Hey feds, how about a little bonus? Or maybe we̢۪ll just call it an individualized stimulus package, or better yet, how about giving a broke college kid a tiny bailout?
With the AIG folk greedily chomping the fat of the taxpayers’ money in their bailed out pens, I was left thinking, “well hell, if they got a bonus…â€Â
The insurance company AIG, recently propped up with government bailouts, is now 80 percent owned by the federal government and yet it is still dishing out $165 million in bonus pay. Seventy-three employees are getting $1 million or more, with these bonuses going to the very division that created the mess in the first place.
Calling it an outrageous and blatant disrespect to taxpayers doesn’t begin to cover it. Having these undeserving people receive even more money on top of their already inflated salaries seems like sheer mockery of the increasingly struggling population. Their message is loud and clear, “here’s a fat bonus for a job not well done!â€Â As a person that has been paying income taxes since being a 16-year-old kid, I would agree with the general sentiment of the American people- we’re pretty pissed off.
Everyday we hear of more and more people losing their jobs, individuals that could arguably be considered far more deserving of bonuses than the key players AIG holds as the “best and the brightest,â€Â of their employees. Although the company argues they are legally bound to pay the bonuses by contracts made last year, which were intended to increase employee retention while their financial mess is fixed, we need to look at how a clean up operation should be handled.
When clearing a huge mess, especially one you created that has affected countless others, it needs to be done with sweat pouring from your forehead, bent over on your knees. It doesn̢۪t cut it to be comfortably resting on the people you screwed over, having them do the cleaning for you, while your big man Uncle Sam, fans your struggle and rubs your gluttonous belly.
I won’t go as far as to demand the suicide of the top dogs if they don’t voluntarily return the money, as Senator Charles Grassley did, but we should really consider the need to hire not only “brightâ€Â people in financial firms, but also those that are tuned in with basic ethical principles. The AIG brighties have repeatedly run over, backed up and run over again numerous ethical principles with their mismanagement and abuse of federal money.
Just like everyone else, they need to cut ostentatious expenses, suck it up and most importantly, find their way to the meaning of ethical business standards.
Bonus geared AIG folk need to understand what my high school teacher Mr. McNally engraved in our AP Econ heads, “there is no such thing as a free lunch.â€Â That hefty bonus may seem free to AIG executives, but many Americans are not willing to pick up this lunch tab without making someone accountable for this sick example of excessive feeding.
whatever • Mar 19, 2009 at 11:23 am
Well the AIG thing is a little more complicated than that, although I don’t have much sympathy for them either. I doubt they’re having a great time over there, bailouts or not, and the bonuses were written into contract before there was a collapse or bailout. Of course, WHY these failing companies still give their executives bonuses is bad enough and another question.
However, I get sick of students complaining about subsidies or handouts for other people. Higher education, especially in California, is about as subsidized as it gets. Your measly student fees don’t nearly account for the expenses.
While the CSU system is probably way fatter than it should be (overcrowded, not enough requirements for admission, etc.) and extremely inefficient, anyone going there needs to understand that they’re getting one big handout.
Whether it’s worth your money, despite all that, is still another question.
whatever • Mar 19, 2009 at 6:23 pm
Well the AIG thing is a little more complicated than that, although I don’t have much sympathy for them either. I doubt they’re having a great time over there, bailouts or not, and the bonuses were written into contract before there was a collapse or bailout. Of course, WHY these failing companies still give their executives bonuses is bad enough and another question.
However, I get sick of students complaining about subsidies or handouts for other people. Higher education, especially in California, is about as subsidized as it gets. Your measly student fees don’t nearly account for the expenses.
While the CSU system is probably way fatter than it should be (overcrowded, not enough requirements for admission, etc.) and extremely inefficient, anyone going there needs to understand that they’re getting one big handout.
Whether it’s worth your money, despite all that, is still another question.