Since we the taxpayers now own roughly 80% of AIG, it is time to treat AIG like every other governmental agency.
I just saw that NY Attorney General Cuomo has sued to gain the individual names of AIG "bonus" winners. That list should be published.
Why? Well, as a government-funded public school teacher my salary and that of my colleagues has always been published, and not just buried in the pages of major newspapers.
UPDATE I (6:25 pm CDT) Kudos to Richard Cranium who posted below and had already diaried Cuomo's subpoena story here:NY AG Cuomo to AIG: ID the Bonus Babies by 4:30 PM
More below the fold.
First the long rant. Then the AIG proposal at the bottom.
I don't know about other states, but the salaries of Illinois teachers, just like those of legislators, are public knowledge. Not just in salary ranges or by groups, but by individual teacher.
One of the most notorious local Illinois wingnuts has, for more than ten years, taken great glee in his singular mission to publish by name his version of teacher "salaries."
In a deal going back to the creation of Social Security, Illinois teachers, like those in 13 other states, are not subject to Social Security taxation. Nor can they receive full benefit for any Soc Sec covered employment in summers. Illinois teacher pensions are funded for the most part by the 9.5% deduction from total wages paid by individual teachers.
So what does this wingnut do on an annual basis? First he adds the teacher pension payment to the base salary. Then he adds any "extra duty" pay.
Illinois law outlaws "golden parachutes" for school employees. So, in their place we have the "golden napkin." A teacher's income can be increased a maximum of 20% as a retirement incentive. Yes, it is a good perk for a working person, but not quite the $1.6 Million given to those who bankrupt their private sector companies.
So back to the wingnut. Now he adds any retirement incentives to salary, creating what in his mind are $100K+ salaries for people who "only work 5 hours per day."
That would be bad enough, but then, using funds other wingnuts contribute to his "foundations," he publishes full-page ads in local newspapers listing each teacher by name and the amount of salary he has calculated they receive for their "five hours work." Of course, the poor men and women who coach each season, giving up nights and weekends, are often the most incensed. Sure their "salaries" are inflated, but they often work til midnight three to five nights a week.
So my thoughts for AIG...
Using the same established parameters created by wingnuts for public school teachers, the government (the new owner of AIG) should publish the total "salaries" of every AIG employee, including:
base salary
deferred compensation
stock options
performance bonuses
retention "bonuses"
Social Security payments
insurance benefits
Roll it all into one figure. Publish each employee's name with their total compensation.
Take out full-page ads in local papers in the places they live - say places like Rye, NY and Westport, CT.
And, of course, once this list was published in the local paper, someone could post it to DailyKOS.
Then any citizen who thought these public employees might be a tad overpaid could google them, call them, and register anger and frustration.
I suspect that in a short time, many AIG thieves would volunteer to work for that $1 per year.
End of rant.