's shoulders as he is now the LEADER of our country.

The fact that our LIBERAL congress people are TOO STUPID to make loans to these companies without adequate measures to do things like SUSPEND BONUSES speaks to the LUNACY that is our federal government.

These and every other company in AMERICA have contracts with their employees. If they break these contracts, the liberal lawyers that your party supports will sue these companies out of existence.

This bonus fiasco is 100% the fault of OUR STUPID CONGRESSMEN who have no idea how to manage a coffee break let alone a multi-billion dollar bailout.

Pull the plug on these clowns now! They're an arrogant, greedy bunch of chumps.

KMartin1959

Come on. This has nothing to do with Obama, These people's arrogance is really beyond belief, if the congress and the adminstration do not come up with new regulation for these companies and separate them so they are not to big to fail ,then I will loose my faith anything will be changed, The problem with the Banks i.e. J.P.Morgan, City, B of A, etc and financial and insurance companies like A.I.G. is they have been allowed to be merged, Banks were not allowed to be Hedge fund and investment companies, that happened in the last eight years and has made them to big to fail in that they are intertwined with every facet of the financial structure in this country and the world, This has to stop and be changed. They must be separate so as to be allowed to fail if they are incompetent, They all take unreasonable risk because they know the government will save them to save the economy, this must stop, and I hope the ones that have left trails of the fraud that has been committed do go to jail for long periods of time. I must admit the way A.I.G. flaunts it the emotion of rage is truly justified.

All these bonus payments have to come back right now ASAP. Let you'r president know that this is unacceptable,we the people did not give our taxmoney to give it away on bonusses.If this won't stop right away we will no longer pay our income taxes, that must wake them up,I am sure that the new president will agree with us and will have to stop these payments immidiately. So Send him your E-mails.

This ia a big failure, this is greed. If Obama goes along with this he is guilty...

Let's let them go bankrupt. We OWN them now, so I say..."let them eat cake". There's no reason to keep giving them money. This is ridiculous.

Dave, I hate to overtax your little Republican brain, but Jan 20 to March 20 is two months not three.

This whole AIG thing is ridiculous, and something needs to be done immediately. I've never understood why AIG was in on all the bailout money anyway, but AIG has been the most egregious of any. Time to pull the plug on these jerks. Talented employees indeed!

Right on! Not ONE PENNY in bonuses to these arrogant and totally incompentent idiots.

The CEO of AIG should be immediately arrested and charged with misappropriation of Federal Funds.  The company AIG should be seized by the Feds. and sold at auction with proceeds returned to the American taxpayer.  But wait, the Feds can't do that because Comrade Pelosi is financially connected to AIG - her husband is a major stock owner ! ! ! !

We have lost our country; congress is under the control of big buisiness, the white house, is under control of big buisiness. The citizens are cattle to be slaughtered for the sake of the ruling class. Don't wake up america, IT IS ALREADY TO LATE.

Democrats are here to destroy business, because they think it is evil. They don't have the critical thinking abiliity to know who keeps the lights on in this country. So, to all the Dems, What's the solution? Give me a better economy, a more fruitful economy with your plan. What is it? Oh, no words...that's what I thought!

I love that they "had no legal authority" to tell them they couldn't distribute bonuses. Maybe there is a ray of hope for freedom.

Keep in mind that AIG has to pay the Government back, it's not as if the money is gone forever. If AIG went under it would be catastrophic for our economy, this is the lesser of two evils no matter how much it sucks. Bailout does not mean free money, these are loans to be paid back with interest.

Hey Freq - who says we Democrats are anti business? Is it because we don't believe in non-bid contracts to our cronies? How about lack of oversight by the SEC that allowed all of these companies like ENRON (remember them?) and now all these others that have gone belly up because "...the market can monitor and correct itself..." Hello? Is this thing on? You Republicans did a great job of reigning over chaos and the ruination of our very existence; ruined our reputation in the world; exported our jobs; created an unsustainable "Service Economy" that apparently only serviced the bank accounts of your Wall Street friends and now has left the bill squarely on the middle class...

dn-austin,

I asked for your economic plan. Where is it? What is your solution? You have no answer. You are drinking the Kool-aid my friend. Understand that business is the most important thing in the country, and you leader back hands small business every chance he gets. If you deny that, you are not very smart.

P.O. -- You too, I am just asking for your democratic economic plan. Agian, no solution, just stupid slams at the Republican party. What is your plan to foster business and get it running again? Only intelligent answers please!

Wow.  They really can't help the arrogance, can they?

The fact that all parties concerned didn't see fit to sit down and agree to forgo these bonuses simply confirms that this isn't out of the ordinary for the corporate officer crowd.  The past decade or so has simply let them do this nonsense openly with no thought that us lesser beings might be disgusted.  Now us lessers can openly display disgust with this and some lawmakers will actually see our point, for the time being.

And then there are those that will defend this--not the particular offenders but the "game" in general--but expletive this "game" is fixed--so are the defenders in on it or just awareness challenged?

The strategy AIG uses to attract the best and the brightest doesn't seem to work, however their strategy to squeeze money from the government does. When a group of lawyers elected to make the laws can't stop another group of lawyers from flaunting them we the people are screwed. This should go to the Supreme court. Before a nickel more is paid. Since when does the opinion of outside paid lawyers prevent good leadership from accepting the intent of the law, and doing the right thing. Their excuse for not doing so is a load of crap.

Hey Freak - your previous Republican leadership had a lock on the presidency, house, senate and brought more conservatism to our judiciary and road roughshod over the country and the rest of the world. Where did it get us? This is an unprecedented crisis in the history of the world! There is no quick fix. It took your Republican "Team" at least a couple of years for the bubble to begin expanding leaving the rest of us knowing it was unsustainable and knew it would burst. WE have to look for what has worked and what hasn't in previous crisis like the depression and other economic downturns BUT we won't know what exactly will work until some time has been given to see if it CAN be turned around. This is UNPRECEDENTED! At least we have some smart, highly educated, critical thinkers in power now as opposed to the Republican flock that scurried here and there but accomplished what exactly? Please name for me what the Bush administration will be remembered for beyond complete failure...

OK, Obama, the dress rehearsal is over.  You're on!  Stop blaming Bush!

dn-austin, Still no economic plan. You are just full of "hope" that your leaders are so smart, that they will spend their way out of this. I asked for an intelligent answer, and still haven't got one. Any other dem want to take a crack at it? I think dn-austin is a little to wrapped around the axel emmotionally to field this one.

I am just asking for something simple. The democratic economic plan that gets business going. Please only smart thoughtful answers. I still haven't received one.

By the way, the answer to this AIG mess is that we shouldn't have helped them in the first place. We should have let them fail. You can't logically expect to restrict pay, especially of CEO's, and expect to keep the talent required to do the job. Think about your own job, and your pay being restricted.

Storm, your right, my bad. It only took Obama 2 months to ruin the country, not 3. Reading all these lib posts is tough on my logical mind.

Peace!

Freak - you're a typical conservative that is so full of yourself (think Rush) that you perpetuate my long held view of the only thing you like minded, stalwart defenders of the "faith" are capable of is the time honored finger pointing, criticizing, name calling and do nothing exercise.

Yes, as pollyannish as it strikes you faith and optimism in new, fresh leadership after 8 LONG years of tired ideas and waste I do put my money (and our collective future) on the smart guy and his team. The money has to be spent (printed, made up, moved around it's all just paper and promises...) in an effort to try and recover from the economic crisis that you in the GOP drove us into. Could it be managed and handled better? No doubt. President Obama has only been in office a couple of months and has a steep learning curve. While hailed as the messiah by many, I think he's just a good human being trying to make the best of an awful situation.

There are only a handful of examples and no real roadmap from history to get us back on track. If you guys had any ideas on how to manage something larger than say: a Girl Scout Troop (no offense to any Girl Scouts) then we wouldn't be in this mess.

As for questions gone unanswered, how about: please name one thing that was accomplished over the last 8 years besides ruination and governance over chaos that you and your beloved GOP accomplished for the good of the whole? Oh, that's right. Thinking about anyone other than yourself is socialism so no answer expected.

AW HELL NAW! THIS IS GOING WAY TOO FAR. They seem to be kicking us poor bastards in the face. and laughing at the same time - all the way to the bank........ with a triple dare ya!

CONGRESS.... YOU'D BEST FIND OUT WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE WITH THESE IDIOTS...... AIG, YOU'VE GOT SOME 'SPLAINING TO DO!

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! We ABSOLUTELY did not give them money so that they can continue the same old failed practices that got the into trouble in the first place.

What's wrong with this picture. THE COMPANY HAS BAD OPERATING PROCEDURES...... AND WE (THE POOR, STRUGGLING PEOPLE) GET TO PAY FOR ALL OF "THEIR" MISTAKES????!!!!

THIS IS BEYOND REPROACH! ENOUGH!!

Excellent! Thank you.

Former Fed Agent,

Do you really think the "Fed" is the source of the money? You too have been drinking the kool-aid. Sorry, Business is the actual "source" of the money that goes to the federal governenment. I'm not sure if you are aware of that, but it's missing in your socalist economic plan. Do you understand inflation, macro economics, how important our currency standing is overseas? Are you aware of the impacts of "printing" money. I appreciate your level headed approach to answering my question, but your answer is probably what I would expect from a gov't employee. No offense. I just don't think you understand business. By the way, over the last 8 years, didn't we have the stongest economy in the world? I think we still do. How about just letting the market correct itself? Hey, what a novel concept.

After all that has happened with AIG I would like to hear what Obama has to say about their bonus's.

I know what Pelosi would say; give them more money so her husbands stock will recover.

FrequencyHopper---Let them fail

Really, if it was only that simple all of us on this post would agree, I think Paulson tried that with Lehman's, Unfortunately it sounds like to you its Democratic issue, well in those terms your boys can take a majority claim in this crisis that faces this nation and the world, Look at the bills Phil Graham put through in 1998,2001,2003,2005 and the fact there has been zero oversight since 2000. You want a plan well I think it takes more than a few weeks to see if what has been done will work, I'll say this its more than has been done the last year. As far as attracting talent??? there isn't a CEO in this country worth a hundred million or even ten million a year, workers pay isn't the problem in this country, upper management and greed are.

"We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff the AIG businesses, which are now being operated principally on behalf of the American taxpayers — if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury," Liddy said.

Yeah, like the "best and the brightest" that drove the company into the ground and is now a bottomless hole through which Geithner in pouring the public's money.

They've poured a couple of trillion into the banks and AIG so far (counting all the programs that are doling out the money, not just the TARP) while millons of distressed homeowners get a total of $75 billion (With all kinds of strings attached). Shows you who the government is really looking out for doesn't it?

AIG, Morgan Stanley, all of you, GET OUT! You are bankrupt! Face it, we don't want you!

We aren't scared, we are sick of the lies and deceit! Sick of the games you fix, sick of plans being made since 1994! Sick of your plundering, even the poorest of the poor. LIARS. THIEVES! All of you. And Rockefeller and all of your ilk, you snakes in the grass! You should be striped of your wealth! You should be stripped naked and made to walk down the street of shame. You should be made to clean port-a-pots for the remainer of your days right along with the Clintons and Bush! All of you War monkeys, you Chaos clowns! Rulers? Leaders? Of what? Where are your ethics? Where do you plan to go when there is no place else to plunder??? Good time boys, that's all you are.

If you all feel so superior then why haven't you faced the truth? We have one world! Leadership? NO, none, profit for profit's sake alone! New world Order, my foot! MY SHOE! Any moron could tell you the party can't last forever but on you went, lineing your pockets and now, off you run to plunder other countries! You all have known about the alternative energy resources we actually have access to but you kill anyone who tells the truth about it so you can run the world. Run it into ruins! Destroy thought, creativity, growth, better ideas. Better business.

No, we don't fear you, we loath you for what you have become, scum of the earth. How dare you? How do you people live with yourselves?? How can you sit in your meetings and come up with this $h!t? Power and control. Well, we all die sometime and for some, I say, it won't be soon enough! I don't believe in hell, I believe what you cannot learn, you are destined to repeat, over and over and over. I believe in Karma. When you don't use your brain, you lose it. None of you have used your brains.

You had your chance to make it better, to face our shared problems and look what you have done. LOOK AT IT! It's a monster.

Years ago the Hartley Anti-Trust Laws were used effectively to split up 'Ma Bell' and also forced any Oil Company monopolies to dissolve or split apart.. What happened to the laws of our Country? Why can't we split up AIG or any other banking/insurance conglomerate that does what it feels like doing?

Let AIG go bankrupt and reorganize inder separate companies. While they do that they can fire all the executives who are just in it for the greed and power of their positions.

AIG already split off one insurance arm by calling it 21st Century Insurance.....but they still keep it under the same corporate umbrella. One thing the AIG executives are able to do is feather their own nests.

Bill Carson

Actually from Enron to January 20 2009 the Bush adminstration put 7 trillion into wall street and the banking bailouts and that's not counting the no bid freebies. lets give this givaway some perspective.

I think these of the "best and brightest" should be prosecuted for fraud and their bonuses forfeited. They are the ones who created the mess and now are getting bonuses for their criminal activity. Where is the Justice Department? If the Company believes the credit default swaps were a horrible mistake - then they surely can come up with a legal basis to deny the bonuses. Let the idiots sue so all the facts can finally come out!!

I know of one large organization that decided to start up a banking institution, just so they could cash in on monies being handed out.

How do you like them apples????

GREED AND VULTURE LIKE BEHAVIOR is not going to pay in the end. I remember reading somewhere in the bible that the meek shall inherit the earth and we may be getting closer to Armageddon. Watch out all you fat a$$es...........we'll be haunting your sorry a$$es one day!

I Barry Sotero Hussein Obama will cut the excess spending this govt does, let me just sign this pork laden bill. I'll think about change later, I have to go on vacation.

I think I'm going to puke!!!

Thank you Mr Obama for wasting more of our MONEY....oh yea, blame it on Bush too.

I am... I am so mad why can't we do anything?

Pull the plug, see how much they pay when the company is worth zero...

Fire the CEO and anyone else that agreed to those contracts. Incentive pay should be based on performance - I cannot imagine what these bonus payments are based on other then negative performance. No more good money after bad.

Get rid of them and Congress for continuing to send our money to these idiots with no regard for the American tax payer.

I agree how can you base a bonus when your in the nagative? It time to pull the plug. There are other corporations will be more than happy to take over,This is not the first time AIG pulled this crap, since it are tax dollars I WANT A BONUS TOO!!

We have all been hoodwinked by these FREE MARKET idiots ... It is time that everyone in the middle or lower working classes, who works their ass off everyday to make ends meet, finally realize that UNREGULATED CAPITALISM is a fraud and unworkable.

If anything has become 100% clear in this economic meltdown, it is that there are many of our fellow Americans who will use their positions of ECONOMIC POWER to RIP THE REST OF US OFF !!!! I say ENOUGH ALREADY !!!!!

With all the blatant corruption and incompetence in Washington and our Financial sectors of the economy, ignorant of any semblance of honesty and accountability, its no wonder that the American people are totally fed up with their contrived methods to continue extorting billions of our hard earned tax dollars. It is contemptable, that AIG or any other Company that has taken our tax dollars to keep their doors open, would even remotely think of "GIVING" any bonus to their employees, under the guise of they are doing so to keep their valued employees. How outrageous can one get? In any other well run Company, those that screwed up would be summarily fired. Too bad we cannot do the same for the idiots in Washington that are so stupid, they cannot see beyond the dotted line of the Tax payers check book. Yessiree, AIG is taking their cue from the Obama administration, of well gosh folks, next time we will be more prudent, and not allow such overt excesses/open insults to the collective intelligence of the American people. Obama had the best opportunity of any recent president to do what he said during the campaign, and that was line by line review, and to strike out any and all ear marks and pork. Great speech, but so full of crap, it is getting disgusting even hearing his voice anymore. The other item of note is his lame excuse of "I inherited this mess". Hey dude its congress, of which you sat and warmed a chair, got hundreds of millions into bills on your behalf as ear marks and pork. Maybe, if you were not so hell bent on campaigning for president from the first day you were in the Senate, you just might have spent more time in Washington, and learning to be humble and have knowledge and experience to do the job, you hook winked so many people to entrust you with. As recent polls clearly indicate, you Mr. president and the Bankers and Wall street are wearing extremely thin in the trust and confidence areas. Certainly, there are going to be wholesale removals from office of most sitting Congress persons this coming mid term, and it will be a water shed in our Country's history. Not so much that we get rid of people who are so intent in their own self agrandizement, but that the American people finally are so pissed off, and upset, that heads will roll, regardless of who sits in the White House.

Where are the headlines, The USA has pulled all support for AIG...

The\y stand on their net worth, with no backing from the USA. I hope the executives cash their bonus checks now!

AIG......I hope one of you executives or one of your flunkies pass this along to you.........

If you take the bonus', even if it was promised 2 years ago......I will "DROP" you as my insurance carrier.......I insure 4 high $ premium's with you......say good bye to my free money....

Ask Kellogg's, I don't purchase any product associated with kellogg's.....after them dropping Phelp's........no more frosted flakes, eggo's, etc......

Fedup with Corporate Greed & the Fed for enabling them..............

What do they mean "they will lose their best and brightest?" They can't have been very bright, so let them go. I mean really, millions of people are out of a job. I dare them to try to find a job comparable to what they currently have..they're lucky they have one. If they don't like that they aren't getting a bonus, fire their sorry a$$. How are they going to sue a company that has no money??? What, are they going to sue the taxpayers??Are these people idiots?? Well, obviously so, they wouldn't be in the mess they are in. Most of us know better than to even ask for even a raise right now, much less a bonus. Unfeakingbelievable

This is so outrageous, send your congressman and senators an email now. If you do not know how google it!

But do it now!

here is the info to call the treasury dept 202-622-2000

and here is the (dont laugh) report Fraud, Abuse , Waste HOTLINE !!!

• Telephone: 1-800-359-3898

  Facsimile: 202-927-5799

• Mail:
  Treasury Hotline
  Office of Inspector General
  1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  Washington, D.C. 20220
• Email: hotline@oig.treas.gov

LET GEITHNER KNOW... we DARE former employees to go sue AIG, we DARE THEM !!!

This must be the change administration is touting, govt bailout money equals bonuses for shoddy work....gee wonder where my bonus and bailout is for my shoddy work...ohh I like most hardworking Amercians don't get paid for shoddy work...really disgusting and one day we the hardworking taxpayers will wake up and realize we are carrying the load and the weight is to much to long for us....

This is a perfect example of President Obama's administration.

AIG controls congress/senate's benefits.

The Administration does not have the balls to face congress/senate.

ps i bought a ten thousand shares at .32 cents. thank you President Obama for giving them more money and making sure they cannot fail.

no John-962928, the change will come when you see the streets, schools and freeways in your neighborhood being repaired, replaced and new ones installed. Public works projects will atleast get some of this stolen money (tax money) back to regular people.

If Bush or McCain was running the show they'd be supporting AIG AND AND AND trying to get foreign contractors to come fix our roads and bring illegals with them so the pay would be low, and what pay there was would be getting WesternUnion'd out of the USA.

Before a company gets bailout money they should be signing an ethics agreement. This would mean any partying, jets, and excessive bonuses would make the company obligated to pay the loan immediately. AIG has been continually asking for money and the biggest violator of wasting money.

Jump in that "trough" lil pigs.  Easy to say we won't take any more when you just got (and got away with) PLENTY.  Just another scam of many, many, many. Now all they have to do is distribute the PAYOFFS into swiss accounts. DONE DEAL.

While I agree that these "talented and bright" people are jerking us around, and I agree that they should get the boot, we can't let them go belly up. The company appears to be a monster to us, but there are real, hardworking people that have money tied up in this institution, retirements etc. The reason the government doesn't let them go under is because it won't hurt the people running the company, they are already rich. It is normal everyday people that will lose everything they have.

your right Linda , also they employ 50,000 or 100,000 people who do know what they are doing,,, its less than 100 decision makers who F'd this company up...

Days late / dollars short?

Poor planning on top of poor planning?

Obviously, something was "up" with business practices beforehand.

Finding it hard to believe financial restructuring was not in place before "bailout" loan was placed.

Incompetence & ignorance begets more ignorance. - Surprising?

If the government now owns AIG for the tune of 160 billion or whatever it is and considering the company is not worth that, then it must have a say in the bonuses that are being paid out.

Our government has failed miserably with this financial fiasco and these people just don't get it. Don't loan money without control of bonuses.

As a matter of fact it would be better if AIG just went bankrupt.

Also how does AIG justify giving bonuses when it is losing money? WTF is going on here.

Obama now this is on your watch and has nothing to do with Bush so blame someone else like your dimwit Congress that cant seem to figure out that it does not deserve an automatic raise for the incompetance it serves up daily.

I think it's time to try these buttheads in a court of law, this is thievery, we loan them money and they hand it out amongst themselves, I say give them a stall right along side Madoff, THEY ARE NO BETTER!

I agree if this mess has been made by the "Best and Brightest" then they need to take a look at the employees.....Good grief people are unemployed and not able to feed their familes or pay there bills and these fools are getting millions....Does AIG really think Americans are that stupid....enough is enough....

...what a country!  ah, you get what you pay for here in America...free market place my petunia...ponder this: would they be paying the bonuses if they had not received the bailout?  Would they still be in existence if not for the bailout...Obama and the federal authorities need to investigate...this is sheer idiocy and the jackals are outside the gate laughing...

AIG is paying out the executive bonuses to meet a Sunday deadline, but the troubled insurance giant has agreed to administration requests to restrain future payments.

restrain?  oh, i guess they can do it again, and again...America: you are not even being  kissed...

The Treasury Department determined that the government did not have the legal authority to block the current payments by the company. AIG declared earlier this month that it had suffered a loss of $61.7 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, the largest corporate loss in history.

Really?  Makes me all warm and fuzzy about the future...

Want to control the situation: dump all AIG stock back onto the market place... 

You think the government is going to let AIG go belly up, Your Crazy ! The Senate and Congress pensions are through AIG. If AIG goes belly up... There goes their pensions. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN !

It's time to let all of these companies sink or swim on their own. Step back, let them manage. Whatever happened to natural selection? Stop sending our children and grandchildren's money to corporations. If we are morgaging against our children and grandchildren, shouldn't we get the money?

Let us use the money to bail out the corporations that show us they understand customer service. Let the consumer make the choices on where the money should go.

HEy folks,,we are all missing something in this one. This contract stuff AIG is refering too..are they saying they did not know in 2008 that they were losing mass amounts of money...bull..then how come they posted such a huge loss..oh yea, I know,,their audit finished up the next day to discover it...sure thing...this is just a way to bypass what the government had said it would do..and it looks like the treasury guy is dumb enough to believe it.

The taxpayers should storm AIG headquarters and demand their money back. It's time for some civil disobedience.

Maybe they should take it out of their investors dividends instead! Pelosi, Kerry, Reid, Dodd and a heck of a lot more who made sure they got the bailout money to start with since it would hurt theirown wallets to let them go under. AIG needs to be let go bankrupt - if we can't and won't bailout the auto industry to keep GM going and save the jobs involved with their suppliers, why are we letting this INSURANCE company get bailed out constantly? Make them get rid of their private jets too.

Time to put a stop to all of these people being in office. 2010 is getting closer by the day and these turkeys think they have a license to do anything they want. Time to take back our country. Why bother with parties when they are all screwing us royally!

This talent that the AIG is afraid of losing has already cost them $billions. I also thought bonus is paid off of company profits not losses!!.. It is the same no matter what company is involved, no accountability. If the people in fact now support financially this and other companies then the people should be able to decide what if any bonus is paid, period. Take the bonus money and turn it into benefits for the unemployed or better yet, put it to work and put our people back to work. The rich just keep getting richer off the backs of the people who don't have it to pay in the first place. This company should be shut down for ethical/moral reasons in the face of the worst financial crisis we have seen to put millions in the pockets of just a few...........with our money.

Greywolfe57

AND..........what about the hundreds of millions that AIG is pouring in to Stowe Mountain Resort. Stowe was a Hank Greenberg pet project. who's funding that project now??!?!? Uh....me and you and the rest of the american public. somebody please stop all of this nonsense.

This agreement regarding the bonuses was NOT made by this administration - it was made during Bush's administration and is legally binding.

That does not mean, however, that future agreements will be as lax and give money to those who do not deserve it. That is one reason the auto makers' deal is so restrictive - to prevent situations such as this one.

SYGH, Your post was somewhat disjointed and erraticand more a reflection of anger and betrayal, an honest emotion I'll admit but one that gives no ideas or solutions to a problem that few if any of we citizens and voters can understand. This is a malady compounded and used by our elected officials of both parties to in some way, in various degrees, to hide their complicity in this fiasco, to use it to further their own and their party's agendas, and to take more of the power that formerly rested with the American people into their keeping. In closing let me say that at the beginning of this note, you probably thought this was a condemnation of your post. Far from it. You expressed feelings and emotions that most if not all of us are feeling now. I especially liked the part about the porta-potty cleaning. Please, keep it up, and don't hold back so much next time.

Don't just blog here-go to congress.org and email the President and your representatives. Let them know how angry you are. Let them know their job is on the line, too.

How can these people sleep at night, makes me sick to my stomach. Let them go under and put their portion of bailout moneies into helping the growing number of people that are unemployed!!

It has become just so clear that the folks running AIG have no moral center whatsoever. They don't even have simple patriotism or any notion of personal responsibility or they'd all refuse bonuses this year and all others until the company is solvent. Letting AIG and others that received bailout funds before the Obama administration's rules took effect keep bonuses, etc. is a simple cop-out. If your company loses money then no one should be rewarded. Period.

I run a 100-million dollar company, and while it will be difficult, I will do my best to try to make sure that none of our policies are underwritten or supported by AIG or its subsidiaries. At the least, I will seek to minimize AIG's "contact" with my company.

These are some greedy, sick puppies.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7886780711843120756&ei=mfy4SfzXApHEqQLw6-35Ag&q

watch this video on Google, about the Federal reserve, the Bilderberg group.

These guys are so full of SH_T!! I had a contract with my company, too. At the bottom of each page of that contract it said wssentially `The company has the right to alter the contents of this program at any time, with the apoproval of the Board of Directors.'

AIG can do the same thing, that is standard operating procedure for ANY corporation. If they say different, they are lying.

yeah, this is pretty insane.....what the heck kind of contracts did AIG write up that can still require bonus payments to company employees that did nothing but run the business into the ground? I need that job for sure.......completely burn the place down and yet still be able to get paid a nice bonus for "legally binding contractual reasons". Top quality......

is anyone else noticing this new trend of........ohhhh, okay, well this will be the last time something like this is allowed to go through and we'll make sure it is not this way in the future.......kind of like when the omnibus bill was signed into law with the earmarks being touted as the signal to an end to that type spending.......I guess that as long as one promises to not do something again, it makes it kind of okay in some planet far far away.

there is your stimulus money at work Amerika.............and somehow it is the republican's that do nothing but take care of the rich!!! hahahahahahaaaaaaa

and I don't want to hear any of you guys on here trying to say anything about this not being Obama's responsibility because I assure you that you would all be claiming every employee of AIG to be a close personal friend of Bush if he were still in office and this kind of crap was going on.......

How can these people sleep at night, makes me sick to my stomach. Let them go under and put their portion of bailout moneies into helping the growing number of people that are unemployed!!

pay them in AIG stock and keep our money in the company.

Most employment contracts have employment at will by both the employer and employee, just let these useless pieces of trash go. There are plenty of people looking for jobs, but no, the cronyism at AIG would never let that happen. While I go out downtown, several nights a week, to bring hot meals and something warm to drink to the dozens of homeless people (most of them recently homeless) These immoral, dumber than stumps, idiots at AIG are sipping champagne , toasting their bonuses. While congress is taking their raises (which they took in January) I, and many like me, are making sure a child has something in their little bellies before they go to bed. People, can't you see the socialistic undertones going on here? The corporate elitist and our crooked government is screwing the working people of this country and beating us into submission. They are taking everything we have and taking for themselves (large bonuses). Someone in this post said we gave them a loan and it will be paid back, well , if this is so, let them take their bonuses when we the people, are paid back. This is a sin. While I am not going to sit here and say that AIG's situation is obama's fault, it is not, but if these bonuses go thru, I will say this is on him. He needs to stop his bush bashing, we all have our opinions on that topic, one way or the other, it is old news, these bonuses are today, and he needs to stop it. if he does not, well what makes him any different with big business and special interests? No change at all. Very , Very sad. Many of us were truly hoping we would see change. Lobbyist are strong as ever, that has not and will not change under Obama, it was all smoke. With no change coming, we are in for some very dreary years ahead. Our country is the sewer of the world thanks to companies like AIG and our ever crooked, uncaring, unscrupulous, den of thieves congress. They should be arrested on treason.

I doubt that Obama or the government have any legal recourse here to stop the bonuses. They can tell AIG that they will not get another penny of bailout money. I say tell AIG that enough is enough and they must sink or swim without any more help from the tax payers. Let these bright over paid AIG employees figure a way out of the MESS this company has created. It was greed that put these BOZOS in the position they are in. They need to pay the piper and I hope it's with their jobs.

Hmmmmmmmmm Tell the CEO if AIG pays these bonuses contract or not the US government will fine them another 165 million dollars.

Recruit and retain the brightest people. Quote of the year I'd say. I just got unemployed and I was making 10.00 and hour protecting the buildings these "bright" people work in. And do they care about me...not even a second thought!!!

I know there are contracts in place, but i do feel the government can trump these contracts based on the money we have given these criminals. I still do not understand why no arrests have been made. I feel very strongly that the overwhelming harm that AIG has done to our economy, trumps any contract, and think there would be some loophole somewhere, to stop these treasonous thieves from stealing anymore of our money. If we just let AIG sink, we will be left holding the bag while the useless scum makes off with millions of our dollars. The government needs to step in to protect it's interest in this company, paying bonuses is not a prudent thing at this stage of the game. I know I sound extremely ignorant in my post, but I am just sooo very angry at this.

Un-frickin-believable!!

how can they say talented people when these are the same ones that caused the company to need tax payers dolars.i find this absolutely disgusting that the government would give tax payers dolars to pay for bonuses to thee ceos they are so over paid and greedy i cant stand anyone of them .if they had an ounce of decency in their bodies they wouldnt accept the money from minimum wagers,they should confiscate everything they have from ripping the companies off all this time.my personal feeling is they are all a bunch of crooks the more money they get the greedier they are.people living on the streets and in tents and they have the gall to rake millions more.is there noaccountability in the large banks insurance comp anymore.i rest my case

It is time that the owners...the taxpayers....fire all execs at AIG for fruad and theft. And because our treasury secretary refuses to protect our interests....he needs to go to. Anyone in government who refuses to stand up for the people will be removed from office either by vote or indictment....The American people are fed up.....mad as hell....and out of patience....

"Liddy said in his letter that "quite frankly, AIG's hands are tied""

I'm sorry Mr. Geithner, but I'm oligated to give myself that big bonus, even if I did lose $65 Billion for the company.

I have to agree. AIG has done a wonderful job hiring the greatest and brightest of people to run the company. They have run it right to the ground. The government needs to quit giving these companies money to keep them afloat. Let them go belly up. There will be others with brighter people to take their place. The government might even realize all of a sudden they have enough money to keep from adding new taxes! Like that would ever happen.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0309/20013.html

read you angry liberals

I just don't understand how you can get a bonus for poor performance!!!!!

Ok, they don't deserve this, but yet they pulled it off. The no talent, greedy individuals get bonus's for failing. Playing the blame game is useless,, it's a done deal. These guys saw it all coming and they wrote the laws to utterly, (and legally) rape the U.S. population while walking away with millions.

My question is, where do I sign up? It's the only way I'll see any of my tax money ever again.

Contractual obligations
In a letter to Geithner dated Saturday, Liddy informed Treasury that outside lawyers had informed the company that AIG had contractual obligations to make the bonus payments and could face lawsuits if it did not do so.

Liddy said in his letter that "quite frankly, AIG's hands are tied" although he said that in light of the company's current situation he found it "distasteful and difficult" to recommend going forward with the payments.

Liddy said the company had entered into the bonus agreements in early 2008 before AIG got into severe financial straits and was forced to obtain a government bailout last fall.

The large bulk of the payments at issue cover AIG Financial Products, the unit of the company that sold credit default swaps, the risky contracts that caused massive losses for the insurer.

A white paper prepared by the company says that AIG is contractually obligated to pay a total of about $165 million of previously awarded "retention pay" to employees in this unit by Sunday, March 15. The document says that another $55 million in retention pay has already been distributed to about 400 AIG Financial Products employees.

The company says in the paper it will work to reduce the amounts paid for 2009 and believes it can trim those payments by at least 30 percent.

Dear. Mr.Geithner ,

Please do your job..You have one chance to prove your worth with your Boss(Mr.Obama)... Bad Business does not get paid, Why do you let AIG push you around. We need strong leadership now. If you cave in ..That will send a message to the world and Fellow Americans.

Ask Mr.Obama what would he do if he was not President... You are in the seat of power. Show them the door . Please ask for Cashier Check back payable to The Treasury Department.....

DreamSquashers911

Contractual obligations
In a letter to Geithner dated Saturday, Liddy informed Treasury that outside lawyers had informed the company that AIG had contractual obligations to make the bonus payments and could face lawsuits if it did not do so. So what...Ask Madoff Victims

Liddy said in his letter that "quite frankly, AIG's hands are tied" although he said that in light of the company's current situation he found it "distasteful and difficult" to recommend going forward with the payments. Ask him to set aside.. Don't the Government own 80% AIG.. American People are there Bosses///

Liddy said the company had entered into the bonus agreements in early 2008 before AIG got into severe financial straits and was forced to obtain a government bailout last fall. Did they tell you about the Bonus before the bailout?

The large bulk of the payments at issue cover AIG Financial Products, the unit of the company that sold credit default swaps, the risky contracts that caused massive losses for the insurer. ASK THE INSUER'S TO APPROVE BONUS. Can they sue AIG for losses?

A white paper prepared by the company says that AIG is contractually obligated to pay a total of about $165 million of previously awarded "retention pay" to employees in this unit by Sunday, March 15. The document says that another $55 million in retention pay has already been distributed to about 400 AIG Financial Products employees.

The company says in the paper it will work to reduce the amounts paid for 2009 and believes it can trim those payments by at least 30 percent. Thats funny, please no more comedy today..

I feel they are Educated THIEVES, Pure and Simple!! The sad part is because they have degrees, Sheep Shins, they call them. They seem to be untouchable. My question is how and why?? Let a blue collar tax payer get caught stealing anything and see what happens to him!!! Should the blue collar tax payer fraud on paying his taxes?? WOOO!!
How many legislators have been caught recently in tax evasion, several here lately, what did they do to them? Slapped their fingers and told not to do it again!!
The whole system is CORRUPT!! Should the truth be known there are probably many Congress men & women getting kick backs, Under the table money from A.I.G.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Totally agree, I thought you deserved a bonus when a goal was met. For AIG to have put themselves in this situation they need to revise their contract clauses. Bonuses are largely set to entice the "best leaders". Well! Sorry to burst your bubble but something is really wrong when executive that "fell asleep at the wheel" are rewarded with hundred of thousands of dollards, cuz it's in the contract. I'm tired of all these grey areas. I wish I would get a bonus just for showing up at work too! This smells soooo bad!

hey, CRAFTY GREED is still supported/ backed by the US of A..these guys will retire on this bailout/ bonus money..its no darn wonder, most Americans live in fear and distrust of this ELITE SYSTEM, only for them.. that's whats it's all about !!..........

It takes great talent to fail. Often it is more difficult to get on your Marx, get set, and stop than it is to proceed, leapfrogging in their hierarchy. It takes great manipulation to lose at certain times in order to maintain position. After all, the cost of caste is great.

TELL THEM TO SUE...........!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DRAG IT OUT FOR YEARS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IF AIG is still around , and they loose with Unemployed Americans on the jury (I'd be surprised)

then they can get in line to collect !!!!

one more thing...

If they sued , WE'd have their names & addresses... I doubt they'd sue...

This is outrageous! Giving these employees tax money for bonuses. Bonuses are over and above wages and ARE optional. AIG needs to fail!!!!

Take that money back and use it somewhere else!

Important words:

Rothschild Family
British Royals
American Establishment (Jews, Influential Catholics, Episcopalians)

After all, the inmates will never be allowed to run the asylum.

"There will always be those who will do anything in order to maintain the status quo." A. Hitler. 1922 (many years before he had killed anyone)

Before it's all over, all people should obtain a copy of Mein Kampf and READ IT.

This is not the first time AIG Chairman Edward Liddy have abuse power or taxpayer's money. See attached link:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/7112460/House-Oversight-Letter-to-AIGs-Liddy

In this letter there is the address to AIG. I request everyone to inundate this scumbag to return the bailout funds and have figure out how to appease his equally unconscienscious, greedy and selfish senior cohorts - who makes me wonder if he is actually paying off blackmail or something of that sort. IF he is 'supposedly' smart and talented he should be able to figure out his own friggin bonus problems. Otherwise, I feel that he deserves the Madoff treatment. He is acting like Carl Rove dancing around the subpeona to testify. As far as I am concerned, somebody need to investigate Liddy and his connections.

here is a link to all our governors

http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga

here is a link to your congressman

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

here is a link to your senator, make sure you write to both your Junior & Senior Senators they are both equally important…

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

here is the info to call the treasury dept 202-622-2000

and here is the (dont laugh) report Fraud, Abuse , Waste HOTLINE !!!

• Telephone: 1-800-359-3898

  Facsimile: 202-927-5799

• Mail:
  Treasury Hotline
  Office of Inspector General
  1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  Washington, D.C. 20220
• Email: hotline@oig.treas.gov

IN LIFE IT DOESN'T MATTER WHO STARTS A FIGHT...

IT MATTERS WHO FINISHs IT....

LETS FINISH IT...

RIP APART YOUR CONGRESSMAN , THE TREASURY, YOUR SENATOR, THE WHITEHOUSE, YOUR GOVERNOR,

until this is Revoked, Refunded, and Squashed...

AIG

USA contact #877-638-4244...

DONT threathen them...let them know calmly you want to talk to Edward Liddy -

let him KNOW...

We WANT those who feel they are "due" a bonus for almost taking down the worlds financial system, we WANT them to sue us....

if he pays these bonus out and doesn't recover the one's already issued WE will move to have him fired immediately...

let it go belly up . not main street , wall street or washington d.c can keep bailout a.i.g.

Let me get this straight. According to a 3/15/09 Associated Press article on, AIG’s top 50 executives will receive approximately $5.6 million in bonuses, “with the average payment (being) around $112,000.” I am assuming the bonuses are paid for their previous year’s “performance.”

Of course, these are the same “top executives” who for the last year (or so) oversaw a now obviously failing institution – with losses in the billions of dollars.

My question is why is AIG rewarding these “top executives” for failure? As one of millions of taxpayers footing this bailout, I am owed an explanation.

In the same article, AIG Chairman Edward Liddy stated the following in a letter to Treasury Secretary (?) Geithner: “We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff the AIG businesses … if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury.”

So AIG’s “best and brightest” help lead the company into failure, and they are rewarded? If those are their “best and brightest,” perhaps AIG should go back to the drawing board in hiring their “top execs.”

But more importantly, shouldn’t bonuses be structured on company profits? Shouldn’t AIG be “rewarding” top executives after they’ve proven their worth? That is how the company I work for operates. When the company profits, its top performers profit. It should be that simple.

Kurt! Thanks for the fraud - abuse hotline. I will be calling and so should all of you Newsviner's.

Liddy said the company had entered into the bonus agreements in early 2008 before AIG got into severe financial straits and was forced to obtain a government bailout last fall.

Theft and fraudulant activity is going on here. To think AIG will be asking for billions to bail them out (liars) only to pay out bonus's!!!!!!!!! Give me a break! I'm calling and writing!

Bonuses to the brightest in AIG, What a bunch of BS. They're the ones that got it to where its at, and they should be compensated, for doing a bad job? When the government wakes up and lets these companies fail, then we'll have a start at recovery. We can't keep pumping money into failing and mismanaged companies. There are plenty of companies out there that don't need a handout to keep them in business. It's not the taxpayer's responsibility to support poor management in these companies, banks or car makers.

Rich-300568,

That was quite an interesting article. So, just to be clear, Cheyney is saying Obama is taking advantage of a crisis to promote a larger agenda? Sounds eerily familiar to me...let's use 9/11 to circumvent the constitution, attack an unrelated nation, destroy it, then use my company to rebuild it. How soon we forget...

dn-austin WRONG. Blaming all the wrong people, as usual. First, Basic High School Government Class, President does not act Unilaterally, Congress holds the "Purse Strings". It was during the last two years that the Congress was Controlled by the Democratic Party. Ask the now Secretary of State, Hillary, why the idiots in Congress removed the Laws (Safeties) to prevent another 1907 Depression and 1929-1939 Great Depression, that allowed the formation of the International Swaps and Derrivatives Association Incorporated (at Delaware, a VP Biden Constituent and Campaign Contributor), isda.org. This was the real reason for the current "Global Economic Crisis" with investors (minority) in ISDA making 60-100 Trillion USD, and others (majority) losing 60-100 Trillion USD.

I warned the Democratic Party controlled Congress that this kind of thing would happen and all I got back was a form letter, essentially stating "don't worry be happy", and promisings "that every cent of taxpayer money would be accounted for". You are also blaming the wrong person again about our jobs leaving the US, again ask Hillary, her husband and 1994 NAFTA. If you even mention something stupid like Iraq, again ask Hillary about her husband, 1998, H.R.4655, "Regime Change", Declaration of current War at Iraq, first US Military Operation Desert Fox, December 1998.

Put into perspective who do you think geographically benefitted from these Bailouts for Electoral College Votes, stop being naive.
http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article_busweek.aspx?cp-documentid=10856357&gt1=35000
http://realestate.msn.com/slideshow.aspx?cp-documentid=10857148

So what are all these Bailouts about. Payback. That is why they were so "critical", Election, and proved so far that they have not done anything to improve the US Economy and cannot due to the ISDA (the genie is out of the bottle and those Laws to prevent another Depression cannot be put back in place). As early as 1990, with written papers, 1993, to Government I warned about this occuring between 2006 and 2010.

Who do you think bought the Electoral College Votes? You thought they were anti Corporation? LOL. Who's constituents do you think these are? (list from September 2008, previous posts).

Delaware: Freddie Mac, Fanny Mae, Bank of America, Wilmington Trust, First USA / Bank One / JPMorgan Chase, AIG, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Barclays plc, GM, Chrysler, Wachovia, ExxonMobil, Chevron, ISDA, and those States with Corporations Incorporated at Delaware.

Especially, ISDA. The People that brought you: the 60 to 100 Trillion USD (it is not 700 Billion USD US Economic Crisis) Global Economic Crisis. These people will be back for more just like GM, Ford, Chysler, September 2008, 25 Billion, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, to milk the cash cow. updated add: AIG, Billions USD. The 60 to 100 Trillion USD does not include the usary interest protected by the Delaware Court of Chancery.

Greatest Magic Trick of the Century. How to make Billions of USD of Bailout Money Disappear and Reappear in someones campaigh funds. Most Corporation have a Campaign Contribution Fund Account that is used to donate money to the Candidates that will best match the Corporations Goals and Policies. This is the normal cost of doing business in the United States of America. Incorporation Laws of Delaware will protect the Corporation and make it "above the law" and no public scruteny. So the Corporation donates the money overtly (thru Lobbists) and covertly (annomously, individuals, subsidary Companies) this is also legal. The corporations ask for a sign of cooperation from the canidate that they bought. They want the money back to fill their campaign coffers. Those involved pass the Bailout Bill into Law. So here we are.

Why do you think it is called, "Corporate America".

Also the Electoral Colleges must be eliminated for the reasons that this is no longer the days of our Founding Fathers. A time when information and news took years to be disseminated. According to the records of the meetings to start the Electoral College System. The intent was to make the large population areas and other factors balance. This was defeated by Gerrymandering. The intent that was not really stated publicly but was recorded in the meetings, "the common person is not well enough informed as to deciding whom the Highest Offices in the Land are, President and Vice President". It no longer takes years for information to go from source to citizen and we are not stupid.

If the Electoral Colleges are eliminated then the other consideration that must be also considered is the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act must be made into a Law. No longer optional, and no loop holes. This will make it impossible for corporations to buy the election. This would go hand in hand with the passage of a Law making Lobbists illegal, what gives a Corporation or Organization the right to have more access, influence, or votes than each citizen.

Even the system of how we vote needs to be changed (reformed). As stated during a Public Service Commercial, "more people voted in a singing contest, than voted, please vote". Ok, we know that the American Idol means of voting works. Before someone says "hackers", they have a choice life imprisonment at Guantanimo or work catching more hackers. This will also allow for the direct voting on almost every issue. This would be based on Social Security Numbers of the Federal Data Bases. This way we would only need one representative from each state and an alternate. This way the corporations cannot buy (bribe, "put on payroll") all of us.

Down to the State level of electing our representatives. This is done using a system similar to the current selection for Jury Duty. This will not be a luxery Duty or Service. The each State will own a "middle income" home at DC. Where the representative will be moved there at government expense, similar to the US Military Housing, all equal. The pay will be "middle class" based on an averaging of all States. After duty, service is completed they will be returned back from where they came from. Do a bad job? What will the neighbors do? How is that for a motivator to truely do a good job. Special interest bribes to Campaign Contribution will do nothing, since there will be no campaign. Read as wasted money.

As the current system is to defeat the population issue, if a candidate wanted to win? Go to California, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. and sign up ALL workers with drivers licenses, birth certificates, social security numbers, etc. irregardless of if they are legal or not.

Based on the current Electoral College System, it is President Obama, and Vice President Biden. Stated in September 2008.

What must be done for those that do not know that Presidents cannot act unilaterally and that there are three branches of Government. We also must vote the incumbents out, no matter what party, otherwise government as usual.

You think this administration is really that great. H.R.1955 and S.1959, March 2009, aka "Thought Crime Laws""1984". Supported by then Senator Obama, Senator H. Clinton, etc.. YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS, and anything you say (witnessed) or write (including here) can be used to label you as a "Homegrown Domestic Terrorist".

How about this http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29666229, "Congress still slated to get automatic pay hike". Ask Pelosi, Barney Frank.

By the way will all of you stop saying "Leaders", "Leadership" when mentioning Politicians. That just degrades the US Military term (what I do as an Officer). Anytime someone equates Leadership or Team work to sports teams they have no clue. One of the indicators that I use to figure out if someone is a Leader or not is if they ever use that stupid saying, "There is no "I" in Team". Good, they know how to spell. In Special Warfare, the "I"s: "Individuality"(Strengths and weaknesses), "Initative" (do what is right without being told or ordered), "Intelligence" (individual "common sense", tactical, strategic knowledge), "Ingenuity"(think outside the box to get out of situation or get mission accomplished, "think on one's feet"), "Integrity" ("man up" to mistakes, credit where credit is due), there are many many more. But you get what I mean. And before you argue about the sports teams, best players that money can buy gone, what happens to the supposed "team". When they fail they go home. When we fail we come home in US Flag drapped metal coffins. US Military trains Leaders, Civilians train "Managers" (beaurcrates, paper shufflers).

Other basic US Military Leadership, that will never happen in the "Civilian World". "Lead by example", "share and endure the hardships (of those you lead)". See any of those "Leaders" at D.C. doing any of this. If they did then they would have been screaming at the top of their lungs to stop the automatic payraises and all their benefits until we get out of this recession (depression). Their is your "proof", "managers" not "Leaders".

FORMER FED AGENT. Naive. Give the States Money is like flushing it down the toilet. How about all that Tobacco Settlement Money (Product Liability) use to do everything EXCEPT treat the "victums" of the Product. How about States investments in the Tobacco Industry. Look it up. New jobs my arse. This is another payback for Unions. Look that up also. The only time that States spend money (and not on their automatic pay raises) is when someone mandates the use of the money with threats of no money, then they scream "States Rights". Stop being so idealistic, take the rose colored glasses off, take a few less tokes of that medical marijunana. Throw money at the Education Unions, US Education highest paid internationally, least results internationally and therefore Non Competitive Internationally. So yes, President Obama was correct in demanding a result based Education and increased standards. If you do not think I know what I am talking about, previously in the US Military I was a course writer/instructor/evaluator Nuclear Physics. Now in Special Warfare, one of our primary missions is to train the trainers (teachers). Between missions I teach Afghan children at the school that I helped the Northern Afghan villagers build.

Why is AIG so important. Who manages the Congressional Retirements.

Put them in same jails os bubba the butt bumper, shank them, beat them with wips and cains!

This country club prisoin crap is why they do what they do.

And the goiverment does have power to impose how the money is to be spent! Only money earned should a person have the right to choose how to spen.

But money lent form tax dollars we the people can tell them how to spend it!

It is criminal for them to give that money to them selves as bonus money! It is criminal because it is fraud!

Yes fraud to mislead someone into giving you money!

They said they needed money to bail out there account holders, that they lost there stock holders money, and they lost the money people had in reserve as insurance policies with them. The money given to them was to replace the lost money only!

To give out the money to themselves is the same stealing it and they should be jailed in the same prisons as gang bangers, childmolesters and rapest!

add to 1.124. The easy way out. Fire all the idiots at AIG whose names are on the Contracts. Therefore, the party of the first part, etc no longer exist as a "representative of AIG" and negates the contract. Simple.

The bosses refuse, fire them, no golden parachutes for any (just push them off the top of the building or firing squad for "high" treason (no trial required) and crimes against the people of the US).

The "libertarian" "Free-market/Trickle down" theory of economics (They called it "Laisse Faire" then) as espoused by Mr. Mellon who was treasury sec. and president Coolidge during the 1920's after, As everyone knows, their stewardship of the economy resulted in a growing inequality of wealth, the stock market crashed and we got ten years of the Great Depression (they sound just like Milton Friedman or Ronald Reagan):

Andrew Mellon (Treasury Secretary, 1921-1932): "The properity of the lower and middle classes depends upon the good fortune and light taxes of the rich."

Calvin Coolidge: "Wealth is the product of industry, ambition, character and untiring effort. In all experience, the accumulation of wealth means the multiplication of schools, the increase of knowledge, the dissemination of intelligence, the encouragement of science, the broadening of outlook, the expansion of liberty, the widening of culture." (sounds exactly like Milton Friedman or Ronald Regean)

The last 30 years (through Democratic and Republican administrations) have been similar to the 1920's as far as the philosophy of our political and business leadership (and growing inequality of wealth and the resulting economic crash):

Julian Robertson (Wall Street investment manager who made over $500 million in 1997): "Everybody here is overpaid, knows they are overpaid and is determined to continue to be overpaid."

Phil Gramm (former Texas Senator, July 14, 2000): "What's wrong with being rich in America?"

Senator Jim Webb, Senator (Jan. 23, 2007): "When I graduated from college, the average corporate CEO made 20 times what the average worker did. Today, it's nearly 400 times. In other words, it takes the average worker more than a year to make the money his or her boss makes in one day."

Joel H. Rassman, Toll Bros. CFO (2006, explaining CEO Robert I. Toll's $20 million compensation while shareholders were suffering a 22 percent loss: "I have yet to meet the person who has enough money."

Ivan Boesky (junk bond pioneer and convicted felon, 1986): "You can be greedy and still feel good about yourself."

My own states "Governator": Arnold Schwarzenegger (discussing the trials of owning your own Gulfstream jet, after deciding to lease instead.): "You have the pilots at your throat about vacation, that their wife is pregnant, why can't they have New Years Eve off? It's on and on and on."

Populist Louisiana Governor and presidential candidate Huey " The kingfish" Long speaks (no wonder they shot him):

Huey P. Long (1893-1935): "Unless you redistribute the wealth of a country into the hands of the people every fifty years, your country's got to go to ruination. Too many men running things that think they're smarter than the Lord."

Quotations about economic inequality by Philosophers and others:

G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936): "The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly. The rich have always objected to being governed at all."

Plutarch: "An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics."

Plato (427-347 B.C.): "Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another." (The Republic)

Plato (427-347 B.C.): "The form of law which I propose would be as follows: In a state which is desirous of being saved from the greatest of all plagues -- not faction, but rather distraction -- there should exist among the citizens neither extreme poverty nor, again, excessive wealth, for both are productive of great evil . . . Now the legislator should determine what is to be the limit of poverty or of wealth."

Matthew Arnold (1822-1888): "Our inequality materializes our upper class, vulgarizes our middle class, brutalizes our lower class."

Honore de Balzac (1799-1850): "Behind every great fortune is a crime."

Warren Buffett: "I personally think that society is responsible for a very significant percentage of what I've earned. If you stick me down in the middle of Bangladesh or Peru or someplace, you'll find out how much this talent is going to produce in the wrong kinds of soil."

Andrew Greeley (Chicago Sun-Times, February 18, 2001): "It should be no surprise that when rich men take control of the government, they pass laws that are favorable to themselves. The surprise is that those who are not rich vote for such people, even though they should know from bitter experience that the rich will continue to rip off the rest of us. Perhaps the reason is that rich men are very clever at covering up what they do."

George Bernard Shaw (1928): "Perhaps you know some well-off families who do not seem to suffer from their riches. They do not overeat themselves; they find occupations to keep themselves in health; they do not worry about their position; they put their money into safe investments and are content with a low rate of interest; and they bring up their children to live simply and do useful work. But this means that they do not live like rich people at all, and might therefore just as well have ordinary incomes.

AIG's argument that they must adhere to these compensation bonuses is pure Bull @!$%#!

I would like to know exactly what performance marks these guys hit to deserve a bonus.

This company is going belly up. The exces are trying to get all they can while they can. They know it will never have to be repaid. Short the hell out of this stock. They should go to jail for what they are doing, but that will never happen. That's no sign we shouldn't make a killing off of the governments' stupidity.

Bill Carson you need to break that into 4 postings not one, there is way to much in there for most folks...

I love the qoutes too...

Talented Employees? How could anyone who has managed a company into these massive losses be considered a talent that the company cannot afford to lose? This is totally illogical.

I propose the press to publish photographs of each of these bonus receiving executives together with the exact dollar amount paid to each! Should not be a secret, correct?

You can have your money, or your principles...seems you have made your choice, so quit whining!

Wow - you can't manage 10% of your annual bill? You got bigger problems than AIG.

And Jirby - think for a minute - they have LEGAL CONTRACTS with their employees. This is the fault of our STUPID CONGRESS, as they had no idea what they were doing when they loaned this money of OURS and still have no idea.

Why didn't anyone in Washington DC check with a lawyer before they loaned out all these hundreds of billions to see what could and could not legally be done in terms of limiting pay, bonuses, etc..

Some of you sound like you have zero business or legal experience and even less sense.

Paul F

You may be right in that this is all manipulation of the law and /or lack of, so maybe we should redefine terrorism and treason to include economic clauses that include the destabilizing of the American economy and world economy's, J.P. Morgan and friend's are sitting on three trillion in reserves, Morgan Stanley was this nations largest owner of oil the last year and a half and even though there was less demand and no shortage of oil the last year and a half, they were able to manipulate $145.00 a barrel causing tremendous grief to this economy and the people of this nation and the world. I don't care how inside the law this may have been its criminal and it is not free market, if it was the supply and demand would take care of pricing, I don't think this is really what most Americans think they bargained for in the rhetoric of the phrase "free market system". I for one would feel justice would be served if some of these Bankers, Investment funds,Wall Street sellers,Mortgage companies heads, all woke every morning for the next twenty years and had to think of soap on a rope.

Our government wont let AIG go belly up becase they back the government pension fund.  That is why these clowns keep giving out bonuses.  They feel they are bullet proof. 

According to a story in our local yokel paper, AIG backs more than govt worker pensions, but also life insurance products that if AIG fails, there would be older folks just SOL.

However, 4 time to the Federal trough - and then to pay bonuses, seems an outrage.

who the hell is going to be on the jury if these fs dared to sue aig for bonuss they got "knowingly" selling cds' products... me & you- does aig think we will allow these employees to win?????????? no...

they dont fear lawsuits, this is bs, they are all getting cash to pay off their houses so they will have years to re-group without loosing all they've stolen...

2 years ago selling a cds' was a safe bet, 1 year ago it was a crime against your own company -aig, bear stearns, lehmann bros- and since we are still paying out cdss is a crime against america. ouuuuutttrage..........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AND - Geithner WONT Disclose WHO AIG paid off with the previous $100+ Billions!!!

WTF???? they are taking OUR money and Paying off HEDGEFUNDS that finally figured ALL their CDO's were bad, and they bought CDSs at the last minute-last year in many cases,and instead of PAYG off all the Victims of the CDO's they are paying off HedgeFunds & JP Morgan,many of which also made a killing Naked Shorting the Banks into oblivion.

JP Morgan was in the room when AIG was negotiating with the government but Hank-Greenberg wasnt allowed in the room. Hank lost $2 Billion Dollars and his 30years at the bank were ignored - He said he thinks he could have saved AIG if they let him back in the door, but they were to interested in feeding JP Morgan again.

Everyone at the FED and JP Morgan needs to be tried and hung...

swamp the TREASURY Dept with calls... Tell AIG they need to revoke and or stop any further bonus' until they turn a profit... tell AIG go ahead RISK the lawsuits from those who "earned" bs' bonuses''' , your an Insurer , you are supposed to be able to determine Risk... you blew it on CDS's insuring CDO's... BUT Telling those "due" bonuses for selling bogus products and policies to go F themselves,,, because AIG would win in court guaranteed...

General Info 202-622-2000 TREASURY DEPT

oh they have a Fraud ,Waster and Abuse Hotline

• Telephone: 1-800-359-3898
• Facsimile: 202-927-5799
• Mail:
  Treasury Hotline
  Office of Inspector General
  1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  Washington, D.C. 20220

  Email: hotline@oig.treas.gov

STOP JABBERING AT EACH OTHER,,, SHUT DOWN THIS WING OF THE GOV TIL THEY BACK AIG INTO A CORNER...

Its over now, there is no one who will stand for this...

This thievery of tax dollars by AIG was enabled by Congress and this administration by deliberately failing to impose mandatory restrictions on the use of the latest "welfare" to AIG. Who in the hell is in charge of our tax dollars? The corporate elite are pulling the puppet strings of government and screwing us all while we just keep bending over for more. Geithner is like a little kid trying to please his masters in the corporate world by telling them " please sirs, try to curb the bonuses and perks so the American people don't get too upset. Be nice and we'll give you more but at least try to do the bonuses more discreetly."

http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/aig.asp

In response to your question as to whether AIG insures the US Congressional Trust, we don't. In fact, we've been told that no private company insures federal pensions such a product doesn't exist. Further, none of our financial services companies provide advisory services to Congress' pension fund. We've explored this issue at length with our business units and have found no connection whatsoever to the fund.

I'm not defending AIG just corecting a false myth

DD50, 2.5: They can transfer the life and auto polices to other insurance companies, I would rather subsidize that than subsidize bonuses for criminals, and the hell with the rest, let AIG go under. The people at AIG should be hung in a very public way, this is treason.

egbay - true on the auto - term life sure (for a price), but on the life instruments I'm not so sure - annuities and whole life - those AIG would have left as worthless as their bottom line, with no "FDIC" type protection, is my understanding. Personally, I wish they'd have let AIG go belly up - it could not have cost any more to the taxpayer than it already has - billions! What are these ninnies down to? I think they are at about 49 cents a share from about $70 a share a year ago. (And for this they are making bonus?? Sheesh.)

Corporate welfare is killing the taxpayer.

Well I do believe every tax payer has a legal lawsuit here for failure to disclose this little hidden contract of bonuses, and the fact they only plan to curb the bonus amounts in the future..Govt. screwed this one up big time, No money should have gone to them to begin with let alone for any bonuses, a contract of what and how it was allowed to be used should have been drawn up...This is pure BS ! I don't have this company and should not being paying for bonuses!!

I think throwing money at the people(stimulus checks) would have been much better idea at this point at least we would not be paying for every mistake an incompetent made !! They would have choice clean up your mess or don't, your on your own if ya screw it up, no more handouts!

Tad... all these funds were from Bush's initial Pay-Out...

we know you folks are trying to brain wash people for 2010 but save the rhetoric, no one bought it In November and no one is buying it now...

I don't think they have a choice as to paying these bonuses but they can certainly not retain anyone who accepts them. Let them find a job at Bear, no no, Lehmans, no no oh well, I guess they will just stay where they are...

Absolutely, and any executive who receives their bonus because of "legal contracts" would return it if they have the least little amount of moral value, they would create a legal method to return this money with no strings attached. If they don't, they are scumsuckers.

Here here...

mORAL vALUES..............................................................................YEAH RIGHT

Ok...let me try to explain it this way. These are NOT performance bonuses. These ARE retention bonuses. I am presently negotiating to sell one of my businesses (a chain of restaurants) and I NEED my upper management to remain in place while this moves along. I offered them X amount of dollars to stay on until the sale is completed as well as another set amount if the purchaser decides NOT to retain them. If they leave during this negotiation, I will lose the normal chain of orderly command that has made us the success that attracted the buyer.

I don't agree with what AIG is doing but if they negotiated the RETENTION bonus, they MUST pay it.

Canuck...these are undoubtebly different circumstances than your own. If you are selling one of your businesses then it must be worth something. This is a company that the US now has 30% ownership because it is worth less than nothing and nothing is what they should get and they should understand that they deserve nothing.

"...lawyers had informed the company that AIG had contractual obligations to make the bonus payments and could face lawsuits if it did not do so."

"The large bulk of the payments at issue cover the AIG Finance Products Unit. This was the unit that sold credit default swaps, the risky contracts that caused massive losses for the insurer.

A white paper prepared by the company says that AIG is contractually obligated to pay a total of about $165 million of previously awarded “retention pay” to employees in this unit by Sunday, March 15. The document says that another $55 million in retention pay has already been distributed to about 400 AIG Finance Products employees."

So let me get this straight. The guaranteed contracts the UAW employees have with the auto companies are mistakenly blamed for the downfall of the Big 3--even though the economy, $4/gallon gas and mismanagement by the upper echelons are the main factors. A blue-collar guy working his butt off doing manual labor so he can take home a mid-5 figure paycheck with decent health insurance and retirement packages gets pilloried all over the Web, and everyone calls for him to be cut back to minimum wage with crappy benefits. Remember, this guy has no say in which cars are built, what kind of fuel efficiency they have, how much is spent on marketing, etc. UAW workers take orders and do the work asked of them, period.

But these guys making 6-figure base salaries and 7-figure bonuses while dismantling our entire economy with their gambling and greed need to have their contracts honored for some reason. And these people worked in the very division that brought AIG down, no less. They are directly responsible for the problem, but heaven forbid AIG backs out of its contractual obligation after taking $170 billion in government bailout funds--i.e cash free and clear, never to be repaid--that were an order of magnitude greater than the $13.4 billion in government loans taken by GM.

So we screw the guy who actually works with his hands and makes a tangible product that most of us use every day, but pamper the guy who sits in a business suit and never gets dirty or sweaty while he earns his paycheck playing with imaginary credit default swaps and other "financial derivatives". Nice.

Canuck with a puck

Ok...let me try to explain it this way. These are NOT performance bonuses. These ARE retention bonuses

So you are going to retain the people that caused the failure of AIG. WAKE UP. READ THE ARTICLE.

took43583 As far as the UAW, why do you think the Obese 3 used Lobbists to push for 1994 NAFTA. Think about it. And as far as determining what GM, Ford, Chrysler does nor does not do, can you say "Work Rules". Can you say non anynomous voting, and pressure, you "scab". Unions had their place in HISTORY. Especially, when they refused to take a pay cut, or face closures, Union refused, good bye Janesville Assembly Plant, take that check to the bank. Wait till GM, Chrysler implements their Restructuring Plans (as stated (testimony) to Congress) So, September 2008, 25 Billion USD Bailout (NOT A LOAN) used to retool by building new factory (not assembly plant) at Shanghai, China. Previous Bailout money since 1970s used to build Factories at Toluca, Mexico; Ontario, Canada; Machau, China and Shanghai, China. Previous Bailout Money also used for Congressional Lobbists to allow Obese 3 not to have to adhere to the terms, conditions, agreements of any Bailouts (including paying back the "Loans"). These terms, conditions, agreements pertained to Miles per Gallon (adhered to at European Divisions, GM Opel, Chrysler AG, Ford AG, special waiver required "Gas Hog Tax" for US Spec), Emission Standards (adhered to at European Divisions, special waiver for US Spec Only), International Safety Standards (adhered to at European Divisions, made US Specification Only Vehicles require special Safety waivers (non competitive)).

David,

Pushing for NAFTA so they could outsource labor by building factories in China and Mexico was the handiwork of the CEOs, not the union guys. Even non-union labor at the Southern US auto plants is expensive when compared to wages in China.

Hiring lobbyists to make sure the companies can wriggle out of their loan obligations, MPG requirements, emissions standards and safety features is also the handiwork of the CEOs. Blue-collar line workers have no dogs in those fights.

Unions did indeed have a place in history--and if we forget that, we will have the privilege of re-inventing the wheel someday. There are plenty of non-union workers being abused right here, right now, in spite of the labor laws that anti-union groups think are sufficient:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/02/los-angeles-cit.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28372433/

http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/16202/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29034204/

http://suburbanjournals.stltoday.com/articles/2009/02/10/stcharles/news/0211stc-prop00.txt

http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20090131/OPINION02/901310308

http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2009/01/26/daily32.html

Would they rather have a paycheck or no job at all? Let AIG go down the tubes and let some other company take their place. I still don't know why they deserve bonuses. If someone can explain that to me.

The article states they are "honoring" their contracts and that it's the only way to continue to lure the britest and the best. LIARS AND CHEATS! THIEVES! Who would want to work for you now???????????

GET OUT!~

We aught to take you down brick by brick! You have no rights left but our government bailed you out anyway! You should be eating DIRT you scumbags! You and your Rockefeller chronies! Look at what your "Empire" looks like now! You've raped the world, you've touted environment and what have you done, destroyed more, stolen more, dislocated more. MORE< MORE< MORE!! You've given these mega-coporations carte blanc and sliced the world up into destroyable pieces crippleing government after government in corporate legal battle takeovers. You've sliced the US in half. You've sold your very souls! Are you satisfied? No doubt it.

GO to hell.

Amen!!

thank you Bush administration. I see your wealthy friends are up to the same old bs!

bdorgle

thank you Bush administration. I see your wealthy friends are up to the same old bs!

wasn't Bush. See post # 1.124.

They didn't recieve money to prop their business up. They recieved money because the bonus jar was empty

What UAWorkers get is a drop in the bucket. We all know what it costs to live today. I say rip the executive pay levels down to workers' levels and pay everyone enough to survive on. How about everyone that works get the same pay? Sounds like a plan to me. No one is above the next guy.

not at these firms anyway...

I've had times where I made way more than my employees, but I started a company and created jobs,,, I risked my kids future, our housing, our credit reports and my kids didnt get to play Tball or LittleLeague, because at first I had no time or money and then I still had no time.

Entreprenuers deserve to WIN, not CEO's hired AFTER a company is already succesful, who the hell needs a suit with a degree , after you ran in the Red and destroyed your credit and have already turned that all around and are now in the Black again. Business school won't teach you jackchit about which bills to pay when the phone and the lights are both getting shut off tomorrow... I figured it out... you pay the phone bills and leave the windows and hallway doors open, bring lamps... whatever... You can't live without phones...

I'll lay you odds none of the Ivy League geniusS would pass my litmus test...

"oh they might sue us",,, F them,,, AIG is none spineless all of a sudden? did they lay off all their trial lawyers ???

These idiots are laying off Insurance Agents and support staff in Woodland Hills Ca , hello idiots...old bonus plans wont bring in new $$$... Insurance Agents bring in revenue U f#cken morons...

$170million would keep 3,400 people at $50,000 each employed for 1 year!!!

F your bonus, how about trying to keep your company afloat...

ever since Kennedy got killed this country has gone to hell in a hand basket...

What can I do for my country... BUY AMERICAN... BEAT THE HELL out of TREASURY if they let this happen... POUND ON YOUR Congressman & Senator...

Actually, it was the bumbling idiots in Washington DC that gave away all this money without doing any due-diligence regarding how to limit pay, bonuses or any unnecessary spending. You see a bankruptcy judge would have had more sense than 435 reps and 100 senators and would have managed this kind of thing.

So all you haters, remember, AIG is balancing their financial mess with the legal issues regarding employment contracts.

This is 100% our GOVERNMENT's fault - with the dummy-in-chief at the helm.

Paul F: Yeah, it was your guy that started the bail out without any restrictions at all! And now someone must clean up the mess your guys started. And you want to look the other way???? Why did they not try to re-negotiate the employment contracts at AIG as did many other businesses????

Screw the contracts, Paul... Obama should step up and override them.

NJ to Miami.......sounds to me as if you're right on! You summed it up perfectly. Now what do we do?

I'm not going to sit back and allow these freakin' extortionists to handle my money, so I'm pulling out all investments.

Hope they end up eating out of dumpsters and sleeping on cardboard boxes!!!!!!

lets get a list of who got the bonus' and who gave them,,,,

we cant even get the FED to tell us who AIG paid the first $120Billion out to... Fn Bastards... AIG paid off CDS's (insurance policies on the CDO mortgages thr bundled mortgages Wall St ate up for 5 years) they sold AFTER they knew the Mortgages were useless...

Can I get an Insurance Policy after I have Cancer ? No.

Can I get an Insurance Policy AFTER i crash my car? NO.

then F these payouts on CDS's... F these bonuses and call the TREASURY and let them know...

Tim geithner 202-622-2000 fax 202-622-6415

and the Treasury Depts

FRAUD, ABUSE AND WASTE HOTLINE IS (dont laugh --- call them!!!)

( i know if we didnt laugh we'd cry or lash out even worse, so laugh , them call them)

TELL THEM LET AIG FORMER EMPLOYEES AND CURRENT CRY BABIES dare 2 SUE

• Telephone: 1-800-359-3898
• Facsimile: 202-927-5799
• Mail:
  Treasury Hotline
  Office of Inspector General
  1500 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
  Washington, D.C. 20220
• Electronic Form
• Email: hotline@oig.treas.gov

Made my call and email and will continue to do so untill it is no longer needed!

Yep, we should all call and email, AND call all these pundits to investigate Edward Liddy. He smell so fishy just like Paulson. There should be whistle blowers on these greedy scumbags.

I did as well Melissa and will do so again Monday...

Also I will call------ AIG and tell Edward Liddy we WANT those who feel they are DUE a bonus for almost causing a world wide depression a bonus to DARE to sue us, Americans will be on the jury, those employees will not win.

Calling my senators, congressman, governor, white house...

here is a link to all our governors

http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga

here is a link to your congressman

https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml

here is a link to your senator, make sure you write to both your Junior & Senior Senators they are both equally important…

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

new idea...

If you want to keep your job at AIG,

ALL of AIG Employees need to sign aWAIVER for any past due bonus's OR GET OUT TODAY...

I agree....I had to take a pay freeze this year and I work for one of the leading hotel companies in the world. We were kindly informed in December that management would not be getting any pay increases in 2009. If we the honest tax payers in this country get our pay frozen they should get theirs frozen or taken away all together!

As should all of our government representatives, as they certainly mis-managed a far bigger business than AIG, called the federal government.

Just imagine if AIG needed 3 TRILLION and still had no solution to their problems.

Congratulations Joann, welcome to the ranks of the very few who have figured out what American government is all about.

Now research the nature of the US Federal Reserve and its relationship to income tax.  You will then know that it is in fact a private bank that runs the US government.

When enough Americans realize this, the Second American Revolution will begin.

To get the basic story, go to Google Video and look up the video called From Freedom to Fascism".

This has been a Dr. Zook post: "Just enough truth to be believable."

If I remember history right, isn't what we're suffering with banks running everything virtually the same thing that Andrew Jackson (though no saint) said was the problem? Didn't he pull the government's money out of private financial institutions because of the greed and corruption?

Ron Paul wants to abolish the Federal Reserve , i support him in this , but I fear for his safety,,,

We need to march on our local Mayors, City Halls, Senators, Congressman, Governors and if your local- WhiteHouse, Federal Reserve Offices, House and Senate.

we need to pick a date and get it on...

Dr. Zook, While I admittedly oftentimes disagree with you, this is not one of those times. The FED and the criminal conspiracy that controls it are the root cause of this and many other crisis we've faced for many years now. To those out there that are still unaware, and it's easier to understand if you know, the FED is not associated with or a department of the FEDERAL government. It is a private entity that loans vast amounts of money to the US Government as well as others. The debt and massive interest is repaid with your taxes. You might ask yourselves why the FED has NEVER , since it's inception many years ago, never been AUDITED. The FED is no more a part of the federal government than FED-X. I wonder if JFK would still be alive if he hadn't attempted to nationalize the FED.

Ron Paul had it right but noone would listen, I am sure he does have target on his back, exposing the corruption.. Dr. Zook is very correct !!

I don't live where I can throw rotten vegies, any other suggestions?

I'll import, if you'll throw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a bunch of crock....'valued employees' my arse.

Valued for cheating and stealing and extortion, maybe....honest hard work, ethical responsibility, and accountability *NOT*!

One party system. Controlled by the people. Let the politicians run on promises to the people. We control by having 2 year elections and majority vote can demand a recall. IMMEDIATE RECALL. Crimes against one person=jail time. Crimes against the people=possible death sentence. This is our country, NOT THEIRS.

nice

Nice, very nice. I am smoking a cigarette nice.

You hit the nail, US Tresury a big scheme...

Here is my weigh in. AIG did WRITE the insurance policies, BUT they are not the ones PAYING OUT on the policy. The US took over this responsibility. Therefore, AIG now has no purpose to exist.

Is there a problem with companies like this getting so big they do not know what is going on. If they brought the toxic waste, as you refer to the bad loans, why weren't they aware of what they were buying, didn't they bother to go through the loans and see what was bad and reject them? Or did they just buy a bundle of loans without checking it out? Or am I showing how little I know about these big businesses?

Congress asked a few of those companies that were not part of the mortgage mess (and still financially sound) to invest in those assets, assuring them that if things went south, Congress would bail them out.

sure looks like it south big time and they were bailed out and want more.

MrT, I think your being a little tough on them, they only lost 61.7 billion dollars in the last quarter. Why would AIG want to retain this batch of employee's? But once again the American public is getting screwed.

It is up to him to STOP this now.

Geithner says this is "distasteful"? It's raping the American tax payer...It's alot more than distasteful and needs to be halted, sir...Let them sue..see how long its in the courts you fool...Obama, you chose the wrong guy for this..Maybe someone preferably who PAYS his taxes would have been better?

Where on earth do employees get bonuses for a job NOT well done?

I guess that's why he's president, and you're not.

Maybe the first execution should be yours, john-- if that's the way you feel--

And the conservative thing is to let them do what they want. Free Market! Deregulation. Small Government.

Let them fail. No more tax money.