This is just a short opinion piece based on the big headlines of today that AIG will have to pay it's brokers who engineered the company's financial meltdown$400 million in bonuses. Their excuse this time is they are obligated to do so legally because of contracts signed. This comes on the heels of their crass excuses for pampered executive retreats and parties as the price and manner of doing business in Their world.
According to Edward Liddy, AIG's CEO, the company couldn't back out of the bonuses promised to employees of their Financial Products Division because:
The lousy excuse comes after the fold:
Crossposted from idealthoughts
But Liddy said he had "grave concerns" about the impact on the firm's ability to
retain talented staff "if employees believe that their compensation is subject
to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury."
This comes after the U.S. taxpayer just bought an eighty percent share in the company to the tune of $170 billion dollars. Oh, did I mention these employees getting the $400 million in retention bonuses are the one's responsible for bringing AIG to it's knees? So let me see if I understand the business principle here. You develop a reckless program that starts a financial meltdown of one of the world's largest companies, has a catastrophic ripple effect that helps other companies collapse, millions of Americans are put out of work, (sorry Canada and others I am only worried about my family and future here), and these are the people you reward with millions of dollars in bonuses, financed by whom? The American taxpayer? Can someone please show me that business model in the MBA handbook?
The other big caveat here is that if these weasly little crooks don't get their bonus they a) might leave the company, and b) might sue the company! Let me catch my breath and get an Xray of my ass that I just landed on falling out of my chair laughing so hard. Go ahead and lose them, that would fit because they are a bunch of damned losers anyway. Let them sue, as defendants we the people would have a right to a jury trial (that's right folks we are their peers) and it would be the American taxpayer who would be called on to serve on this jury. How far do you really think that court filing would go?
I have been a strong Obama Administration supporter throughout this entire crisis. Yes Mr. President, I helped put you in office, at your request. (Are you pissed that I listened to you and gave you what you wished for?). However, if this Administration allows this then I will be of the mind set that despite all of your good qualities Mr. President, you are an utter fool and don't understand a damned thing about this crisis, or you have some pretty big IOU's to corporate and lobbyist interests that we were unaware of. How can Timothy Geithner even think about allowing this? First he totally screws the pooch on filing his taxes, and it seems that idiocy continues now that he is confirmed as Treasury Secretary. Does anyone their in D.C. realize that after the American taxpayer was made to fund AIG for their screw ups that the picture and rules changed? Liddy's deals and promises mean nothing now, and I think you will lose too much support, blow a large portion of your political capitol, as well as lose the good faith of many Americans. Surely you have the foresight to recognize this, and say to AIG, NO MAS! (I phrase this in Spanish because it seems that AIG doesn't understand English).
The whole crux of this financial meltdown boils down to this very type of thinking. These business guru's seem to think that they are entitled elite not accountable for their own misdeeds and we should pay them for costing all of us our savings, jobs, and retirement because they are so great just to come into the office. NO MAS! Fire them, let some other company hire them, that might help AIG recover faster because this same bright boy crew will surely sink whatever ship they jump to. Less competition for AIG.
One final consideration that is two pronged Mr. President. How many Americans right now are unemployed, homeless, struggling to keep their heads above water? What do you think their reaction will be if you allow this shake down to go through? Did you ever see the original Frankenstein movie with Boris Karloff? Remember the ending scene outside the castle? The second prong to consider is other companies the tax payer has bailed out might decide they are owed their bonuses as well. How will you stop them from giving their people "retention" bonuses? Because by giving into AIG you will have given them a legal precedent to do likewise. Trust me here, there will be pitch forks and torches then, and I think most local hardware stores will supply their neighbors with the pitch forks for free.
If AIG is so big that we can not let it fail because of the huge global financial meltdown that would occur, then let the globe handle their financial problems (China has a neat way of dealing with crooked business executives called a firing squad). As for me and my family our answer is No Mas!