After all the bail-out money AIG awards $165 million in bonuses...what's next? :

Not to defend AIG, but to be fair, the bonuses were written in their contracts BEFORE the bailout money was a factor.  It's a legally binding contract, so they have to honor it.  It's not like they got a windfall and decided to distribute it amongst the execs.

The news has a way of sensationalizing things by taking things out of context.  :

Contract or no contract, TAX payer money should not be used to pay fat cats who led that company into the mess it's in now

I'm no financial expert, but lets say the taxpayers didn't bail out AIG and they had to file chapter ?? bankruptcy, they would have had to restructure everything and I'm sure those bonuses wouldn't be there.  Please correct me if I'm way off!!

I'm a firm believer in earning my bonuses... I know I work hard for mine and I really have to show the company I'm worth every penny of it.... to me these guys don't deserve a dog sh!& on a stick.  They got themselves into this mess, not us.  They need to take responsibility for their actions just like every hard worker.  

*I may be way off on how I think, but I'm not big on the politics and financial area, this is just what I think of them.

My first thought was that one would  think bonuses in contracts would be dependent on success, so I had to wonder why they would have to be paid out.  But they (they being AIG) are saying these "retention" bonuses are actually going to people in the arms of the business that aren't responsible for AIG's overall financial problems.  In other words, they claim they are paying anywhere between 92 thousand and 4 million each to about 160 top employees of AIG's successful ventures, apparently until they can sell them off some to repay their debts.  Whether that's true or not, I don't know.  

They also said the CEO and the top 60 or so exectuves will not recieve bonuses, nor will anyone in the failed financial services division.  The CEO reportedly only took one dollar of compensation for the year.  Somehow, I doubt he's hurting financially, though.

Too bad the Automakers aren't honoring the Union contracts like that!  :

You want to be fair with AIG and their contracts Glenn Okay lets be fair.

Those incentive bonuses are performance based, need I say more

The retention part of it is to keep the best people in the positions, ah last I looked they went from being one of the top ten corporate powers in the world to being one step out of bankruptcy. Why keep these people in place when they are the plotters, planners and shapers of this mess.

That bald headed spokesman should just change his name to KASH AND KARRY, because that's what these folks are doing.

This is not about party lines here, this is about the real chasm that has developed between the rich and the poor here in our country, once again we were lied to and misguided

 How much of the original bail out money for these banks hit it's target of restructuring mortgages to keep folks in their houses, less than one percent

Of course I got this information from Sensationalized press coverage. I pray and hope this mess gets the fifth estate off their entertainment and what ever it is they have called investigative reporting the last decade

 It is good to see Hamill.Kline,Lupica and Fallon starting to show some newspaper nuts again and really start digging. I wish Breslin was still around for this

 This is about rich folk, who dress in suits and politely say everything, not a cuss word out of their mouths but they say &^&^#$* YOU, every time they say TRUST US

I am in the generation that paid the SS bill for the great generation that fought a WW and a depression, and would do it again tomorrow to thank them

But my generation has had their money swiped, by a bunch of suit wearing money thugs who told all their retirement was safe in their 401K's.

 If these AIG guys had to sweat the next mortgage payment or make a choice between prescription melds and rent it might give them arrogant thieves a new perspective, miraculously even a sense of moral consciousness

Yes Glen they might feel what us jean wearing t shirted welders, mechanics and what have y are feeling now. What Teachers, fireman,cops and firemen are all going through right now

 The time for real in your face investigative reporting that can lead to exposing this suit wearing , money hoarding slugs has come.

Public money aside (said while pushing large chip off shoulder)

Seems to me the issue with the bonuses is that upper upper management allows these contracts to be written in a way that these guys could fail miserably at their jobs and still earn a bonus. Personally, if I was a shareholder I would be voting every single board member off that board. What incentive do I have to work hard (which is what bonuses are for), if I can fail miserably at my job and still earn one?

This comes from someone who makes monthly bonuses, but in order to do so, I have to show a strong revenue stream. In short, my company has to make a good buck off me first.

To me the failure happened before the bailout ever happened. How do you right an employment contract and hand out performance bonuses when there is no performance? I am shocked and partially jealous here.

AIG had to hand them out because of the contracts they wrote these guys, but IMO, the folks in charge of approving those contracts need to be relieved of their positions ASAP.

Using tax payers money is bull-crap , it's just that simple. It is outrages to give those people money for helping to screw up our economy.

Too bad the Automakers aren't honoring the Union contracts like that! :

B I N G O

Which makes the AIG bonus contract bogus now...contract or not....nobody should be getting bonuses from a company on or was on the brink of bankrupt.

I wish we never gave them the bail out,and i wish every single one of them were on the streets trying to figure out how they are gonna pay the next bill.....just like i am right now.

It's only understandable why most American taxpayers are ticked off right now.Didn't they pull something similar last time? It just goes to show they know they gonna get away with it,and nothing nobody can do.

It's time they start earning their bonuses.

Resign or commit suicide

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/03/16/iowa-senator-says-aig-executives-resign-commit-suicide/

8-)

SMSgt_RTC pretty much nailed it. The bonuses are not going to those responsible for the failure.

To be honest, I am NOT defending AIG.  I just hate it when the news purposefully creates hysteria and mob-mentality by leaving out key facts.

You would think a contract from AIG would say no bonus without profit.  I guess that was over looked. :

Anyway,  should have let them file bankruptcy to void all contracts then bail them out if we had too.  That would have made more sence.  I think we own 80% of them now anyway.  BTW never did get my stock papers showing the portion I own. ;D

My daughter works for AIG as a W/C large claims adjuster in the Dallas office. She has been out on maternity leave since Feb. 1 and she is pretty sure she will have no job when it is time to return to work. These are the people in the company I feel bad for. The actual workers that are just like the rest of us trying to make a living. The fat cats have robbed the employees and the rest of america. I hope they all go to jail and have to repay all of the bonuses that they have received while taking down the company and being a part of the world's financial problems.

Yeah I like the congressman's idea. LOL. To be honest though, I do feel real bad for the "normal" folks. The folks who work day in day out, do their jobs, while having no say in how the company is run. Then they get shafted. There are already too many people hurting and needing a job.

It is sad, but the company you can truly be loyal to, is a rare find nowadays. I tend to be a very good employee, loyal to employer and I have gotten shafted on that more times than I can count. Seems only the smaller companies I have worked for really appreciate the value of a good employee anymore.

As Glenn pointed out, the bonuses being paid are either guaranteed or based on other criteria. Often times, compensation packages are structured with bonus money guaranteed as if it were a part of the base salary.

Just because AIG is in the tank, doesn't mean that some exec in the xxx division didn't have a great year. He may very well have earned his bonus and had big numbers last year. If I read correctly, only one part of the business (initially) was responsible for the huge losses.

Although I don't disagree with much of the sentiment here, I also don't want the government to be able to dictate what businesses do.  Obama arbitrarily calling for no bonuses to be paid is clearly indicative of someone who doesn't understand the whole situation.

The more interesting lesson (I think) for all to see is that one common thread exists... rich or poor, public or private, business or personal, those people and entities with (high) debt are struggling and in many cases suffering. But what does every politician keep saying on TV... we need to make credit available, we need to lend more money to xxx and xxx , blah blah blah.

more debt is not the answer...

You made it political , and we are not supposed to do that here. So if the last administration started the bail out, and once having started down that path not to back it up, would have been economic suicide. This administration had to follow through, just ask Kent and some of the others but to only give the first part of the package from the last administration VOTED ON BY BOTH PARTIES, to be fair, then the economy would have tanked had this administration not followed through

I am not smart enough to come up with answers but there is a certain immorality of greed about a lot of what these execs are doing. THE CONTRACTS IN QUESTION ARE PERFORMANCE BASED and only a few of the AIG underwriting concerns did not tank. IF the contract says they are performance driven and retention bonus use then I dare say I would be given a bonus or retained for what these greedy jokers pulled

For many people around 58 to 60 they cannot retire because of this, all who have worked hard and trusted these fools. I am glad I didn't they got not one cent on Muddies Money

 Since we no longer make most of our GNP form Agriculture,Armaments of Manufacturing the thing driving our economy is consumerism. and the credit line is key to that Maybe now we will slowly, since moving away from anything to fast is dangerous, going to move for more balance

It is the bankers, in their Brooks Brother Suits, going to the right churches, and going to the right schoolls that have put us here THEY WERE THE LEADERS AND DECSION MAKERS for all of this.

While the Wall Street mooks were begging everyone to leave their money pat when 34 months ago they were pulling thier own money out. They knew what was going to happen and now my tax dollars are going to honor contracts with men of dishonor OH NOOOO

Lots of emotion surrounding all of this and plenty of blame to

go around. Let's leave it here before we move any further down

a slippery slope.

Goodnight Irene

-Kent  a.k.a. roadwarrior

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