Insurance giant AIG to pay $165 million in bonuses

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

(03-15) 00:49 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- American International Group is giving its executives tens of millions of dollars in new bonuses even though it received a taxpayer bailout of more than $170 billion dollars.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/n/a/2009/03/14/national/w154601D88.DTL


How pathetic. Talk about sending the WRONG message to shareholders and the general public alike!! At a time when AIG is indeed struggling for their very existance and survival, doling out bonuses is most definitely the WRONG THING to do. How is bringing down an internationally acclaimed organization to the brink of bankruptcy and failure justification for paying out bonuses???

This clearly doesn't make any sense and is flat out inappropriate and unconsciousanble behavior on the part of AIG senior management and their board members.

These jerks are lucky enough to stay employed, let alone receive any sort of bonus compensation. This is beyond sickening really. I give up on corporate America.

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In a letter to Geithner dated Saturday, Liddy informed Treasury that outside lawyers had informed the company that AIG had contractual obligations to make the bonus payments and could face lawsuits if it did not do so.

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The best part of the article I read covering this topic stated, "We can not keep the best, brightest people if we don't pay the bonuses". Ehhh? So THESE guys who managed to piss away the the money are the BEST you have?

"Contractual obligations" from an insurance company? Get real, those robber barons (insurance companies) have more escape clauses in their contracts than they have guarantees. Ask anybody who had "flood insurance" in New Orleans.

They have squadrons of lawyers in their ranks. Let the exec's sue. Have them be treated like they treat us. Tie them up in court for months/years and settle for pennies on the dollar.

In other news, Congress gave itself another raise without a vote.

Symmetry?

Do you think I would sign a contract that gives you all those escape clauses? If not, why would the execs? Think they don't have their own lawyers too?

In the meantime, how much does it cost? Probably more than the 165 million. And then there is going to be ill will which means you have to fire all these execs. Who is going to step up to the plate for all of them? You? Can a company run without all it's execs at the same time? And then, who would go work for that company? If I were an exec and see that happening, no way I would sign on to that company.

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01 Ford Excursion Powerstroke
99 E300 Turbodiesel
91 Vette with 383 motor
05 Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI
06 Polaris Sportsman 500 EFI
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Red
03 SeaDoo GTX SC Yellow
04 Tailgator 21 ft Toy Hauler
11 Harley Davidson 883 SuperLow

Thats just how they operate - big bonuses and offsite meeting at fancy resorts. Imagine how it is in good times....

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Yeah, I know. My response was pretty simplistic. There is always an escape clause in an insurance contract however. It was their choice to sign the agreement. Just try to sue a bankrupt company. Get in line with the other creditors. No amount of lawyers can squeeze blood from a turnip.

I have no problem with the bonus/retention pay for "performance", however, when you get a 170 million "bail-out" and you pay 165 million in bonuses then I think there MIGHT be a problem. So, out of the money, 5 million goes to solve the "crisis"?

So you'd go to work for a company which has all those financial problems and claim ignorance when the walls came crashing down?

The government should say, pay that money and your not getting another cent from us. Go bankrupt.

As much as I hate taxes they should make a special AIG tax. Anyone working for AIG gets there income taxed at 90% over $250k a year. As long as were paying for them, they need to contribute back to the taxpayers.

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The gov should say, "Good luck, boys and girls!" The gov should never, ever be in the business of supporting business. This imbroglio is just another indicator as to why the government needs to STFU and let the business die of it's own bad management. I'm a taxpayer, not a voluntary enabler of dysfunctional business models.

Correction: 175 billion bailout vs. 165 million bonus. Chicken feed in comparison.

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Yes, it's like all the crew of the Titantic should have gotten their pay dock'd because the captain screwed up . . .

And while the Titanic is out there sinking, the Congress gives itself another raise without taking a vote.

Congress has amply demonstrated the capacity for running AIG as effectively as the team that got it in this shape in the first place.

Congress is being run by two far left divisive wackos. Reid & Pelosi. The MSM loves both of them. They can do anything they want and nobody in the MSM is going to report it, investigate it or care. Do ya think Stewart is going to have Pelosi on and do a hatchet job on her over this raise. I doubt it.

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Not true. AIG was profitable for a long time with a hiccup this last year. Congress, OTOH, well......

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99 E300 Turbodiesel
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This is one of the (many, many) reasons that the desire to nationalize any industry seems so unbelievable to me. Congress can't even run itself and never has been able to. I can hardly imagine what they would do with something that affects so many people so directly and is so complex -- medicine. Why is there any hope that Congress could do any better with healthcare than it has done with the post office?