From Breitbart --
American International Group is paying out millions of dollars in executive bonuses to meet a Sunday deadline. But the troubled insurance giant has agreed to administration demands to restrain future payments.Afraid of legal disputes over contract obligations, AIG feels they must do the right thing and honor paying $ million in bonuses from previous contracts. Plus they want to keep & be able to hire top quality employees...
The Treasury Department determined that the government did not have the legal authority to block the current payments by the company that has already received more than $170 billion in U.S. support.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has asked that the company scale back future bonus payments where legally possible, an administration official said Saturday.
Liddy said in his letter that "quite frankly, AIG's hands are tied" although he said that in light of the company's current situation he found it "distasteful and difficult" to recommend going forward with the payments.
In his letter, Liddy told Geithner, "We believe there will be considerably greater flexibility to reduce contractual payments in respect of 2009 and AIG intends to use its best efforts to do so.""We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff the
AIG businesses, which are now being operated principally on behalf of the American taxpayers—if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury," Liddy said.
Sounds like they don't even respect us in the morning either. With 'change' like this, we won't have enough change to buy ass cream for all these reamings!
The head of AIG said that if they don't give out their huge bonuses ..."We cannot attract and retain the best and brightest talent to lead and staff the AIG businesses,"...
ReplyDeleteI wish I could lose billions of dollars in a business and then get mega bucks in compensation because I'm the "best and brightest" in the business world. They just don't get it!! Normal people don't lose tons of money, beg for more and then pat themselves on the back and give it out to themselves rather than taking care of the business.
Best and Brightest... all these high paid executives are a far cry from their ego's. Liddy should sack them all and hire real people who would work for a fair wage. How dare he continue to use my money to make more people who lost the companies money rich. they should have let the company go bankrupt and resturcture without bonuses. If I own a company and have no money, there are no bonuses, even with a contract...in bankruptcy, they would have been voided. I wish they let this company to bankrupt and then resuce them without the bonuses. Mr. Liddy... hire me and I 'll work for a million plus and be a great asset being the "best and brightest"... why because I did not go to Harvard or Yale or Wharton. The best and brightest don't go to these schools. The best and brightest would have seen that this was going to happen, considering the average person could see that it would explode.
ReplyDeleteI vote that the bonuses get sent out to the taxpayers first and then put the company in bankruptcy and restructure it.
We, the tax payers, give AIG bilions of OUR money so they can reward their employees for the many mistakes they made, and continue to make.
ReplyDeleteThe government is throwing our hard earned money to a company who doesn't care.
How dare AIG use my money to make more people who lost the companies money rich. AIG is the biggest scam.
We should have let AIG go bankrupt!
Lesson learnt...don't reward the bad guys.
We should protest outside their offices.
Yes, by now the Gov't should realized that AIG is full of "best and brightest" people. They still making money form Gov't while evryone of us is dying.
ReplyDeleteThey have robbed the poors.
ReplyDeleteAnd said their hands are tied.
I appears obvious now that HR at AIG hired only the most stupid, crooked pathological liars that they could find. No wonder they lost billions! Now they want to hire & retain the best & brightest. I would think that any executive hired prior to 2008 wouldn't meet their "revised" criteria. The executives hired before 2008 should be joining Bernie Madoff in prison where they can reminisce about the good old days when they were busy building pyramids while they choke on their nutraloaf. One has to wonder if the compensation in the contracts were structured to guarantee payment in the event of a hostile takeover or if another corporation took control of their assets. Which, by the way, has already happened with taxpayers holding an 80% stake in the company while simultaneously getting the shaft with the very same stake!
ReplyDeleteI work for a company that has a plan to award bonuses to all employees, from the lowest paid to the head honcho, provided the company meets it's annual financial goals. Don't meet those goals means no bonus to anyone.
ReplyDeleteSeems to me that if AIG says there are legal reasons they have to pay the bonuses to their "best & brightest" they should get rid of the stupid idiots who drafted and passed rules that would allow paying bonuses even when the company lost money. Of course, their "best & brightest" were the same idiots who came up with such a plan in the first place.
So I say fire every AIG employee who got a bonus for their 2008 performance. These "best & brightest" should have no problem whatsoever finding another job in these current economic times. Oh yea, no golden parachutes for them either.
AIG is a big entity with many companies. One of them is a Property & Casualty insurance company that provides insurance coverage on personal autos, homeowners, and businesses large & small.
ReplyDeleteIf you are as upset about AIG as I am and you happen to have insurance with AIG, here's a way to hit them back: don't renew your insurance with AIG, call your agent and tell them to place your coverage with another insurance company.
If they try to give you a song and dance story that AIG the insurance company is not the AIG who is getting the billions of taxpayer dollars and then paying millions in bonuses, go to another agent. Yours is just trying to protect high commissions or maybe bonuses for maintaining their AIG business.
If these are the "best and brightest", well God help us all because we are going to need Divine assistance to keep any tax money. The government (the unqualified) helps the un deserving with our underserved tax money. What a deal for them and a golden shaft for the taxpayers.
ReplyDeleteIf it were me... I would tell AIG, "So far you have hired idiots, so I don't buy your good employee crap. Furthermore, if you give one red cent in bonuses for any managment position - we will ask every penny of tax payer dollars be returned immediately."
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion insurance is a scam to begin with. They take your money with no problem, then want to fight on every claim. Bite me!
But if you're pissed as me and the other millions across America - attend a Tax Day Tea Party near you.
This is a complete f@%king of the american tax payer. Besides this and the gas prices going up, I'd say it is time for our new president to step up to the plate, bash a few heads and use some common sense.
ReplyDeleteWell people what are we going to do about AIG taking our money and giving a bonus to crooks?
ReplyDeleteWhat are we going to do about the government giving our money away to crooks like AIG ?
Complain without action is just whining....
ReplyDeleteWhat can we do before all our money is gone and so are the recipents.....
Treasury pressure leads to AIG scaling back bonuses from$10,000,000 to 9,999,999.99.
ReplyDeleteIts a cut back......
Please let the AIG executives ask for a jury trial for their bonus. I hope I can get on this jury.
ReplyDeletefor the immediate above anon - exactly!
ReplyDeleteDealing with contracts everyday, I find it hard to believe there is not some sort of performance clause. If not, one would have to wonder about the legal acumen of the AIG attorney that drafted the contracts.
If I were US Attorney General - I would dare them to pay the bonuses. I would dare any of the execs. to try and sue.
If Obama had a 'set' he would step up and say it won't happen. I don't care what the hell the contract says. If one dime in bonuses is paid, we will immediately demand return and repayment of bailout funds. If they don't have... we start red tagging personal property of the execs for an auction.
Thats why bankcruptcy is a better idea....and some other company taking over...everything null and void...people get fired...no ducking bonuses
ReplyDelete