Frank Bus

I agree with you but were those contract avaiable to Bush to read before he signed the bailout last year? I believe they were.

When 'good' (Obama) comes across evil (AIG and their Republican supporters) sparks fly. The resulting fire will take care of the greedy, corrupt theives that have been born out of the lack of fiscal oversight. The GOP thinks this is the answer to their 'fundimentalist' prayers, but remember well the old adage - What goes around, comes around.

If we lived in a dictatorship or socialistic governed country it would be simple to prevent the abuse of corporate monopolies, but we don't and must follow the rule of law. President Obama doesn't want the United States taxpayers to own the banks and insurance copanies. There is a limit to his patience, and ours!

Frank bus - You are not my friend and just one of the people who are trying to undermine our ability to fix this economic disaster. Are you a financial terrorist? Have you been put up to posting your vindictive rhetoric?

It would be a real pleasure not to have to read your crap ....but to see your support of the United States.

Obama has already used the "well, let's take another look and see what we can do" card.

Too late, Prez. Obama. Too late.

Yep, my support just went to a big "0".

Politics as usal. With all these big financial gurus in the white house(And I don't care if it was Bush or OB) the outrage factor doesn't cut it. They had to know the issue and are trying to stop the political damage they have because they are trying to push another 3.55 Trillion dollar package through. (In yesterday articles) called OAF. What is amazing is how they must feel the American people are so stupid they would fall for this over and over and over again. Both parties have become nothing but greed machines. Our goverment only works for themselves and those that they owe. Over 7000 lobbiest should tell you right there there is a major problem in our goverment.

I'm glad that Washington is finally agreeing about something. Too bad they already gave the taxpayer's money away. Thanks for nothing!

Willow their not done yesterday they put a 3.55 trillion dollar package up to congress.

I would really like to see were on these executives contracts it says that they can be payed with taxpayers money. I would really love to see were it says on the conditions that we let our money to AiG or any other corporation, that it cannot be used to pay for benefits of executives ( like it should have). it's kinda late now to say OH !!!! we forgot to put that in that's BS, and sounds worst coming from a bunch of incompetent congress people, their aides and Obama that heads this mob of incompetents. And don't try to hand me the line that Bush had anything to do with this control factor. It was a Democratic Congress that wrote it and failed then and failed again now to correct it, and the Blame falls squarely on Obamas back and his incompetent Congress. It is HIS AND THEIR WATCH NOW!!!!!  As Trueman would say ...The buck stops here. Well the sign still says over Obamas desk the Buck Stops Here.

I could have sworn that the taxpayer bailout of the banks began before the election last year, which means that it was the Bush Administration's idea. ???

What amazes me once again is how the POTUS (both past and present) are held responsible for what the private sector does.

That mentality should be ignored because it is purely agenda driven.

What should be paid attention to is the activities of the private sector.

DOESN'T MATTER! There is no end to this. Unless we micro-manage the companies getting money, we will never be happy with what they do with it...and we want NO part in micro-managing! Fact is, all of the companies getting bailout money have some contractual terms that we don't expect the money to go towards. Many naive individuals thought that this money will go towards the debts of the companies. These companies have individual private business models, that's why the government needs to butt-out, and let the free-market take them to bankruptcy.

Your timing is correct, however, I think you will find that any bail out bills went through congress, which was controlled by the Democrats.

Please stop playing the party card and start looking at the facts. I believe we went through the bonus problem with the banks, the response from Rep. Frank was he thought he could trust them to do the right thing.

What ever problems we have are a problem with the gov't as a whole, lets make sure we understand that and vote accordingly in 2 years.

gattes12

When the private sector, can't run their own businesses and have to come to us the taxpayers and congress, what they do and don't do with that money does concern us and sure as hell should be of concern to the President and the congress as well.

What truly amazes me is that people like you would even ask such a question .

These idiots in Washington, this administration, and the previous administration couldn't wait to bailout AIG, Citigroup, the auto industries, et. al. in order to get large stakes in the control of the banking, auto, and insurance industries. In his haste to grab as much control as possible before the public could figure out what he was doing, Obama signed on the dotted line. Well, now he owns them and all the problems that come with them. He knowingly purchased a pig in a poke and feigns that he is shocked at what he got saddled with. Anyone with a shred of intelligence knows he is full of crap. Stop giving this charletan a free pass, sheeple.

CHANGE.......................ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am one of many simple Americans here doing the best I can with what I've been dealt with....There's always more to what you see and hear on these situations! I would like to know when I and many others like me get our 'bonus' of having our mortgages paid off by the government?? We are in so much financial debt now!! The government will certainly raise the heck out of our taxes now, to recoup the losses made by these big private enterprises that put us here in the first place. Businesses like them have every loop hole found and exploited at the taxpayers expense...All they have ever gotten is a slap on the wrist..I may be simple in what I say, but if the little ones get squeezed out then show should the big ones!! Let them fall and lets get back to the simpler life....AIG has certainly slapped the the taxpayers where it hurts the most!!!!

"that's why the government needs to butt-out, and let the free-market take them to bankruptcy. " - - Absolutely!!!!

The article states that the "contracts" were in place prior to any bailout by Bush or Obama. The CEOs and Board of AIG knew about these contracts because they had signed them. I doubt they disclosed this information to either Bush or Obama or their representatives. Should they (Bush/Obama) have found them or did they have access to the specific contracts is the question. I would say more than likely no.

AIG has just shown the entire Nation how sneaky and uncaring they are for the Country's situation. They have their lawyers ready to fight this until hell freezes over at a cost that would probably exceed the bonuses.

I would say the best course of action at this point is not trying to block the contracts because of the legal expense but look at a method to eliminate and expose the people who received them and were responsible for not disclosing them.

The bailout action by both Bush and Obama were more than likely in good faith and very important to our economy however AIG has shown it's true color.

Those that are not capable of rising above a Political party or will use the AIG for re-election can play the same stupid game of blaming each other but that will not solve the problem. Problems are solved by action, not by using and promoting the problem for benefit.

The real "mad men" as they have been called are our congressmen and women that wrote the laws allowing this to happen...and those laws were writen more than eight years ago or at least started on with Clinton and his bunch. Its interesting to me to watch our congress place the blame on Obama along wiht many here all the while knowing that they thmeselves caused this mess to happen with the huge loopholes and deregulation they wrote into law. Can they get the money back from AIG..most likely the contracts they are refering to were writen already knowing that the company was in real trouble...I feel sure that their our auditors had told them of the problems coming...these so called contracts just was a try at being sure they got theirs no matter what happened to "their" company. Its a shame they can not be locked up for fraud....which I would think is possible....they surely have been lying to their investors of the past few years at least.

LMAO!!!! Its about time the american public got to see how the greed in this country has gone left unchecked. To the point that We as taxpayers must pay the bonuses for a bunch of greedy bastards that have run thier companies into the ground. the only thing left to do now is let them keep going till there is nothing left. The government knew it was happening and the majority just ignored it because they were getting thier cut, so why stop.We as the people should take back our country and throw all of them in prison or at least make them move into the neighborhoods they have helped destroy with thier greed. Welcom to the new world folks and have a nice day.

That's what happens when you don't read the bill you're signing but the dem congress did just that. How about the billions AIG sent to banks in France and Germany and the rest of the foreign banks to bailout them out?

Yeah right, as if George Bush and his merry band of corporate prostitutes is the answer to anything. There's only one thing you can count on Republicans to do, and that's to put multinational corporations first.

Posts like these show just how crazy right wing Republicans in this country really are.

I personally could care less what CEO's make or the bonuses that are paid out - it's the "American Dream".

I do however care about my tax dollars being thrown - blindly I might add - into failed businesses with absolutely no accounting for where the money is going.

For all of us that wanted "change" this is what we got? Yet another moronic President that literally threw billions of dollars in haste to a failed system and now wonders why they paid out millions in bonuses and sent a few other billion over seas.

Nice plan. Obama's shown me one thing, race isn't an issue when it comes to stupidity and he's absolutely no different than the rest of the idiot elected officials ruining this country.

It's time to start holding these latest goofballs feet to the fire and demanding that this type of nonsense be examined prior to mortgaging the farm on a failed system...furthermore we need to start asking a whole lot more questions before we do anything.....like troop build-up in Afghanistan, or billion dollar health packages....or billion dollar anything.....WE DON'T HAVE THE MONEY!

Change my ass......politics as usual.

to hell with all the bailouts for these nit wit companies. let them fail and take the bailout monies that is being given to everyone who doesn't deserve and put it to actual use for those of us who have to pay it back!

Does all this scare you? Buy a Rottweiler

Yes be amazed. I never said that taxpayers nor the president shouldn't be concerned (read the post).

What I said was that the POTUS alone cannot be responsible for what private sector execs do especially in this case.

Truth is, good ethics should have had these execs break their contracts and not accept those bonuses.

Fact is, these bonuses are under contract.

Truth is, they don't deserve it because they took taxpayer funds to maintain operation

Fact is, the lost money on a risky business venture which pretty much ALL companies do.

Truth is they shouldn't have gotten the money at all.

Fact is the corresponding backlash (which you obivioously have no clue about just as most Americans) would be far worse on YOU, the taxpayer, than you obviously know.

Truth is American tax dollars should not be used to bail these big businesses out which, directly or indirectly, affect our jobs.

Fact is, anyone who complains about this but voted for "Operation Iraqi Freedom" needs to have their head examined.

Yes, be very amazed that the private sector seems to be relieved of blame in favor of the President at every turn.

Happysocialist- These bonuses were created when President Clinton and his Congress decided to limit executive pay to $1 million, and instead allow bonuses of stock options, cash, etc.

You'll have to read the article, but it's real clear who started this bonus debacle.

'New York Attorney General Cuomo' has got it right! He said the following:

"You could argue that if taxpayers hadn't bailed out AIG, the contracts wouldn't be worth the paper they were signed on,"Cuomo said.

That said it all and should be to the bases to stop any bonus being paid!!!! The Fed Gov now owns 80% of AIG (Not good) should tell those BUMS; take the FEDS to COURT for not fulfilling a contract that was worth nothing at all. While those same BUMS are in Courthouse, simply ARREST those CROOKS (Nixon Style) for CRIMES against the American People; NO BAIL ALLOWED as they are a flight risk, JUST LIKE that LOSER who left the US for ASIA unknown, that got CHINESE money for Clinton/Gore96 and was the same LOSER wanted by FBI since then, who was Raising Chinese Money for Hillary08!! (sent back after public found out) The only reason the government is Bailing out these companies is they made LARGE DONATIONS TO THEIR ELECTION OR RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGNS.

This is a classic example of haste makes waste. The people who lent the money did not do their research and now it's comming back around. The company had these commitmnents on the books, and the lending body (congress), should have understood them before lending them the money. It's Washington's fault for not doing their due dilligence and just passing out the tax payer money without any real research into what they were doing. They are the ones we should BBQ.

It is time to start recall petitions for all the Dems. Maybe then they will understand that the U.S. tax paying CITIZEN is fed up with their games and LIES!

Too funny! "Depleting Obama's capital" First of all, he doesn't have any and is running us at the speed of a runaway train into massive debt. Second, it's not his money he's spending but ours.

We should all get petitions going and show a vote of "no confidence" in this idiot. NYT keeps trying to convince the fools in the US that he got high approval which is not true. Other independent polls show him at less than 50% and sliding. Then we should start with 2010 elections and vote the current people out of office and the ones their parties are pushing the hardest. Neither party is totally to blame. The minute they start campaigning with their "look at me and how much I've done for you" spiel, then you should all know who not to vote for.

Thank Phil Graham and the rest of the republicans who caused this mess. Does anyone remember DEREGULATION? The neo-cons always insist that banks and big business will always do the right thing when left to their own devices. Oh really? How's that working out neo-cons?

Tim

Regulation does nothing

EVERYBODY IN #1.... What are you all talking about.... OUR TAX $?????

WHY DO YOU ALL KEEP SAYING OUR TAX DOLLARS ?????????

AGAIN...............IT IS NOT OUR MONEY ANYMORE... LOOK 46 OUT OF 50 STATES WENT BUST THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR.......CALIFORNIA TO THE TUNE OF 48 BILLION... SWARTZ AND PELOSI ..WHAT ARE YOU DOING FOR GOD SAKES?????

AGAIN AND AGAIN... IT IS NOT OUR TAX DOLLAR FEEDING THIS ANYMORE.....

IT IS FOREIGN MONEY {WITH ATTACHED INTEREST} USA TREASURY NOTES..

China is shaking in their boots right now....they dont know whether to keep feeding us our drop the lifeline.....They can see that the usa is spending it like a drunk sailor at port...

Again.... This has to be by design and NOT STUPIDITY....... Once we are bankrupt and the check is delivered .... Then you will see what Obama and company REALLY HAVE IN MIND.......

What capital? Obama and his staff are stupid liars. They have saddled this country with trillions of dollars of debt, only 23% of it will take effect this year! They have passed a stimulus plan without reading it or the most recent budget amendment, wasting billions of dollars. Now AIG, who Obama has appointed a manager for, suddenly is the bad guys. They had to honor contracts, which the Obama administration was too STUPID to either think about or know about. No financial books were looked over, just write them a big ole check boys. The American people are just now realizing what fools we have in Congress and in the White House. It going to be a great three and a half more years........for the Republican Party. Polling data says Obama job performance along with Congress's is in free fall.

Wildwonderful

If regulation does nothing, then why are the republicans so against it. May I remind you that after the banks were deregulated, truth in lending went out the window in the name of profit. Banks made alot of bad loans, knowing they were bad, because they were making money; and thanks to deregulation, rules and ethics no longer applied.

Hypocrits all of them, while AIG was sinking they were taking
From Center for Responsive Politics
American International Group: TOP 10 Recipients last year
Dodd, Chris (D-CT) Senate $103,100
Obama, Barack (D-IL) Senate $101,332
McCain, John (R-AZ) Senate $59,499
Clinton, Hillary (D-NY) Senate $35,965
Baucus, Max (D-MT) Senate $24,750
Romney, Mitt (R) Pres $20,850
Biden, Joseph R Jr D-DE)Senate $19,975
Larson, John B (D-CT) House $19,750
Sununu, John E (R-NH) Senate $18,500
Giuliani, Rudolph W (R) Pres $13,200

All they did was pay their people. The bonus system is how these guys get paid. Its such an insignificant amount of money compared to the overall loan to aig I cant see how its a problem. I think the real problem is the hypocrisy of the President getting up and yelling at this company 2 weeks after cutting them a big check and then saying there is nothing he can do because the contracts were made under the old CEO. He is in charge now they replaced the CEO with his guy. If it is so terrible to pay the people he needs to stop it.

If it was my company I would come out and explain this situation better. The top Executives are not getting a penny. This is all going to productive executives whos divisions were profitable. people who made billions of dollars of profit for the company that was swallowed up by the Dredit default Swap division of the company. You can Bet the CDS guys aren't getting a bonus. IF they are bring me a pitchfork and a torch also.

Are these the same politicians who formulated and approved the bialout in the first place? I might add that the congress that approved this bailout was a democratic majority..... shame on them. They should all be impeached. And just now they are crying wolf. I simply can not put my faith and trust in my government.... what a shame.Let the company go into bankrupcy and let the chips fall where they may...then the contract to pay the bonuses will not be worth a penny!

Geitner was in charge in November in handling these bailouts. It rests with the Obama clan as to why Geitner didn't do more. Obama, a one term president :)

tim layman

I kinda need to remind you of who started the "Bank Deregulations". Clinton! Don't you remember the vaporized "Dot Coms"? All based on funny money that the Clinton administration opened the door to. You don't remember when the housing values started to climb because people suddenly had credit to buy homes? How else do you think Clinton paid down our government deficit?

Not to say that Republicans didn't participate. After all, greed begets greed. We should make service to the people be non-profitable and maybe we will get members of our government who really cares about those that support their income. Right now, big business drives policy using middle class income as the capital.

The bailout was rushed and not properly thought out. Once the money was released its too late to tell them how to spend it. It is unconstituional for Obama to come between a contract of a company and it's employees. Our governement should have thought about that before it released the funds..........

Can we the people sue AIG?

AIG will pay......they will soon be broken up...deleveraged and sitting on the curb. No one can bare the ire of the American people....AIG....your actions have sealed your fate....BaBye!!!!!!

So it is ok for the auto industry to pay out extraordinary wages and perks to their employees and management, and it is ok for the taxpayer to continue to pay the salaries of the chairman of the banking committees, the SEC, and other government leaders who are responsible for not doing their jobs, but it is not ok for AIG???  Must be AIG didn't include the DNC and the Congressional leaders on their bonus check mailing list. 

Stop the spending, reduce the size of this government and the problem will fix itself!!!!

How stupid does the media think we are??? Remember folks the AIG bail out came under the Bush administration and a Republican congress. Duh!!! Remember too that the Republicans have been in power for 20 of the past 28 years -- AND LOOK WHERE IT HAS TAKEN US. Right down the drain -- especially in the last 8. The government dismantle AIG and all the other banks. Bring back regulation. Apparently the long standing ideal that people will control/monitor themselves doesn't work. Humans are inherently greedy and will take advantage of whatever situation they can (case in point, Wall Street).

uneasy, I agree with you. However, I take it a step further. Even if the current administration has blundered, how accountable are they when we all know the last admin walked away virtually unscathed. This bailout was long ago messed up. At least this prez is trying something. Bush ignored us and the problems of wallstreet. It is not Obama's fault the laws to govern AIG are not in place. He can only do what is in his power. There are no overnight fixes, but restructture has to start somewhere. Remember, the prez told all of us, "it would get worse, before it get's better", my question is what people think is "worse", did we alllk presume it would not affect us? I feel all this is the result of years of mismanagement of government and big time business becoming visible. In other words, if nothing else, the current administration is willing to challenge wallstreet and AIG. That, whther we like it or not, is a start.

You are correct, the INITIAL bailout came under the Bush Admin but a Democratic Congress.  AIG was just handed another bailout under the Obama admin., and again, a Democratic Congress.   Seems to me there is a common denominator here.

That was called "grandstanding" yesterday. Obama already knows there is nothing they can do to stop this. The bonuses are in the employees contracts. AIG will get sued if they don't give them. If Barney Frank passes special tax laws to recover this money, the IRS will lose badly in Federal court when these people sue (you can't target individuals like that, it's called descrimination). Again, just more Washington indignation and grandstanding....same old same old.

I'll say it again... the only "change" in Washington has been ther color of the presidents skin. Every thing else is politics as usual!

Fisherman,You call for support of Obama yet you draw your line in the sand with your idiotic statement of "Good(Obama) and Bad(AIG and its Republican supporters). Take your lumps, eat your crow, and do everyone a favor and stifle yourself!!

Did any Dumbocrats vote for the AIG bailout and, if they did, are they secretly Republicans in disguise??

Face it, Obama is in over his head!! One Big Ass Mistake America!!!

As I recall, didn't Obama promise to stop playing the Washington "blame game" if elected?

That lasted what? all of 100 days? Yet another example that POLITICIANS WILL SAY ANYTHING TO GET ELECTED! BOTH PARTIES DO THIS! VOTE ALL INCUMBENTS OUT IN 2010.

You have no idea what the truth is. It is about phony conservatives like Bush and his administration who has screwed America good. Do not blame Obama.

The American people voted for him. What a JOKE. Does anyone have any idea how much money 160 billion dollars is. Let me put it to you in another form..It's One hundred and sixty thousand million dollars. With not accountability and the government owns 80% of this company and we let the money go to payouts for bonuses to a dying business. I feel like I've been crapped on in my face by these guys and the President. The president has no balls and our Congressmen and women are IDIOTS. If the President can't stop this, he needs to step down and let someone else in there with some balls.

I find it quite laughable that some posters on here continue to blame the last administration and all republicans for the woes of this country. What are they going to say if and when this democratic congress and democratic President run this country into the ground spending trillions of dollars they don't have? Who are they going to blame them?

now, don't y'all worry about the O-ster. he'll make a smart remark, the press will wipe the 'milk' mustache from their lips and all we'll hear is how wonderful it is to have Him at the helm.

Frank, hate permeates all you write. There is no cohesive, rational thought to your vitriol. Although it may provide momentary relief that the financial meltdown and chat rooms allow your venting of obvious anger, it will not fix your problem. Only YOU can do that. Instead of having a meaningful, thoughtful discussion of where the country is financially, how we got here and viable solutions, hatemongering seems to be your norm. It negates the very attempt of objectivity. It makes earnest people turn away from the discussion knowing that feedback will be more hate and more attacks. I, as many Americans, have lost a great deal of money in the market as well as other investments and I truly need to see an end to it. But, what benefit will allowing industry after industry to fail with no plan to safety net or at the very least lessen the fallout devastation the outcome of that result will cause. Sure, it is appalling and totally unacceptable that many executives are continuing business as usual on taxpayer money – what a double insult! Allow congress and the President to seek a way to end that immediately- we all agree. But please remember, the AIGs, GMs and others insure and impact the lives of more Americans than you would believe and what happens to those people? The ramifications deserve more scrutiny than mere political posturing. I’m not saying bailout is the issue-maybe, maybe not. What I am saying is hate, ignorance and misdirected anger will muddy the water and make finding a solution a lot more complicated. What brought us here? Let’s start with that and honestly move toward viable solutions. Blaming a President who has been in office less that 60 days is stupidity. At least the administration is trying to solve the problem which is more than we've had in the past. Do I agree with every edit put forth? Of course not! But now is extremely early in the game to play political hot ball. The financial fabric of the country is at stake and all who love America should keep that in mind. Also keep in mind that reporters write sensational articles and headlines to sell newspapers and garner advertisers. Their spin on stories aren't always for the good of the people. We should remind them to report rather than create the news. In order to spare your painting me with the bleeding heart liberal brush, I’m a Republican, tried, true and registered who ALWAYS votes.

just read in the news that this administration knew about the bonuses over a month ago,so why all the outrage NOW

Who collapsed the initial comment?

Do all of you bleeding heart liberals really get that offended when someone does not love your messiah?

Yes, obama inherited a mess from bush. However, obama will finish the job of running America into the ground for good!

Poor Frank, Sad Frank,

He can't remember that it was Bush and his Republican congress that authorized the money for AGI without strings.  Its been Obama from 1/20 on who has been retroactively attaching strings and conditions to that money.

He also forgot that for the past decade Bush and the Republicans ran the economy into the ground intentionally.  They gave Billions (with a "B" Frank) to oil companies, Haliburton (which cannot account for $3.5 Billion dollars it received in cash in Iraq) and their rich friends while increasing Frank's taxes no less than 4 different times.

Sorry Nancy, the Congress wasn't Democratically controlled by 1 vote (remember that ass who ran as a Democrat and immediately changed his party affilation to indenpendent, and then to Republican?)  Yep, no majority.  Takes 65 in the senate to override a veto.

That's why voting is so important.  The next time the Republicans put up a guy who has a documented cocaine problem, was AWOL from the military, and is stupid, don't vote for him.  Gingrinch, as you will note, is being ressurected.  Please remember that he had to resign from Congress because of his being married and having a girlfriend and taking shady money.

Those who don't pay attention fall for Rush Limbaughism -- hate your neighbor because it can't be your fault.  You voted, right?

Forget these bonus's...

Think about this... CDSs(credit default swaps) are Insurance on Bundled Mortgages(CDO's)... People who owned Zero,Zilch, Nada...No Mortgages were allowed to buy Insurance (CDSs) against CDO's!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What??  They were allowed to Insure something they didn't own??? The same portfolio or batch of Mortgages (remember,specific mortgages were grouped together and sold and identified by an id#) was Insured and Re-Insured dozens of times!!!!!!!

So AIG paid the actual looser , and then they paid HedgeFund after HedgeFund who Insured something they didn't own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is why AIG went thru $90 BILLION ( $90,000,000,000- ) in a matter of months,

with this FALSE Insurance, HedgeFunds received the BILLIONS and Some Banks as well (AIG paid $32 to just 3 European Banks we know of) , but atleast the banks had suffered a loss (why US Taxpayers paid to save foreign banks is beyond me, but thats a different rant)...

that is why the $300 Billion Cramer was screaming about is now TRILLIONS, when the actual loss is only about the $300-$500 Billion range, which should now be paid...IF we hadnt have paid false insurance (CDS) claims.

We should go after Refunds from these false policies and if we are resisted charge them all with Insurance Fraud and TREASON... also no Federal Prison sentence for you... you go into State Prison and take your Raping like a man, if you DARE to FIGHT to keep your stolen funds. If anything they should get the money they paid to buy the CDSs back.

Many MutualFunds suffered 50% + losses, refusing to honor these rip-off CDSs wouldnt hurt them anymore than they hurt our 401k's... '

GO AFTER REFUNDS on CDSs that Insured People who had no Mortgage Ownership or Exposure.  

At what point to do we get off of our own rhetoric and take this argument to Washington? Forget words (we see how far they have gone with Obama) and set a date and march on that good for nothing sack of waste we call our government homebase. Washington.

Your comment doesn't offer any solutions................Here is my solution!!!

The prior Administration, Congress, all the people at AIG getting this "BONUS".

All the Bank CEO's, Merrill Lynch CEO's etc., etc., etc.,

PRINT THEIR NAMES AND ADDRESSES ON THE INTERNET....NEWSPAPERS........LET THE MASSES AT THEM!!!!!!!!!!!

IF NO NAMES...........CONFISCATE ALL OF THEIR ASSETS!!!!!

what did you expect these are all his buds the very ones that started this mess

I think the adminstration or hope it has learned is sometimes you do have to just wield your power when the stakes are important enough, they thought meeting with the Republicans and offering tax cuts would help on the stimulus, they smiled and trashed his overtures, now trying to approach the Banks with basic common sense of doing business...well your not dealing with people who have any sense of loyalty to this nation or the people in it, the only concern is their own personal agenda of self indulgence in acquiring wealth with no concern of the consequences to this nation or its people, personally I think a lot of these people belong in prison, and until this government puts a number of people involved in the destabilizing of this economy, nothing will change.

Bush was the President but he was working with a Democratic controlled congress.  This is not Bush's fault just as it is not Obama's fault, this has been coming on for years and now we want someone to blame.  Look to Congress, that is where the blame lies.

Pelosi, Reid and Franks are the scumbags of this earth.  Obama is now doling out money left and right to companies like AIG, he says he wants to find a way to stop the bonuses for the executives, it's simple get the money back and let them sink as the rest of the WORKING people are doing! This beyond horrible, they are taking from the poor and giving to the rich.  Get the money back from AIG and let them go under.  They do not care about this nation's welfare, they are only looking out for their wallet.  Call the Office of the President, send emails and contact your elected representatives in Washington and tell them NO!!!!!! Go get our money back NOW!!!

Bush didn't work with anyone except for his corrupt buddies and his 'handsome' VP. Nancy - You ceretainly can't believe the propaganda of the GOP spin....or maybe you're too stupid to see the trees for the forest.

Wake up! It's a new age and a new genration of reformists. If you can't help....be quiet. You don't know what's going on. If the big, multinational companies fail, we all go down with the ship. Fortunately you won't have to suffer a Depression unless it's in your own mind.

That will be a big "0" too! There is not a politician in Washington who has any balls!

We all know what they have between their legs...

The blame game is only good if the crooks have to stand before a judge.

It's high time for reform.

I'm sick of our elected officials thinking of their own pocketbooks and letting everything trickle down into a mess like we have here.

Happy socialist; I just had to take a look at your profile again. To understand why a person who fled the USA and lives in France, would care at all what we do, think and comment. you make such off the wall, one side comments But I finally got it. It has to be the Blond and French all in one in you. Dumb and arrogant ungrateful Frenchmen/women. Now it makes sense to me.

Nancy before they get our money back from AIG I would like to see our money returned from the "investment" in IRAQ.

happysocialist985 you're always full of crap. Will you please go away? Give the arabs that burn Paris every summer a big ole hug for me, and STFU.

so what regulation would you put on a private company?

no pay even if you bring in millions for the company.

do you really want to go down the road of regulating individual companies.?

the money they were given was a loan that means they have to pay it back so who cares what they do with it.

the president is creating an environment in which it will be nearly impossible for this company to recover.

I am still against the bail outs as I feel this problem would of worked itself out if the company was allowed to default on the CDS debt it would of created an environment where CDS could be brought under proper regulation.

This presidency is a disaster so far. Maybe he will fire his staff and bring in some able bodied advisors but I am not holding my breath.

KMartin1959

Yep, my support just went to a big "0".

"0": Freudian typ"O"?

so what regulation would you put on a private company?

no pay even if you bring in millions for the company.

do you really want to go down the road of regulating individual companies.?

The politics of envy would say so. And flat out communists would agree as well. I am self-employed, and run a small business with no employees, but I can't see anyone capping my income when I work 12 hour days just to get ahead. To do so would be such a serious demotivator I'd probably leave the country. No system is perfect, but meritocracy works best. Obama is in there subsidizing failed businesses on a gigantic scale. Maybe the market just needs to purge the ****-ups and then we can move on.

Everyone...Fisherman144 is a "tard", he definitely ate paint-chips as a kid! My support for Odumbo has hit "0"! He's proven to be a failure so far! Do you disagree with this?

As we are owners of 80% of AIG I suggest that we break it up and sell all that is saleable and I think that a bankruptcy is the way to go

I am amazed at the level of misplaced rage in all of these comments.

First of all, it is so true that the current mess is the result of YEARS of deregulation of the financial industry. The unbridled growth of predatory lending and of ultra-risky securities backed by ultra-risky loans gave rise to an unsustainable real estate bubble that collapsed.

The rage should be directed at those who either removed or failed to enact the proper regulations to protect the public from these vultures.

That said, I am as furious as anybody else that the AIG execs have the nerve to collect bonuses. However, all this unmitigated crap about socialism and driving the country into the ground and Obama's so-called failure is just revolting. I am guessing that it comes from the 22% who approved of Mr. Bush, not the 62% who, as of yesterday, approved of the excellent leadership provided by Mr. Obama.

Bush didn't work with anyone except for his corrupt buddies and his 'handsome' VP. Nancy - You ceretainly can't believe the propaganda of the GOP spin....or maybe you're too stupid to see the trees for the forest.

Fish,

Wasn't it Obama that went to President Bush in early January and ASKED Persident Bush to help HIM (Obama) to get the remaining $350,000,000,000.00 of the original 600,000,000,000.00 that Congress (Democratic) voted for? And didn't President Bush do so in a bi-partisan manner. Fish, you are exactly what is wrong with alot of this country today. Opening your piehole before your brain has engaged.

gattest12, the US has already received the return on the Iraq war. It came as a huge rate of employment in the US -making guns , amunition, uniform, armor plates , humvees, aircraft, etc. Most of Iraq expense stayed in the US as JOBS.

Credit Default Swaps - The basic reason AIG went under. Most people don't understand what they are, so I'd like to giva a go at it, as I see it.

Suppose I'm a savvy investor and I see all of these bundles of mortgages being split up and sold to investors, but I know they contain a lot of really bad loans, so I think the chance of a default are high, so I go to AIG and say "I'd like to buy a Credit Default Swap on XYZ Mortgage Bundle, and I agree to pay a small fee (like insurance), and AIG says - OK, and issues me a "policy" in case of default, thinking the bundle had a AAA Rating, so its risk was small. I say - "Hey, this is great, because I don't even have to own any part of the mortgage bundle - I'm just gambling that its value will go down, and my cost is minimal."

Then I just sit back and wait, and when the mortgage bundle goes into default, I go to AIG and say "It defaulted, so pay up on my gamble". AIG may say, "but you didn't suffer any loss", but the contract didn't require that, so AIG has to pay up.

If it sounds a lot like gambling in Las Vegas, with the deck stacked, you are right.

There were $Trillions in CDSs sold, and now the clever people that bought them are now soaking up the profits, at taxpayer expense, and they never risked anything (except a small fee to buy the CDSs).

If AIG had been forced to reorganize under a Chapter 11 Filing, A judge could have voided these gambling payoffs, as well as the $160 Million in "bonuses" for the "talented" people at AIG that sold the CDSs to the gamblers. Too bad our geniuses in Congress are so clueless.

Roy wilson is correct. The Treasury is now the majority stock holder; Stockholder derivative action, force AIG into re-organization; void the contracts; Bankruptcy law overrules contractual obligations. Remember, all the large credit company's, AIG included, pushed to rewrite the Bankruptcy code to limit a debtor protection's from those poor corporations. Let them reap what they have sowed.

Many of the people who are receiving the bonuses are overseas in London and other places. Good luck trying to convince them to not take the money for the good of the country.

I think the real question here is...Who paid out these bonuses?

I don't fault the people who received the bonuses, I fault the person who was in control, who approved the bonuses. That's the person who should be targeted for investigation, the person at the top! Do we even know who it was? I haven't heard a word about this person!

honest spud, yes the U.S. has recieved some return in the form of jobs but how about the Iraqis start paying us back for all the infrastructure improvements we tried to make and the terrorists blew up. how about getting back the millions(?) that were wasted by companies like haliburton and blackwater? A report on the CBS news this past monday night said the same thing is starting to happen in Afganisatan. Millions of dollars simply disappearing.

The fault is in the Obama Administration - the buck stops there. He even spoke out that he was going to stop the payments - unfortunately he spoke after the checks were issued. D'oh! A clear indication the administration doesn't think things through or aren't on top of what is really going on.

Why aren't there restrictions on the bail out money and what it can be used for?

Why aren't there the controls Obama spoke so passionately talked about on the executive pay?

Why is there more talk than action, more concern about popularity than efficacy/results?

So far the fiscal responsibility of this administration is a joke! Now couple that to Pelosi and Frank...

If we have to watch these people 24 hours a day to keep them from stealing taxpayer money, WE DON'T NEED THEM.  Oops, that goes for a lot of folks doesn't it.

Palco--

Those how force the subprime loans that have destabalized our economy should indeed be in prison but that would include Obama and the rest of the Black Caucus and ACORN that just received huge "stimulous" funding. Ain't gonna happen on this watch since the inmates are running the asylum. More and more bailouts with less and less real oversight is the name of the Obama game. Our system is not going to recover as long as there is a daily surprise in policy on banks etc.

Wow, can't we have our votes back from November. This President is a train wreck. This article shows, however, that his "Chickens are coming home to roost." The massive spending bill he shoved down our throats without adequately thought through regulations is to blame for this and other "unintended consequences yet to be discovered!

The facts are this between the repeal of the glass-steagall act (which kept banks from being able to buy and sell mortgage backed securities or securities of any kind) in 1999 by the Clinton admin and that Congress and the law that allowed a 'loophole' in the pay and bonuses these executives could get also signed into law in 2000 under Clinton it was only a matter of time before the glass pyramid came crashing down. Now that said no one could have predicted the unlimited greed of these banks, securities companies and the CEO's of those companies. Again Congress did this period.

The Congress has been pretty equal since the early 1990's not controlled significantly by either party so equal blame for those years. The Dems have controlled congress since 2004 and took greater control in 2006 and again in 2008 on the campaign that they were different than the Bush admin. They most certainly continue to prove that they are outright ripping off the American people who have had ZERO say in these bailouts of these companies. They seem to be bold as brass about it as well selling it with the threat of doom and gloom for all of us if these businesses fail. Propping these businesses up with our money has done nothing for the taxpayer these companies are operating as per usual. The higher ups continue to be paid outlandish salaries and bonuses and just say 'it's our culture' and then they go downstairs and hand out 1000 pink slips. It seems to me that the majority of the American people thought that these companies should be allowed to fail they did this to themselves. They made these poor choices and we are being made to be the ones that are paying for those choices with the loss of our jobs while they get a bonus and our taxpayer money to help pay for that bonus. No one is bailing out the person who bought the houses with the price that was manipulated by the way the banks were doing business. Those people are the ones left holding the bag as are the rest of us. These greedy cretons in these businesses and those that would support giving them more money are robbing us blind. I don't care which party you are for or against it has taken BOTH sides to do this to the American people. The president is not a dictator and can do NOTHING without congress. I am not for Obama but without Congress and what they have done to this country for the last 30 years is ridiculous. A president can only serve 8 years but a Congress person can serve for a lifetime...........leaving them the opportunity to make lots and lots of back door deals with people that would most certainly like to continue to rob the American people. Term limits for Congress and Senate need to be enacted and that is something only the American voter can do because the people in office most certainly are not going to put that legislation through it would cut off their lifeline. Their gold plated benefits need to be done away with as well.

The truth of the matter is finally coming out and people hopefully are beginning to realize that the true blame for things lies squarely in the lap of the Congress. Over the last few years the liberal media and the Dems in congress enjoyed the propaganda and Bush hating rhetoric because it obfuscated the truth that they are the ones that have flushed our economy. The President can only do so much. They can't write legislation only Congress and the Senate can do that. A president can veto it but if the Congress has a majority vote they easily overturn any veto and do what they want......as was the case with Bush for the last few years.....sure he could have vetoed things but that would have done little good as Pelosi and her gang had enough votes to shove anything through as they still do. So even if Obama stands up to the Congress and tries to make them accountable for what they have done in the past there is little he can do to stop them from shoving through all these back door deals. The budget is pretty much the same thing he promised no earmarks......then why did he sign a budget with more than 8000 of them, because he could veto it but Pelosi and her bunch would have shoved it through anyway they have a huge majority and a veto would have just slowed money to places that actually need the money and are truly a necessary expenditure. Again I am NOT an Obama fan but the facts need to get out there. The Congress loves it when the finger pointing is directly at the White House no matter who is in there because then the blame is NOT focused on them where it should be........they love making sure the finger is pointed ANYWHERE but at them. Wake UP AMERICA it is NOT the white house that has been the problem for the last 30 years it is in another building very close by.

Yes the crisis did take years in the making--years for Democrats to build up to what Rham Emanuel dubs a useful crisis that should not be wasted. Start with Jimmy Carter and his Community Redevelopment act which put pressure on banks to make loans ostensibly to black and blighted neighborhoods (a redundancy). Then move along to Clinton who upped the ante and did more to encourage or almost force the issuance of sub-prime loans. Add to this the Black Caucus of which Obama was/is a member (Check YouTube for the video of the regulator of FM and FM being shouted down by black members of Congress or a FM President kaotowing to the Black Caucus and calling them family--with Obama prominently mentioned and present) then add ACORN the fraudulent (check Washington State convictions for fraud and other state investigations--probably now called off) "community organizing group" with Obama ties (he was their legal counsel and a community organizer) and you have the subprime mess--

The inmates are running the asylum--the fox is in charge of the hen house. It will get worse before it gets better as Obama is either the most incompetant and inexperienced president ever or a true Manchurian candidate who is come from careful training when he was in Pakistan on an Indonesian passport at age 20 when only Muslims were allowed and when Osama Bin Laden was setting up training camps.

The American people don't care what the reason is--Obama's "Chickesn are coming home to roost." He has set in motion horrific non-answers to this crisis. Since it was shoved through without care.

Sen Dobbs cover has been blown!! He but verbage in the "Stimulous Bill" to allow the AIG Exc's to get their bonuses.
By the way, Dobbs was #1 and Obama was #2 in getting campaign money from AIG.

Despite the fact that corporate heads in AIG took advantage of the, seemingly, free opportunity afforded to them, the original fault falls on the politicians and Obama who passed the multi-million dollar bill and passed out the money before they really thought about what greedy bastards they are giving the money to and how to strictly enforce its use. It is absolutely nothing new about bank CEOs padding their pockets while other people are suffering. They live lives far removed from us and they will probably never see the importance of every dollar, that’s PAID BY US, being put back into the banking system so that we can begin to borrow again. Corporate greed is core problem in our economy today, but yet there are not nearly enough preventative steps being taken on Capitol Hill to control the very people who cause Americans to doubt the system and in turn cause our economy to decline.

Instead of acting in fear, its time our leaders took a step back and take time to really understand the small picture as well as the big picture so they understand type of people they are trusting to help save our economy so that we do not repeat mistakes which we literally cannot afford.

Yep! What do you expect! Obama order of restricting execs pay was a sham. Only for those making $500,000 or more and could only take stocks as bonuses. It did not one thing to anyone making less than $500K which amounted to 95% of the execs in all the financial markets. Made him look like a hero till the truth came to light. He's one of the biggest to get a payoff by AIG and Fanny Mae as well.

I hope it opens some people's eye to just who they elected. This is the worse scandal to hit Washington DC in decades because it has so many politicians involved in both parties. We need to clean house - well, The House(as all the signs in DC say for the Whitehouse), The Senate, and Congress plus all their aides and cabinet members. How about we move our Capital to the center of our country and leave them sitting in DC without a private jet in sight. Should just dig around the place and cut it off from the USA entirely. They want to rule their own little country they can have DC!

Earlier this month, the administration added to the bailout money needed to keep AIG functioning, saying failure of the company would be disastrous for the larger economy.

Wow, I never realized that the economy ran off the sale of thin air (Insurance). Insurance of any kind other than health is ridiculous....I can't believe people of this country make a living betting on your mishaps, accidents, death, and destruction. We are truly civilized in the 21st century.

Bush, Obama, Pelosi, Dodd -- they're really all in this together and to blame while their buddies on Wall Street steal our money. The part I blame Bush about is punting near the end of his term and basically saying that he was deferring to what Obama and McCain recommended. But Obama insisted on a bailout, and McCain was over his head and didn't have his own plan, so Bush went along instead of letting companies that lose all their money go bankrupt instead of making things worse.

And if Obama really was upset instead of all of this play-acting, he'd just sign another executive order to take back the bonuses. He's shown how eager he is to be Dictator Obama when his pet projects that are borderline popular/unpopular are involved, but when it's an issue like this that has all of the voters steamed but threatens his buddies, all I see him doing is wagging his finger like he's scolding his dog. "Bad dog, Bad AIG."

If we own 80% of AIG, I say we just go in, take a big bonus check and walk away.

Why on earth are we blaming Obama and congress for this? AIG took bailout money in good faith from the taxpayers and they have crapped all over that good faith. The blame for the meltdown can be debated for years to come. But the blame for this current fiasco, AIG taking taxpayer money and using it to pay bonuses, rests squarely on AIG. They scammed us, folks. They scammed us all.

NHLucky,

It wasn't the 22% but rather the 91% of people who approved of Pres Bush after 9/11 that see through the incompetency of the leader of the Obama Nation!!

Wasn't the Messiah's approval rating over 80% at the time he took office and now, 8 short weeks later it has dropped 20 points!! Let's see where he's at in a few months. Oh yeah, how 'bout Pelosi's approval rating, that's gotta be right up there, too!! Nitwit!!

He's over his head and it's getting to the point that even the color of his skin won't be able to help him much longer.

Must be the private equivalent of 8,000 earmarks with bucks we didn't have either? Who is the government's credit card company? They better clean out their own house first!

And this is Obama's fault why?

Refresher: Hank Paulsen, Bush's Secretary of
the Treasury and former Goldman Sachs CEO
is the one who gave out the first TARP funds
with no strings attached.

As a former member of that "profession" he
would have known about the bonus structure
and could have taken that into consideration if
he had wanted to punish his friends. He didn't.

Its ashame only Our Country would have a problem like this!

If we own 80% of AIG, then it is time to clean house. The bonus is a "parting gift."

To Brad O'Neill - Concerning the cap on salaries. If they had ACTUALLY been bringing in millions for the company, then they would NOT have NEEDED taxpayer money to bail them out. That is the basic problem.

If there was ever a situation where perception trumps reality, this is it. The AIG bonuses are symbolic but have no real impact on the overall financial mess that our economy has become. However, this is the kind of breathless "Obama has screwed up" story that MSNBC now seems to love. The silly posturing by members of Congress, especially Grassley, is laughable. Every day spent haggling over these bonuses is diverting attention from more urgent and dangerous problems facing the economy. As Bishop George Berkeley said: "We have first rasied a dust and then complain we cannot see."

Nancy :: go back and have this conversation with your pal Sluggo he does not know what he is talking about either>

I hope you all go to hell AIG executives, very soon!

Forget these bonus's...

Think about this... CDSs(credit default swaps) are Insurance on Bundled Mortgages(CDO's)... People who owned Zero,Zilch, Nada...No Mortgages were allowed to buy Insurance (CDSs) against CDO's!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What?? They were allowed to Insure something they didn't own??? The same portfolio or batch of Mortgages (remember,specific mortgages were grouped together and sold and identified by an id#) was Insured and Re-Insured dozens of times!!!!!!!

So AIG paid the actual looser , and then they paid HedgeFund after HedgeFund who Insured something they didn't own!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is why AIG went thru $90 BILLION ( $90,000,000,000- ) in a matter of months,

with this FALSE Insurance, HedgeFunds received the BILLIONS and Some Banks as well (AIG paid $32 to just 3 European Banks we know of) , but atleast the banks had suffered a loss (why US Taxpayers paid to save foreign banks is beyond me, but thats a different rant)...

that is why the $300 Billion Cramer was screaming about is now TRILLIONS, when the actual loss is only about the $300-$500 Billion range, which should now be paid...IF we hadnt have paid false insurance (CDS) claims.

We should go after Refunds from these false policies and if we are resisted charge them all with Insurance Fraud and TREASON... also no Federal Prison sentence for you... you go into State Prison and take your Raping like a man, if you DARE to FIGHT to keep your stolen funds. If anything they should get the money they paid to buy the CDSs back.

Many MutualFunds suffered 50% + losses, refusing to honor these rip-off CDSs wouldnt hurt them anymore than they hurt our 401k's... '

GO AFTER REFUNDS on CDSs that Insured People who had no Mortgage Ownership or Exposure to any Mortgages...

With $62 BILLION... we could have put Natural Gas Pumps at EVERY GAS STATION in AMERICA, and reduced our dependence on OPEC by 25-45%... WE have MASSIVE Natrural Gas reserves and it's cheaper , it's AMERICAN and ALL of it would create American Jobs. oh and it burns 85% cleaner than gas and would reduce our dependence on coal.

With another $238 BILLION we could put a windmill & solar panel on every business in AMERICA !!!!

and I've only spent the first $300 BILLION thats already gone...

We now would have pimped OPEC of atleast 1/2 their US Sales.

Another $300 BILLION puts the largest WIND & Solar Project EVER...

oh, no one is unemplyoyed you say... we have 100% of jobs for everyone willing to work... Foreclosures have come to a screaching halt...

Tax Revenue is up !!! Yeah

We Rebuild the Electric Grid in the US for $200 Billion more and I have still spent ONLY $800 Billion...

My Final $200 Billion goes to SBA, the SBA will help us crreate job after job and Patent after Patent...to bring us as a leader into the future...

oh crap, Treasury still printing money --- fine I'll spend another $100 Billion Refurbishing Bridges. Another $100 Billion Refurbishing Schools and creating Uniform Standards for Success of our schools.

And me I take a small $1 BILLION Dollar bonus for all my BRAINS.

Why on earth are we blaming Obama and congress for this? AIG took bailout money in good faith from the taxpayers and they have crapped all over that good faith.

Perhaps the "good faith" was naively misplaced. The government "shoulda known better" - thats the problem. The government needs to provide some regulation to ensure a properly functioning market, but it definitely needs to get out of the business of subsidizing failure.

ONCE again, YOUR PHONE CALLS need to be made to WhiteHouse, Treasury, AIG HQ , Senator , Congressman, Mayor, Governor and let them

KNOW , forget these bonus' , we need to STOP any AND ALL Pay-Outs on ANYTHING Related to CDS's...

We have paid up to 25-50times the actual loss on these bad portfolios because HedgeFunds, etc WERE ALLOWED (encouraged even)

TO BUY CDSs (INSURANCE) on SOMETHING THEY """"DID NOT OWN""""""""

if you and I did it, it would be Insurance Fraud ,

the fact its still being paid off is TREASON.

I think we as a people better stop using the Dem or Rep as a way to vent. There is plenty of blame on both parties. It is time we pull together as a people to keep us from any more of this crap. As long as we fight between our self over who is to blame, they keep playing the same old games. Now we need to do things as we the people not Dem or Rep. If we pulled together the congress (who does what they want not what we tell them we want) banking, AIG and wall street and our Government in general. We told them we did not want the bail out and look now. The banks and Aig show us every other min they could care less what they do with our money the Banks invested in out of our country business and banks AIG gave billion to other banks had trips and parties and now bonus. Wall street told us it was non of our business what they did with the money. Well it time we as a people told them all no more money for AIG or banks or wall street. They just pissed it away and did nothing they said they needed it to do ; so oh well. Because we all know the other money did not fix them and they had all the extra to spend they don't need our money.

We want our tax money back we the people are calling in the loans do to fraudulent use of funds. If our government does not have the nerve to do this we the people do and when it comes in it get paid to those who loaned us money not spent on anything else.

It time to use good old common sense on this not throwing good money after bad. Party is over and it's now time to pay the band.

Everyone; e-mail the AIG board and ask them to return the bonuses back. Yeah, I'm sure they will do it right away.

boardofdirectors@aig.com

I'm beginning to see the BIG PICTURE through this bonus smokescreen.

Folks, this bonus issue is NOTHING compared to what has come down from our government: a deal was no doubt struck between AIG and other companies and our government, and it stinks.

Obama and Congress have been caught, redhanded. By the end of this week, I bet Obama's approval rating will be lower than Bushs ever was. I'm not sure how much Obama actually knew, but it's his watch.

You Obama's basher are so unfair !

When the shoe is on the other foot...

I would be him I would tell you, what the heck, if you think you're smarter deal with it yourselves !!! I for sure, would not want his job !!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he spend several million dollars to get this job?

Frank Bus

Oh I think he will be a fast learner, it just takes a couple of months to separate the people with a sense of integrity from the trash who have been running this country for a long time.

huh?-500158

Well after 11 years of a Republican congress and 8 years of a Republican President , there isn't a government agency that has been spared corruption, and not been infected with a toxic idealolgy that has left this country on the brink of collapse. So after only two months I wouldn't bee to concerned, it will take ten years to cleanse this government and this economy,

So after only two months I wouldn't bee to concerned, it will take ten years to cleanse this government and this economy,

The way this administration is spending money we don't have, don't worry, I'm not concerned. In ten years there won't even BE an economy.

There was no reason for President Bush (for 7.25 years of his administration) to dictate what executives in private business were paid. Until last year, there was no tax payer money involved. Had the legislation been thoughtfully written and read by the lawyers (senators and representatives), then surely there would have been guidelines for the use of the money. As it is, it is too late now. In my opinion, the government should have never started the bailouts in the first place.

palco - You have hit the nail right on its head! More people will listen to what you just said. Those bent on destroying us will lose when they can't get the blood money they so desperately want.

Actually he hasn't spent much yet

palco - 700 Billion for the "stimulus" package. What do you consider not much?

Let's put the blame where it belongs. On the most ineffectual congress ever over the last few years, led by Pelosi and her goons. They are very happy to see the Presidents get blamed for congressional mismanagement.

Two Points:

1) Doesn't matter who gets the blame. The only thing that matters is how, today, we work for a better future.

2) Do not expect private companies to spend money the way YOU WANT THEM TO. The notion of a bailout was naive, and expectations of them using money differently than they have in the past is even worse.

Personally I'm sick of blame. What the hell is blame without action? Just a bunch of babies waiting for their pacifier as far as I'm concerned! The administration has some hard choices to make. It seems this robber baron company has continually stolen money and integrity,most recently from the American people. Let these greedy theives go their own way. Take these low-life's to court for stealing. Snatch back the bonus' that they gave themselves, immediately. Gut the company and try to recoup our losses now. We have to make the decisions that help the American people, not harm them. If anyone on the hill is refusing to play ball, it's time to get rid of them and get some people who will. The irony doesn't escape me that it was less than a month ago that the President asked these companies NOT to give endless bonuses and incentives to retain the thieves that ran their company's into the ground. They promptly ignored him and did the same stealing they've always done. I would come down on all of them with an steel hammer. It's time to stop the blaming and excuses and move on to decision making!

palco - fisherman: The Democratic Congress & House approved these bail-outs ! !  They would not have happened if they didn't approve the money.  O'Bama is just in over his head, he gave good speeches but lacks the ability to deliver.  His and Comrade Pelosi's attempt to push their Socialistic agenda is falling apart.  This is not about Democratic or Republican, it's about a President and Speaker pushing a specific agenda and throwing money to gain support.  One of the problems was they and the Democratic Congress and House were, and to some extent still are, operating from a position of weakness. Instead of asking about safe-guards first, they trusted the CEO of AIG.  Check the direct connection between AIG, Pelosi, Congress and the House.  Pelosi's husband is connected to AIG.  The AIG CEO should be charged with mis-use of funds and AIG, at the very least, should receive no additional Tax payers money to give away to foreign banks and bonuses.  If need be, AIG should go out of business or be broken into a more manageable organization. The same as GM & Chrysler, giving tax money to continually failing companies is just stupid, they reorganize or go out of existence.  The Marxist/Socialistic agenda of Prime Minister Pelosi and President O'Bama is not being accepted by a majority of tax payers.

WOW, the talking points from BO got out quick on this one. What a bunch of blame Bush hewy. The dems don't even read what they sign but it's Bush's fault. The Dems are ruining the economy but it's Bush's fault. The Dems are spending on their social programs but it's Bush's fault. You libs are in for a suprise in the next election.

Happy Socialist - you are in fact an idiot.....and I could care less where you're from. It's none of our business how a corporation pays their execs up until the point that our tax dollars are keeping them afloat - then we should take control (much like the FDIC does with banks) and "rule" what goes on........only a complete idiot would design a stimulus package without those types of controls.......hence I give you our new administration.

I don't care what Bush did, I don't care what Clinton did or Carter or Truman or Adams.....that's history....what I do care about is this hollow mouthpiece that was all about "change".........

This guy is DOA and no one realizes it.......I thought we were supposed to get out of Iraq.......why are we sending more troops to Afghanistan.......why are we proposing billion dollar packages when we don't have the money......

Time for Mr. Obama to get called out for his actions and we need to stop letting him hide behind the excuses and the "talk"..........he's the President, he ran for this office full well knowing what he was getting into and it's time for him to "man up" and face the music...

Going to be pretty hard for Mr. Teleprompter to deal with this fall-out...

THe Obama deception has been no surprise to me at all. He voted and cheer leaded the bailouts. He is owned by the same folks that brought you Bush. THe only difference is skin tone and the ability to put together a complete sentence

zardoz28

Bravo. Well said.

I don't care what party we all affiliate with, if we don't start voting out the sitting politician nothing will improve. Just vote for the other guy next election. That's the only way to take this government back. They (both Dem & Rep) have so skewed the system to the incumbent politician that the little guy stands no chance. Then we are forced to swallow every bit of garbage legislation passed by congress and an executive branch who is only pushing their agendas and not the people. The sky is Falling!! Wake up!!

Not saying both parties don't have blame, but Obama and his cronies are idiots if he wants to try to put all the blame on bush. Economy was doing fairly well for about 7 of bush's 8 yrs. HOusing bubble started to come apart and stock market headed down in late 2007. By this time, a democratic congress including Obama was responsible for approving all spending bills.

Have no idea why Bush supported the big spending bills in 2008, but look at the voting records. The stimulus last summer, The Tarp bailout. They were approved by majority democrats. Majority of Republicans voted against them. Bush DID NOT have a vote. $350 billion of hte tarp funds were spent under Bush. The rest got put into obama's pocket to spend but got "charged" to Bush's deficit.

Obama voted for all the big spending bills in 2008 and supported all the even bigger spending bills so far in 2009. He votes for all the spending, then blames Bush because the bills passed and deficit skyrocketed. "it's not my fault," he likes to say. One worthless human being trying to be a leader IMO.

One person I still feel sorry for is Gibbs """"White House press secretary Robert Gibbs, peppered with questions about why the president had not done more to block the bonuses at a company that has received $170 billion in taxpayer funds, struggled for an answer yesterday afternoon.""""

I predicted a month ago, he'd resign by end of May and I still stand by that prediction.

I love all the anti-Obama rhetoric that seems to go on here over and over and over! That's right jerks, never think of any kind of answer, just believe that everyone will follow you all into the same hole you dug a long time ago. The irony isn't lost on me that Obama has been in office less than 90 days. He pushed for a bill to save American banks and the BANK EMPLOYEES ARE ROBBING THE BANK! I wish you would go spread your hate only on AOL because I believe in containment for people like you. I wouldn't be surprised to find that the people invloved in this financial mess are all conservatives as you guys seem to be the only party that allowed a loony ass president to take us to war but never locate the enemy. To lessen taxes on the rich, thereby devastating the middle class. To authorize torture in different countries. To allow the same people that are robbing us blind right now access to the jobs they have! I guess we have Obama to blame for the number of Americans unemployed too right? The Right is the only party that would tear America apart to get back in office! You know how I know? Because the right was the party that sat in Washington with all the power for 6 years and tore America apart. I have one more question: When Bush was making decisions that didn't make any sense, years ago, where the hell was your voice then?! Or is this the administration that is the blame for everything?

true american, rant some more with no facts to back yourself up. McCain was raising questions on the housing bubble and bad loans. Bush's administration brought forward the question on the depths of the insurance issues. Most Republicans were screaming that fiscal conservatism had gone out the door. Republicans voted against the bail outs in 2008, bush signed them in. One Republican against how many others? But lets lump them all in together and then complain when the other side lumps Obama in with fools like Pelosi and Frank.

We might want to add into the whole situation the loss of the world trade center, the dot com bust, the housing bust, global recession, increasing private debt to unsustainable levels and a lack of self regulation on the part of the FED, two wars, and increasing global support to that spending.

If we follow Obama's plan, Bush didn't spend enough money to stop the recession.

True-

A lot of these posts I am reading are saying that while Bush started this mess, Obama is not really doing anything to stop it. I don't think that a lot of people are blaming Obama for starting anything, they are just blaming him for "business as usual". Besides, the blame game gets us nowhere. "Change" was the word that Obama ran his platform on. Little did we realize that this word was actually meant to describe our paychecks.

WHEN you elect a fellow to the highest office in the land who has never run anything but his mouth, what would you expect. Virtually all of the problems we are having in America are due to ill-informed or uninformed voters or to people who vote on nothing more than emotion.

Thanks for the response Bill. Now tell me this; What exactly have the conservatives done to help the American people to date?

These problems came up at the end of the last administration, not as a prelude to the new one. What you're telling me (and I've heard it before and after the election) is that Bush and the conservatives had nothing to do with the current situation. That the last administration has nothing to do with the housing bubble, double digit unemployment, etc... That when this administration came into office Wall St fell and everyone became unemployed November 4th, 2008! This is the crap I keep hearing in your party!

Look Bill. We could have added a lot of things into this topic, as you forgot Katrina, but I'm almost sure that Conservatives only care about the people who are just like them. I just wish that the last administration would have WARNED THE AMERICAN PUBLIC ABOUT THE UPCOMING RECESSION! There was McCain standing at the podium, stating that the fundamentals were strong when they were at their weakest. That's not Congress' fault is it? Is it Congress' fault that McCain picked a loser as a VP? Let's get down to the real question that needs to be asked;

"Did you guys figure out how to get us out of this economic mess, find Bin laden, end 2 foriegn wars, stop our dependence on foriegn oil, get everyone back to work, make sure people have a place to live and give quality medical care to American citizen's and veteran's in the 6 years you were in control of congress and the house?

Well, what makes you think this administration should figure it out in less than 3 months?

If I had to pick between an upcoming conservative and the present administration, there would be no pick. Conservatives have spent the time since the election complaining and back-biting Obama, Congress, The Banks, The FEDs and everyone else they could so far. That means you have no solution. You just want power! I remember when we went to war and how crazy it sounded that we wouldn't be in the same country as the people who were responsible for 9/11. How people were told to stop complaining if they wanted to be safe. How people were told they were unAmerican if they questioned the decision period. How it was our imagination's that the people were having a hard time living in the current economy. This is Congress' fault? How much do we blame them for in the 2 years they were voted in? Everything? 75%?

The Repubs knew that if they had won the election then they would be the party getting the blame for this financial disaster. So the Dems won and if they do not succeed in turning this mess around then the Repubs hope that they will be elected back into power in 2010 and 2012.

Mike, and then, we get Palin in the White House!

Whoo Hoo!

"Most Realize". Don't have a dictionary handle, but I'm pretty sure most means at least a simple majority you moron. Maybe you are referring to "most" of the right wingers who never supported him in the first place, but it certainly does not refer to the "Most" AKA the majority of the US citizens who do support him.

Yet another demonstration of the ignorance that only adds to the issues of our struggling economy.......

True American...I could not agree more. What good does it do to rant and blame on these posts? Why aren't we taking action? No one of any importance will see what we have to say. Activism was a great impetus for change (change we can believe in) in the 60's and 70's. i.e. the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, Feminism. People marched, and protested vehemently and believe me change did happen. I feel that the American people are angry enough to THINK about taking such action...but to be quite honest, and many may not agree here, but the American people have become too apathetic and too lazy to take on the actions of a previous generation. They just want to wait until the next election. (If they vote) If people took action about this situation, and it is horribly egregious, Washington would listen. They would have to. Why are people not protesting at AIG Offices around the country? In Washington? At our state capitols? Somehow these were organized years ago, before the advent of comptuer technology by word of mouth, and they can be organized again even more effeciently. Are we not passionate enough? We need to be heard. I don't know about you, but I am pissed. I have sent emails to my representives, to the White House and anyone else I can think of. But they won't take notice until we are heard. We can't sit around passively and wait until the next election with our little votes. We need to be proactive. Find a local AIG office..This is something my friends and I given thought to. and picket. If enough people do this across the nation, maybe the media will get involved and who knows. Civl Disobediance. It works or at least it did. I feel no one at the top cares or is listening. Our voices (Not as repub. or demos, but Americans) need to be physically heard. Can anyone give their thoughts on this idea? Or am I just blowing smoke?

On still another note, I am sure that if AIG even got a public defender to represent them, they/we would win. There would be no attorneys fees. Let these incompetent employees sue, at their own expense of course, and let the chips fall where they may. School districts and other businesses are having to break contracts and folks are accepting this, because of the current situation..they are doing their part. If these employees accept one penny, I say try them for treason...Didn't our president say we are in an economic war? Just sayn'

Now get those signs out.

Take a step back and look at the voter approval rate of the bailouts. When the first bailouts were proposed Congress was swamped with e-mails and phone calls from taxpayers telling them not to approve it. They did not. Instead they went back, reworked it and tried again only this time they added a new twist. The "fear factor button." If it was not approved we would all suffer the consequences. Bush pushed that button hard and warned of "dire consequences" if Congress did not act immediately.The taxpayers still objected but did Congress listen to us. "NO they did not" They went ahead and passed it anyway. So we can thank Congress for the mess we are in. Yes, GWB had a hand in it but ultimately it was Congress (Democrats and Republicans alike) that made the final decision to pass it over taxpayer objections.

Mitt Romney would have been a much better choice. He has experience in turning around economic train wrecks unlike Obama who has as one poster put it, never run anything but his mouth and every time he opens his mouth with yet another preposterous scheme the stock market drops another few hundred points. It will eventually hit bottom and there will be no more engine for our economy.

Doesn't someone have some duct tape for this man's mouth. How about Pelosi while your at it. How about insisting they actually have all the legislation in a package 48 hours ahead of a vote so people know what they are voting for and ACORN isn't again funded at the public expense--

Talk about corporate fraud (and it is there) ACORN was convicted (7) in WAshington State of the largest voter fraud in the state's history and 11 other states are finding the same pattern.

And yet ACORN gets billions of dollars in funding thanks to the pork-filled spedulus that the democrats wrote and Obama signed into law.

True American,

I was just thinking of that last week -- that McCain's numbers in the polls tanked immediately after he made that statement that the economy's fundamentals were good. We all knew better. Then last week, our Dictator said the same thing, that our economy's basically good. Maybe someone who watched longer than I did can tell me if I missed it after I turned off the set, but I didn't see CNN mug Obama like they did McCain for making, basically, the same assertion.

If our government had just listened to the people, and NOT given AIG the money to begin with...we would not be in this mess. Sure there'd be other messes, but AIG and anyone who invested with them made BIG mistakes, but not the majority of the US.

What I cannot understand is why they couldnt fail? Can anyone answer what the worst case scenario for the US would have been if they did? Could it be any worse than things are already?

I don't think we have to bash Obama any longer. He will take care of that himself. His ratings are already beginning to slide down hill and that's only after 50 days. That's how it works. Obama did, what he should not have done, being he is inexperienced. He tried to do too much too soon and the President's position has a lot more on the plate than what he even thinks. That's the price you pay when you bite off more than you can chew. Read blogs around the world. They are now showing Obama in cartoons cutting him up as someone lost in the White House.

He RUSHED all those bills through, just as Bush did.

Under the Bush Administration, our country lost 11 trillion in value in just a 4 month period. If we are to stave off a second great depression, money needs to be spent.

Since the greedy misers that caused this problem aren't spending, the govt HAS TO.

I realize you patriotic Christians would rather have people begging in the streets (WWJD) or better yet cause armagaedon so you can participate, however those of us who are not radical religious fanatics want our children to grow up in our great country that we love.

Don't screw it up for everyone !

Thats an interesting way to look at it techie22. I dont know if I agree with it, but I dont know much about anything. I appreciate the perspective.

You Obama's basher are so unfair !

Happy, you have GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!! You sound like a little kid who doesn't get to go to the ice cream shop. Look at what is being bashed. It is the lack of "CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN." There has been NO CHANGE I CAN BELIEVE IN so far. The administration is flopping about like a fish out of water. It is not pretty and it's not good for the fish. Is it down to "us" to rescue the "fish?"

Techie 22-

Yet another reason to denounce beliefs into a conversation that has no mention of spirituality. Wow, I guess we could be talking about the upcoming NCAA Basketball tourney in this blog and you would have reason to somehow throw in a post concerning your religious, or in this case, non-religious beliefs.

techie22 - You have to HAVE the money BEFORE you spend it. THAT is the root of the problem. American govt. needs to stop spending what it does not have. Creating more credit debt at this time is foolish.

Have you called AIG HQ ?

Have you called the Treaury ?

If not you're just a babbling idiot on this baord...

Ask them not about these bonuses' , ask them to STOP paying off CDSs(Insurance Policies that backed Mortgages) where they were SOLD TO PEOPLE who did NOT own a penny of Mortgage Debt !!!!!!!!!!!

Get it fellow idiots, we are crying about pennies, while wheel barrows are being handed over to people who INSURED SOMETHING THEY NEVER OWNED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Karma, I have to say that we've been desensitized to every thing. staring at stupidity and fighting needless battles, just like the people in power. AIG doesn't believe that we have the power to close them down, after all, they are a part of all three parties. I get tired of hearing both administrations blame each other. Either present a solution, or stop talking!

It's funny, all the people who were so quick to blame Bush for everything are now defending Obama, and not wanting people to blame him!

It's human nature, we blame who's in charge, whether they are responsible or not. And Obama is merely a mortal, puts his pants on one leg at a time just like everyone else.

Not according to the folks who voted for him. Remember, he's the Messiah, he walks on water.

Kurt, I have done all of those things, beginning with AIG's spa junket. Nothing changes, just more and more incorrigible behavior. Why can't activism work? It worked in the 60's & 70's, why wouldn't it work today? Major change has not occurred since those days, some of it was bad, but most for the common good. This is serious, we have a huge investment here. It is time to get vocal. March on AIG, intimidate them for a change. I am going to a site called Meetup and see if I can get something started there. I don't understand this passivity; that is what they are counting on.

Karma, You are correct, activism does work,,,but many of us, cant or wont take time off from work.

If we are going to be active we need to do it on a local basis,so regular people can take off 1/2 a day...

Woodland Hills has an AIG office, that might be a good place to start.

Bring Placards that read

STOP ALL Pay-Outs to CDS buyers, the bonus are a minor issue compared to CDS fraud.

Indy TX,

If my memory doesn't desert me, McCain's ratings didn't drop when he said that the "fundamentals are sound". They dropped after he said that and Wall St fell. There is no difference. Whoever said that drivel, McCain or Obama, they're wrong! The real news here is the bonus' were in the stimulus over a year! Scandalous! That puts everyone in the same boat and directly at fault! A stimulus bill is supposed to be read and the current administration should have known that thieves will keep stealing as long as they're given a chance!

Now on another note. I work for a non-profit agency. As soon as the recession hit, they stopped raising pay for a while to attempt to keep the company in business. In other words, I haven't had a raise in 2 years, but I still work! Now why couldn't the low-life scum at the AIG offices have refused the bonuses the company was trying to give them. The greed that is sitting on Wall St is ridiculous. This is not the time to blame, this is the time to act! Gotta go to the AIG office in my city.

There's one around the corner from me in on Speedway in Tucson. There is a Meetup site that a group was able to organize for Camera Fraud (for speeding and running traffic lights in the state of Arizona). They have been very successful in their efforts to bring down the cameras all over AZ. They post meeting places (typically locations where they have cameras, in our case AIG offices) on this website and people showed up in mass with picket signs, petitions etc. doing whatever it takes to bring about change, and they have. I understand the cameras are coming down. I'm going to see what I can do in my part of the world. If anyone is interested, and with the advent of internet, change is possible. Go to meetup.com and start protests in your city; this has gone on long enough. This is ridiculous!

I forgot Ron. People don't want to give up their perception of him, kind of like kids believing in Santa and the Tooth Fairy.

Funny too how AIG was one of Obama's biggest campaign donors.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the second bail-out done under Obama, again, with no regulation?

P'D OFF: You are correct. This is the very reason that government should stay out of business. If you fail, you fail.

As usual the things are the way they are because congress wants it that way, they produce the legislation and the President if he knows what is good for him signs it. The first AIG bailout was produced by the current treasury secretary (who is the current genius of the partisan herd) so he is either smarter than anybody or another political hack depending on your political disposition. The facts manifested in the current policies enacted by the current congress belie the political taking points spread by the herd that reelected these creatures that abuse the taxpayers with no conscience. The facts are curious things and are quite different than the assessment of the herd.

It doesnt matter which administration did what it is all one big dog and pony show to steal all the money. Our government is so awash in corruption through bribes it cant see straight. They pick one side to be the evil thief while the other goes "Oh my" and then switch back and forth to keep us confused. The two party system based on bribery has all boiled down to money and now they are taking it all.

NOOOOOO Obama backed the plan as is and even got others, including the Black Caucus, to vote for it too. WHy do you think Obama raised the most money from Wall Street??? MEET THE NEW BOSS SAME AS THE OLD BOSS

But the democratic congress was the one pushing it also didn't Obama vote for it? Was this another bill he signed without reading??

Please just vote for someone new. New blood in the government would work wonders.

I don't think the herd will support real change both sides have a brainwashed following that will believe any tripe sent their way.

What is all this nonsense about "change" ? WHAT CHANGE ? The change I'd like to see is toward more Conservative principles. Think that's what Obama was talking about ?

P'd off, you are wrong. The second bailout has a lot of regulation. You are referring to the second half of the first bailout. I personally am waiting for the 32nd half of the fifteenth bailout to help out my failing mushroom buisness.

Hey BIGTIMEj, the Tarp deal was passed by the congress and if they wanted oversight or stipulations on how it was spent they could have easily put that in the bill. You know that as well as I do, so quit your "It's Bush's fault" BS.

It's time for this CEO to go before the judge, be tried and sentenced for misappropriation of funds. AIG should not get ANY additional Tax Money, if AIG goes under they go under. It's just another bunch of blood suckers that will not be feeding off the American Taxpayer. O'Bama is the responsible person at the Fed. Level, this was money from the 2nd Stimulus bail-out. O'Bama promised more oversight and he got played by the AIG CEO.

My dogs bigger than your dog.

If you had been listening you would know that obama pushed bush to expedite the first bailout, he did not want to wait!

He's not as strong as he needs to be either! There is plenty he can do. If a president can order air traffic controllers back to work, he can order AIG to halt payment of bonuses. He's the president, for crying out loud!

Maybe he and congress should read the bills they signs?

And if your employer gave you a bonus...you would say "Oh no, please ,I don't want that, take it back" ?

obama is not only weak, he has no experience at all...well 126 days Illinois politics....and we all know what that is like.

Obama is a Joke, He praised the new CEO of AIG yesterday saying how good of a job She is doing, why don't we read about that. Also they have the bonus's in their contract, if they don't get them they can sue and since the Gov. owns 80% of AIG they would sue the Gov. and win.

Meet the new boss same as the old boss

Imagine if you worked for AIG. You have all the problems everyone else has (a mortgage on a house that isnt worth what you owe on it.) And after a year where every client you met with asked if you were going to be around another year and every contract took three times as much work because of the turmoil, You finally met your goals working 90 hour weeks and the company sends you half the bonus you got last year and everyone wants to tar and feather your azz because some idiot over in the CDS department lost more money in one year than your very profitable division can make up in 40years.

O'Bama is not weak, he's just pitiful ! ! ! Again, he gives rousing speeches full of promises and the ultimate savior of the USA, he has no substance or abilities to match his promises. He's basically running a Scam on the American public, but there are some that see the content of the scam and others that are blinded by the O'Bama persona.

Obama's biggest problem is he stated on public television that he WAS GOING to do something to the AIG big wigs that took the bonuses. Poblem is he, found out after running his mouth it can't be done. Contracts are contracts and are very hard to break. You can bet that if he tried to do anything, lawyers would have tied it up in court for years and that, my friends, would cost 3 times as much as the bonuses paid out. Interesting how I know that and Obama, the most powerful man in the world, does not. Inexperieinced showing.

Please don't blame Obama, it's not his fault. He's only been in office for almost two months. We don't want to see that Obama is a TYPICAL POLITICIAN LIKE ALL THE REST.

If someone hands you a carload of money with no strings, why should you then be punished if you decide to spend it on hula-hoops ? If Congress and the President had taken the time to read and understand their own bailout bills, they might have decided to put in some restrictions.

To late Happy, they already took the money and ran. And I don't think they're going to give it back. They won we lost. The problem is how to stop these thieves before they take it all.

Simple way to stop them, Dont give them anymore money. Let them sink or swim on their own. If foreign investors suffer, tough fertilizer. Let their Governments take care of them. It is time we take care of America first before we worry about the rest of the world. We have enough problems right here to worry about. I am sick of hearing the expression "AIG is to big to let fail" That is fertilizer. There is no company that is that important and that includes AIG. AIG......Arrogant International Glutton.

All you people are outraged about some execs getting bonuses and yet you have no outrage about your elected officials giving themselves raises(we pay their salary) and stealing trillions of dollars from us for pet projects(supposed stimulus)? COME ONE COME ALL!!! SEE THE AMAZING EGRESS!!!! JUST 5 DOLLARS!! RIGHT THROUGH THAT DOOR OVER THERE!

Think about this. if AIG were to fail, how would it effect YOU? I know it wouldn't effect me at all.

AIG failure Would not affect me either. Only in their own egotistical minds and the minds of their crooked egotistical friends are they to big to fail. They fail to realize that we as consumers and taxpayers can make or break them if we so desire to do so.

I like the analogy.

However, I think it is like "I think I need a smoke detector" while putting out the fire. After all, nothing has really changed yet. I still see the raging fire and plan to kiss it all goodbye. At this point, I think the administration should worry if they can still rebuild because public critisizm is now focused on them.

Yeah, kind of like Obama signing another pork-filled stimulus bill and saying "We just have to have earmark reform of some kind" while he signs it. Unbelieveable.

I'll bet Obama won't let another cent get distributed without full vetting of these so-called 'unbreakable' bonus contracts, full accounting of to whom and where the money is going, and crackdowns on possible loopholes like AIG's

he already did with the 2nd half of the bail out. AIG very recently recieved more money under his watch. seems like he had no knowledge of how it was going to be spent (a complaint about Bush's handling of this crap as well)

Obama just learned a lesson about corporate gamesmanship. He's smart. He won't let that happen again

i haven't seen him learn much of anything yet. you would think he would have learned the "don't appoint tax cheats" lesson, but as we saw that didn't happen. and that should have been easy to learn. How long are we going to let him make mistakes before we hold him accountable for his actions?

And allot more coming. The Democrats will keep trowing money to the ones that scream the loudest just to shut them up. Then they will turn around and keep doing the same thing. I watched the Democrats do this for 40 years. Same old story. Throw money at the problem until it shuts up. When they start crying again throw more money at it. "They don't know how to fix businesses because they have never run a business.

Your kidding right?

skeptic-227981

Obama just learned a lesson about corporate gamesmanship. He's smart. He won't let that happen again.

I hope his next lesson block isn't on Thermonuclear War. That will be one hell of a retake. I'm not comfortable with our Executive Trainee Selection Program choice.

You mean like he vets the people he wants to hire?? All the tax cheats!

I actually don't believe in second chances. There are some choices that can never be reversed.

"Experience is a dear teacher but fools will learn at no other." Poor Richards Almanac

He is President. If he is so smart why did he let it happen in the first place. This isnt the fault of the greedy theives at AIG, it is the fault of Congress for being very poor business people. Hence, it sits on Obama's "plate"!

Another agenda-driven post.

Please ignore.

Mr. Frank is a true patroit and is cleaning up the mess left by business major g.w.b.

Not sure Congressman Frank is unpatriotic.   

However, if a legitimate post mortem is ever performed on this financial disaster, it is possible history will not be too kind to Congressmen Franks and the other members of Congress from both sides of the aisle who could have prevented or greatly lessened the severity of the mortgage loan meltdown that has sigificantly contributed to the current dire economic circumstances.  Instead they chose not to take action to reign in the unsound lending practices that became epidemic and resulted in the infection of global institutions with trillions of dollars of bad paper those unsound lending practices created.  

Thankyou GWBUSH you Fing Ahole!

Barney Frank is chairman of the house finance committee and has been for the last 2 years. That is how he is accountable for some of this mess. Kinda of like Nero fiddling whilst Rome burns. Check out who Barney's big doners are??? you won't be shocked.

Let's see...could it be Acorn, Freedie and Fannie. Just guessing here...

Gattes,

Me thinks you need to re-read my post. I refer to democraps and repuglicans in the same indescent manner. I refer to all of the politicians in Washington in the same way. They are a waste of clean fresh oxygen and they are a waste of my tax dollars!!!!!!!!!

Their salaries need to forced from them and each one needs to work for free until this situation we are in is resolved. If they choose not to work for free, then they need to quit, resign, commit hari kari!!!

The fact is, if AIG went bankrupt the employment contracts wouldn't be worth the paper they're written on.

how very true. But they didn't go bankrupt so the contracts still stand.

If we quit giving them money, no matter how much they whine and cry, they will eventually go down. The contracts will no longer be valid and we can break them up like Ma Bell was broken up some years back.

Although I don't wish harm to anyone, if Obama, Bush, and Brown were put in a mudpit and "first one out wins", I might pay $9.95 on PayTV for that! (Again, just some good mudslinging, but no harm to anyone.)

My suggestion yesterday was that the bonus taxes be changed to 105% of the bonus!

Why is it that many many companies across America did away with bonuses this year?

How can it be that only AIG is "legally obligated" to pay bonuses, but other companies aren't?

And, finally, how do I get a job at AIG? Apparently, all you have to do to become a millionaire is get hired there.

Dear Greg-281912,

Only companies run by people with consciences did away with bonuses!

AIG doesn't have anyone with a conscience (as is demonstrated by their arrogance).

If you do business with AIG in any way whatsoever you are a traitor to your nation. This includes all
Dems and Reps in congress and senate.

I wiash we were a socialist nation........................... someday, some day.

I think Senator Dodd wants to tax the bonuses. I believe I read 150%. Can't locate that figure anywhere. But I think it would be unconstitutional to single out a group of people for a special income tax.

People get your heads out of the sand. Stop watching CNBC,get the whole story The only problem with taxing the bonus's is that Dodd himself wrote in the bill that bonus's can't be taxed. Everybody knew about these bonus's before AIG got a single cent. Most of these  are retention bonus's. That means the employes who recieve them are going  be fired or layed off within the year. WAKE  UP PEOPLE.KNOW THE WHOLE STORY

Mike-584822 and cover the eys, I'm with you. Bonuses are the primary payment for these people and are contracted. If the government finds a way to break these contracts (which they've known about for a long time), what's to stop them from breaking other contracts? Sure there's greed and selfishness in the private companies, but what about the greed and self-interest happening in Washington? If we would have let AIG file a Chapter 11 in the first place, this entire issue could have been avoided. Both sides are to blame for that.

I think the "outrage" over this issue is a little misplaced.

The Obama Presidential Administration may not be the blame for this specific one, but Senator Obama certainly had a hand in this. He voted for it. Do you think he read the bill? If you think he did, then maybe his legal expertise is lacking. If he didn't, then for sure his responsibility to the people of Illinois was remiss. Before anyone comments that McCain voted for it as well, please know that it matters not what McCain did or didn't do. He is not the one in the White House. (Unfortunately!)

thank god and all the repulicans that did not vote for McSame. If he were in the white house with that dimwit from Alaska we would be in deeper doo.

bdorgle-

I would like to know what your definition of "deeper" is. Look around. How much "deeper" can it get?

Much, Much deeper!!!

I agree that Congressional hearings should commence immediately and the "oversight committee" (House/Senate Finance Committes) itself should be held accountable for thier actions or lack of them. With the Dems. in power how much chance do you think there is that this will occur? It won't get done. What should get done by ALL Americans that are fed up with all the crooks in DC is kick every last one of them out in 2010. Also term limits, salary limits, no self-imposed raises without prior voter approval, the same medical coverage and Social Security retirement benefits they've voted on us. We may have to replace those idiots with those less experienced in the beginning but the new ones would go into office with certain understandings as those mentioned above. Hell, I think even those of us with less than a HS education would have enough sense to READ legislation before voting on it. 90% of the bills they inact could be re-worked and re-worded so as to be understood by the common man (or woman) who have the ability to exercise common sense.

Exactly! They are only the victims of their own stupidity and FINALLY the American people are not buying into that anymore. Too many of us are suffering because of their bad decisions.

The AIG problem was a direct result of Congress passing legislation giving companies like AIG the power to run their business in the manner that caused its collapse as well as the collapse of our economy. Back in 1998 the Rep were trying to get more control over the types of products being sold in the market but A Greenspan and B Clinton were against this as were the Dem in Congress. Unable to get enough votes to stop it the game changing legislation was passed in 2000, the result of its passage you can say is now a testiment toi the stupidity of Government. We owe our economic demise to the Democratic Congress as well as our future.

Pete 734820--AMEN!! Well said.

Haste makes waste! They need to be more careful in dolling out the money and not make hasty decisions that are going to come back and bite them in the u know what like this has done.

Dear boomer,

Wow! Is that what Obama said during all of those campaign rallies? This will take time?

Must've been all of the O'fanatics pinging off one another that gave the impression he was going to save us all with a wave of his blessed hand!

Like I said earlier, if the congress who passed the first stimulus (not Bush) had done their job right and stipulated how the money was spent they could have saved a lot of waste. BTW, I vividly remember Aunt Nancy standing up before the first vote and saying how bad this needed to be passed immediately.

Good since yesterdays politicians already are.

A little bit of change in their pockets...that's all.

Yeah but soon AIG is gonna own that too. ;)

sneilarreal,

Wait a couple months, Obama is gonna want that change back and more. For the greater good (or bad like AIG)?

Become President, join Congress or work for a huge failing insurance company. Looks like they all have unlimited cash to me.

Simple answer - You are soooo right. If a company lost money, with you in charge, you were fired, certainly not given additional compensation.

You shouldn't get rewarded by tax-payer bailout bucks. Contract or no contract. it is unconscionable and morally reprehensible

Svenska, you're exactly right! What about all the police and fireman around the country who have contracts, yet they've been told that they must take furloughs, and live on less? They have contracts, too, but you don't see them getting what they agreed to. No, the execs at AIG are a bunch of greed SOB's who don't care who suffers as long as they've got their private island to go to, along with all the slave labor they want. I guarantee you they will NOT go "down with the ship" if we go into a depression, because they will still be sitting pretty. President Obama is right to express outrage about what has happened-how does this reporter figure he is hurt by doing so? Unless you're very stupid, you know President Obama was right, and that we won't be fooled again by these greedy bastards!

AIG could have raised the 160 million dollars it needed to pay these bonuses by selling the art it has filled it's corporate offices with. Using tax payer money for this purpose just supports the assertion that this is a company who's leadership is prone to making BAD decisions. The argument that these are the people needed to " Right the ship" and generate the profits to repay the American people is ludicrous. At the very least they should be fired, their names made public and their reputations humiliated. If justice were to be served they should be charged and convicted. How long is it going to take the Obama administration to realize that the CONFIDENCE which is so desperately needed to ensure the success of any recovery plan it undertakes will not begin until those responsible are held accountable. It surly cannot happen by giving more money to the same people who are responsible for the bad decisions that got us here in the first place. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..........well I guess we'll find out who all the real fools are!

Obama's and the Democrat's American Dream is turning into the American nightmare. People voted for change and didn't even take the time to see whatdirection the change was headed. Democrats deserve everything that's going to come their way, through this mess. Think about it as being back in the "Dark Ages" when the tax man cometh, he took everything and left you with nothing. Whatever he does will not effect us, but one thing Obama will do, is make sure another Democrat doesn't get in office for years. People in here mean nothing. the younger generation, that voted for him, are just that. They expected immediate gratification, and he isn't delivering.

CORRECT!! You were not given the key to the exec washroom for not doing your job which is to keep the company productive. But these people, if we can call them that, were only in it for themselves. Maybe they should do what the police and fire departments are doing and take a furlough and use the bonus money to keep police and firemen working. they deserve it

Dear scopata messico,

That was excellent? Is that your creation?

Of course not -- this has been circling around email forwards for years --

Scopata,

That was brilliant. Is it yours? If it is, I hope you are author for a living. That sums up liberalism about as well as I have ever read. I am going to forward to my many associates and attribute to you of course. All conservatives will agree. Most Democrats will be in denial but if they don't squirm in thier collective chairs, they are fools in denial. Thanks for writing or.....at least sending.

Good post

I will continue to say there is no difference in a Communist and a Democrat

Excellent post.

How did this end up as an issue between Democracts vs. Republicans. This is a banking issue. The Federal Reserve gave this money to AIG in September 2008, before President Obama was elected. How is this his fault. Where were all of you, news media, etc. when Bush ran the White House and got us into this quagmire? Why wasn't he under the microscope Obama is now? He inherited this mess along with the rest of us. GET OVER IT, OBAMA IS OUR PRESIDENT. HE NEEDS OUR PRAYERS TO HELP CLEAN THIS MESS UP. I though conservatives were all Christians, oops, I'm sorry.

This is awesome!!!!

Here, Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!