"Some Democrats in Congress are livid at the excessive bonuses recently paid to
AIG executives... I haven't seen Democrats this mad since Hillary Clinton and
John McCain campaigned for president wearing the same pants suit and
accessories."
- Jerry Perisho
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"Republicans are on board in this, too. Iowa Senator Charles Grassley told AIG
executives -- this is what he actually said -- he said they should either quit
or commit suicide. But I think that's plain wrong. I mean, why give them the
option of quitting?"
- Jay Leno
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
AIG Executives "Commit Suicide" at Benihana's
http://tinyurl.com/c5pwuz
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
"Bailed out Wall Street firm AIG will hand out $165 billion in bonuses. It's
part of the company's employee incentive program: Incompetent of the Month."
- Alan Ray
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
"Bonus" is two words....
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
So Angry!
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=e893063811ad990ea0d1b71515718ff3
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Senators Announce Plan To Tax Bonuses
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/03/17/aig.bonuses/index.html
Two key senators Tuesday announced a plan to impose a hefty tax on retention
bonuses paid to executives of companies that received federal bailout money or
in which the United States has an equity interest.
Sens. Max Baucus, D-Montana, and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa -- the chairman and top
Republican on the Senate Finance Committee -- said companies would not be
allowed to restructure the payments to those executives through deferred
compensation to avoid the tax. ...
Grassley and Baucus said all retention bonuses would be subject to a 35 percent
excise tax for excessive compensation to be paid by the company and an
additional 35 percent tax to be paid by the individual. ...
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
"Here you go.... please fill out Form 1040FU2."
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
AIG Gives Million Dollar Bonuses To Execs, Tasteful 'Thank You' Card To White
House
http://www.enduringvision.com/news/politics_031809.php
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
to: The Honorable Timothy F. Geithner
United States Secretary of the Treasury
from: Edward M. Liddy
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, AIG
http://abcnews.go.com/images/Business/EdLiddy03_14_09_letter.pdf
. . In the first quarter of 2008, prior management took significant retention
steps at AIG Financial Products. These arrangements were designed at a time
when AIG Financial Products was expected to have a significant, ongoing role at
AIG, and guaranteed a minimum level of pay for both 2008 and 2009. (Due to
losses at AIG Financial Products, a senior manager will receive about 43% of
his 2007 expected level for 2008.) Some of these payments are coming due on
March 15, and, quite frankly, AIG's hands are tied. Outside counsel has advised
that these are legal, binding obligations of AIG, and there are serious legal,
as well as business, consequences for not paying. ...
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
So, contracts made to white collar executives that bankrupt their companies
(and most of the world economies!) are still in force and unable to be changed,
but contracts made to union employees can be voided or changed significantly by
bankruptcy judges at the drop of a hat?!?
One set of rules for blue collar workers and another for white collar
thieves.... where's the freakin' justice?!?!?
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Legal Contracts
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=5a2cd47a73f30343866b02fd1fc76b06
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Conn. Lawmakers Reconsider Wage Law Cited By AIG
http://tinyurl.com/c33zmx
Connecticut lawmakers said Tuesday they hope to change a state law that's being
partially blamed by insurance giant American International Group as a reason
for paying $165 million in retention bonuses to executives.
AIG, which has received tens of billions of dollars in federal bailout money,
has said it is bound by Connecticut's Wage Act to pay the bonuses because its
financial products division is headquartered in Wilton, Conn.
The state law allows employees to sue for twice the full amount of
contractually owed wages -- in this case $330 million -- as well as attorney's
fees, if the employer refuses to pay up. House Minority Leader Lawrence Cafero,
an attorney, said he believes Connecticut's definition of wages is written
broadly enough to include the retention bonuses and other bonus pay.
"They have consistently cited the Connecticut Wage Act as the primary reason
that they must give out those bonuses. We hope to put an end to that," said
Cafero, adding that Connecticut "should not be used as the scapegoat or the
excuse for AIG" to pay the controversial bonuses. ...
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, called it "contemptible" for AIG
to cite her state's wage act.
"I strongly support legislation that would prohibit entities which receive
federal or state bailout money from using those funds for excessive bonuses or
payouts similar to AIG's outrageous attempt at self-enrichment," she said. ...
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
"In his speech yesterday, President Barack Obama lashed out about these
excessive bonuses. He said the trouble at AIG was caused by recklessness and
excessive greed. But here's the problem. The AIG executives thought it was a
compliment. They went, 'Oh, thanks, wow.'"
- Jay Leno
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
It's In My Contract....
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=d80ffe1d8bfba085a31b4e723053f116
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
AIG's Legal Reasoning For Bonuses Is "A Joke"
http://tinyurl.com/dek93v
[Connecticut] Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says that AIG's legal
reasoning for paying $165 million in bonuses to its employees is "a joke."
Blumenthal made his comments on a day when House Republican leader Larry Cafero
of Norwalk and Senate GOP leader John McKinney of Fairfield called for the
General Assembly to change the state's labor law regarding standard bonuses and
retention bonuses.
"I have significant doubts about the validity of AIG's claims that they are
required by Connecticut law to pay these outrageous bonuses," Blumenthal said.
"AIG is shamelessly shielding itself behind the Connecticut Wage Act -- a joke
of a justification for squandering scarce taxpayer resources."
He added, "We should use any and every well-founded legal weapon to recapture
these baseless bonuses at AIG -- rewards for financial failure and economic
destruction at the outrageous expense of taxpayers. My office will carefully
investigate the merits of AIG's claims under the Connecticut Wage Act, and will
take every step necessary to fight this gross misuse of taxpayer money.
Corporate collapse demands accountability -- not windfall payments." ...
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
We Don't Have Any!
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=66865774bbe03a928bc21df9444415c8
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
"AIG! Here's the worst part: any money AIG saved on bonuses, they chose to give
to their favorite charity, the 'Punch the Children Fund.'"
- Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show"
http://tinyurl.com/cndnbo
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
"The White House went berserk over AIG traders getting bonuses Monday. They
sold insurance on mortgage-backed securities backed by bad loans. They pulled
off such an illusion that they were all lucky they weren't eaten by a white
tiger in Las Vegas."
- Argus Hamilton
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Hunt Them Down....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/03/17/colbert-will-hunt-down-ai_n_175679.html
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Everything I Learned About Business I Learned From AIG's Financial Products Unit
~~ Think outside the box. Specifically, the box where you keep your morals.
~~ Overpromise. Underdeliver.
~~ An ounce of ethics is worth a pound of dirt.
~~ To avoid injury, keep your knees springy when dancing on the restaurant
tables during your Sunday Eggs Benedict & mimosa brunches.
~~ Oh, and if the egg yolks are too hard, throw your plate at the server like a
frisbee.
~~ Performance reviews are for sissies.
~~ Becoming "too big to fail" is the Holy Grail of success.
~~ Government deregulation is orgasmic.
~~ Laughter at the gullible is the best medicine.
~~ A stitch in time saves nothing. Just have the butler buy you a new Armani
suit, for god's sake.
~~ Nobody moves your cheese. You eat theirs.
~~ Don't be messy. Spread the risk around to ensure that every country
collapses at once.
~~ All for one, and one for moi!
~~ A bonus isn't just a bonus. It's The Precious.
- Bill in Portland Maine
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AIG Executive
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=58bd13418593ed04caa8e124921340d6
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Somehow it's always reasonable to hurt the poor as a way to make them shape up.
Tougher bankruptcy laws, welfare reform, it's all good social engineering.
But if you talk about hurting the rich to make them reform, it's terrible
Taking money away from a guy with plenty more to spare is worse then taking
money away from a person with none left.
(via thepoorman.net)
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
"The government is working on taking away those taxpayer-funded bonuses paid
out to failed AIG executives. Congress is promising to get most of the money
back by forcing those executives to give them bigger campaign donations."
- Jake Novak
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We are expected to believe that when a soldier dies in the line of duty, he
accepted that risk when he signed up and it is a patriotic duty; but we cannot
ask Wall Street executives to forgo million dollar bonuses?
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Who Deserves A Bonus?
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=ea696d1bd812695dd0bb67ddfdadf8e8
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Cuomo Details Million-Dollar Bonuses at A.I.G.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/18/business/18cuomo.html
Seventy-three employees were paid more than $1 million in the latest bonuses at
the insurance giant American International Group, according to the New York
attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo.
The attorney general provided some new details on Tuesday about some of the
$165 million in bonuses that A.I.G. paid out last week in a letter sent to
Representative Barney Frank, the chairman of the House Committee on Financial
Services.
"A.I.G. made more than 73 millionaires in the unit which lost so much money
that it brought the firm to its knees, forcing a taxpayer bailout," Mr Cuomo
wrote in the letter. "Something is deeply wrong with this outcome"
Mr. Cuomo did not name the bonus recipients, but the numbers are eye-popping,
given A.I.G.'s fragile state. The highest bonus was $6.4 million, and six other
employees received more than $4 million, according to Mr. Cuomo. Fifteen other
people received bonuses of more than $2 million, and 51 people received bonuses
between $1 million and $2 million, Mr. Cuomo said. Eleven of those who received
"retention" bonuses of $1 million or more are no longer working at A.I.G.,
including one who received $4.6 million, he said. ...
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
Did you catch that?
"ELEVEN of those who received "RETENTION" BONUSES of $1 million or more are no
longer working at A.I.G., including one who received $4.6 million, he said."
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
What Does It Take?!?
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=0785258ba36123486aa67188177fd18f
=--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--= =--=
When I'm not spending my time spreading whimsy about wingnuts, I run a business.
So here's some advice for AIG:
Fire them all for cause. They didn't make money. They destroyed the company.
They're gone. No golden parachutes, no severance packages, nothing. Have them
pack up their offices and be out before lunch. Have security escort them from
the building. If you don't have enough security, I hear Blackwater is looking
for some work.
Then repost their jobs at 60% of what they were making before. Maybe throw in a
performance bonus. And then only hire what you need.
My consulting bill will be in the mail. I don't think a million is out of line
since I just saved you more than $164 million.
Nice doing business with you...
- TBogg, tbogg.firedoglake.com
***********
BULLSH**!!!
http://imgsrv.gocomics.com/dim/?fh=9d16630407c3168d95a6d74dd40128e4
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