Closing Arguments: Risking YOUR Own AIG

How to stop AIG’s bonuses. Will this work?
“How to Stop AIG’s Bonuses”
http://accuracy.org/newsrelease.php?articleId=1949

How sad that the people receiving the bonuses aren’t willing to step forward and refuse the money during such an economic crisis. Isn’t that what community is about, taking care of each other in time of need. Carolyn Shawgo

I don’t want the bonuses recouped at any cost until someone shows me a real live person with a real name and a real contract who didn’t do what he agreed to do for the money he was offered. It’s fine to assume that each of these bonus recipients personally wrote the CDS contract that ate Cleveland, but that’s because assuming beats the heck out of thinking.
Barney Frank says the American taxpayers should start acting like owners. Only owners decide who they need and pay them bonuses to sign on and stay in rough times. At least that’s what smart owners do, but Barney didn’t say we had to behave like smart owners. He and Sen. Dodd and that idiot Grassley – we’re talking bipartisan cluelessness here – want to scuttle their ship so that the captain won’t get paid. Smart. Real smart.
It’s nice that ABC news has figured out that the government may be shooting itself in the foot. That was, of course, obvious yesterday, but yesterday the “news” was that people were angry. Today, the news is that angry people do dumb things. Where would we be without our journalists? Maybe tomorrow you folks will figure out that a retroactive 100% income tax is more properly called a “fine,” and ought, one would think, to follow a trial for commission of a crime.
The Constitution has this nonsense about ex post facto laws and bills of attainder, but it’s in Latin and archaic English, so we can probably ignore it. I mean, any stick is good enough to beat these dogs, right?

I feel if bonuses are to be given, they should come out of money that the COMPANY earns, not get their million dollar bonuses from our taxpayer money! When my employees get bonuses, it comes out of MY pocket!

Let the IRS go after them. That way AIG can “honor its contracts”, the government doesn’t tell a company what to do and the greedy employees can give back to the taxpayers. Funny how the company had to pay bonuses to keep the best talent…some of whom have now left after getting their money. Greed is disgusting, and we are all guilty. The difference is having a conscience — or the lack of it.
– Houston, TX

I am very surprise with the Republican’s response. Republicans are equally responsible when AIG tricked America. Nobody from Republicans approached Mr. Geithner before the damage was done. Any body can scream after the damages is done.

This makes me so angry! I can’t believe after the 1st bailout money was sent to AIG and they spent it on a lavish party that they are receiving more money. There are so many people out there loosing jobs, homes etc and these people well what can one say? When is the american public going to get mad enough, when are we going to say enough is enough? we are expected to cut back on basic necessities, watch our spending, pay our bills but i do not see these big companies going on a budget unless it involves cutting jobs, why not cut these big salaried jobs and make the CEO answer his own phone, get his own coffee and type his own memos? We have our insurance with AIG and I can tell you this they WILL NOT be receiving our premium payment for April 09, if i have to send the the government more tax money for their foolish spending ways i am going to make a mature decision regarding my budget something has to go i will not support them anylonger voluntarily anyway, I have had enough, i am cancelling them and finding someone else.

If the people in our government does take back the bonuses then watch out they will come after everyone’s else. This is a slippery slope that will come back to haunt the rest for the public and businessses. Just think of the exorbite profit tax they want to put on companies. What next? The people in congerss several years back should have to pay back this because they were the main reason for all of this mess.

Sounds like more lies, just to keep everyone off AIG’s back…
Get the money back and let them dig themselves out of the hole they dug … we don’t need to bail anymore CEO’s, big businesses or wallstreet any more…
There is alot more to this story that is not being told… maybe the government has something to do with this… but there is more to this
And AIG should not get that 30 Billion dollars that was committed to them… they ruined it when they gave out those bonuses.

Don’t blame the execs of AIG…Hell, if they offered me the bonus I’d surely take it…Put the ONUS where it belongs…a clueless President controlled by the IDIOTS he has for advisors…and the FOOLS in congress, which unfortunately, we citizens put in office. Once there they have a habit of forgetting that they were ELECTED and whom they are supposed to SERVE !!!
Many years ago an infamous statesman made a profound statement that unfortunately rings as true today as it did then, And I might add, under equally as dire circumstances.
” It is fortunate for governments and politicians that the people do not think.” Adolph Hitler 1939
WAKE UP AMERICA…It’s your money, how much of this crap are you going to take?
contact your representatives and let them know how you feel…this type of thinking permeates all branches of government from the city hall to the white house…WE ARE DIMINISHED.

AIG is not the problem………… The problem is incompetents and arrogant in our government. What group of idiots gave our money to this corrupt company without safeguards. It’s like giving a drug addict money for food and expecting him to buy food instead of drugs. It is your elected representatives in Washington, wake up. The “news media” has died at the wheel.

I would think the bonuses could be recalled by claiming; Eminent Domain

A contract can be broken. It happens everyday in the “real world”. AIG execs you should be ashamed of yourselves. No one should get a bonus, reward or compensation for something bad that you helped create. Be men or women and step up you made mistakes you definately DO NOT deserve my tax dollars for your blunders. I would hope that President Obama can resind the last bail out check. Then you can rely on your “execs” to figure out how you can save your own shareholders and clients. Then tell us you still gave them the bonuses. SHAME SHAME SHAME on all of you. The American people may not be cpa’s or financial advisers but we sure know when we are being taken.

Paulson designed this ‘Ponzi’ scheme (TARP). We understand everyone wanting us to buy more stock in order to keep the market up…fix the system…then we’ll have ‘confidence’ to invest.
And that FIX is simple and oblivious, but everyone seems not to be addressing it directly…
- it’s ‘Corruption-Corruption-Corruption’.
ie. special interest groups, earmarks, lobbyist, elimination of rules and regulations, the financial sector having contributed over $5.2B to political campaigns, same people who got us in this mess are now tying to get us out (humanly impossible…they will, and have instead spent most of the time & money trying to cover-up the industry’s underlining behavior).
Corruption is the ‘root’ problem here…as it is everywhere. Until that gets fixed first…everything else is redundant…we’re just pouring $$$ into the abyss! Wall Street has always been Ponzi Street, and the Golden Rule always applies; ‘never invest $$$ you can’t afford to lose’.
Fix the ‘corruption’ – then we’ll have ‘confidence’.
The solution – ‘Transparency-Transparency-Transparency’.
How? Start now Restructuring (nationalize, fix, resell) all the zombie banks – the FIDC does this every day.

They have to be hanged from their offices for this heinous crime that they have committed. There has to be no pardon. The common man has been taken for a ride and if no action is taken, they will be taken for rides even by others who have got the taxpayer’s money.

Oh, C’mon, how can someone suggest “Risking YOUR Own AIG”? Let’s take all the money that we’ve given them and strip them down and rebuild. AIG really needs a blood transfusion – there’s been too much bad blood. Don’t be afraid to act now, else there’s no end to this mess – just wait and see what criminals these people really are. If we can’t get the money back now, let’s seize their properties, take away their passports, freeze their assets, etc. Trace where they’re trying to hide their new millions. These have been done to suspected white-collar criminals in the past, what’s wrong with using them now? If we’re afraid of prosecuting them in error, let them sue the people at a later time. I don’t agree with taxing them – it just takes too long. Let’s recover the money asap. For what American’s have lost, I think it’s not far from hitting rock bottom any ways, therefore we just could be pulling through better than if we continue to enable criminal deeds that are so obvious.

Yes, the bonuses should be recouped at any cost. This outrageous case can be used as an example to aid in fixing a number of major problems in this country.
AIG’s managers who received these bonuses are total incompetents who destroyed AIG and brought the world financial system to the brink of collapse. They have totally destroyed the lives of millions of people. It is totally ludicrous for them to claim that the bonuses are necessary for their retention. Why would a feeble company want to retain feeble, incompetent managers? It is time to throw them out and bring in some real talent and without outrageous salaries and bonuses.
This mess illustrates that the whole concept of paying for performance via bonuses is totally flawed. It has created a loophole that crooked managers, like those at AIG, can use to feather their own nests and give nothing to rank and file employees. My company started this bonus nonsense about 20 years ago. Us peons in the trenches get laughable peanut bonuses or nothing at all, and we are worked 80 hour weeks and get no vacations, while the top managers take all the cream and contribute very little if anything. It is time to make compensation via bonuses illegal, and start paying honest salaries for honest work again. Once again, our would-be government has failed to act on behalf of the people in this area, as in all other areas.
Finally, the crooked AIG managers and their kind elsewhere should be prosecuted and get sentenced to either life imprisonment or lethal injection (the death penalty). Come on would-be government, let’s start to do your job.

js wrote:”I am very surprise with the Republican’s response. Republicans are equally responsible when AIG tricked America”.
Republicans and GW Bush never met a CEO they didn’t love. This B.S. started the moment Bush took office. The truth is about to come out in the next couple of months and the top NeoCons will be headed outta the country leaving their pitiful followers to face the wraith.

This is outrages. America needs a little communist revolution on the crooked rich and powerful now. Post the names and addresses of those shameless AIG executives and the Wall Street crooks on the internet and let us, the little people who have become victims for being law-abiding citizens, take care of them.
—————— (Don’t know why. The ABC News has blocked my ids from posting comments on its site. They also deleted some of my comments. And they refuse to tell me why. I can only post in this blog section now. Guess the freedom of speech is no longer in ABC News’ vocabulary.)

Things are done by people- either accomplished or destroyed- something. A society has to send out right message for people to trust each other.
Worried and wondering why we are in such a huge hole… Then, one page of Wall Street Watch answered a lot of questions. We taxpayers should read it so we can make sure the future system will be good. The 250-page study is on that website,too.
http://www.wallstreetwatch.org
However, the summary page is good enough to understand why we are here today.

It seems to me that AIG is holding itself hostage by claiming that if they fail, it would be catastrophic to our economy. (keep in mind that is a very Subjective statement, coming from AIG) Therefore, with this threat, the government rushes in with a ransom (aka ‘bailout’) And now, they have us in a catch 22; because taxpayers own 80% of AIG, we Definitely don’t want it to fail! A vicious cycle now ensues.

AIG is just one more fine example of our congress and senate racing around like the RATS they are trying to put out the fire they started. The democratic senate allowed and voted for the loopholes ,requested by the democratic treasury, which was then voted on by a democratic house, a bill signed by the democratic President. When will these people think before they act. Now they are passing a tax bill which is illeagle and will tie-up the court system for years at tax payer expense. When will the false taking of responsibility end? When will change begin? When will those poor girls ever get the dog>