"It was distasteful to make these payments," said Liddy. "This morning, I've asked the employees of AIG Financial Products to step up and do the right thing. Specifically, I've asked those who received retention payments in excess of $100,000 or more to return at least half of those payments."
When asked by Chairman Barney Frank if he would agree to provide the names of the bonus recipients to the committee, Liddy agreed on the condition that they would remain confidential.
Frank refused to promise confidentiality and informed Liddy that he will subpoena the information if it is not provided. Liddy responded by reading from a recent death threat that suggested AIG employees and their families should be executed "with piano wire," claiming that releasing the names would endanger the lives of AIG employees.
Chairman Frank explained that the Congress would follow the advice of law enforcement and security advisers once the names were turned over, but that he was not persuaded by the death threat argument.
[CSPAN]
]]>@Cyberxion101: I'm glad SOMEBODY understood what I was getting at. Gracias. =D
]]>@Gtmac: I don't think you actually did, given that you're still arguing a point that was largely rendered moot by JackWalker's explanation.
]]>1. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., $103,100
2. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., $101,332
3. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., $59,499
4. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., $35,965
5. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., $24,750
6. Former Gov. Mitt Romney, (R) Pres $20,850
7. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., $19,975
8. Rep. John Larson, D-Conn, $19,750
9. Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H., $18,500
10. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani (R) Pres $13,200
11. Rep. Paul Kanjorski, D-Pa., $12,000
12. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., $11,000
do the numbers confuse you?
notice how obama got almost 85% more than mccain
4 of the top 5 were democrats!
here is where i got the numbers from
guess your story about the CEO giving money doesnt matter much given the amount of money donated to the democrats
and for trujunglist
today... this is today, not 2000 and 2002... rehashing numbers from almost a decade ago... very good. i guess you brought that up because there isnt much substance to your complaints.
]]>these are the people on your team that are running things now...
cant refute this... bush didn't do this one... this is Dodd and he is telling you he did it!
guess everyone looses.
]]>And justice, which I advocate wholeheartedly, is not delicate.
]]>Darn. Oh darn. Gosh darn double-darn.
On the bright side, he maxed out in contributions to President Bush, candidate Dole and President Shrub.
No contribs to the other side.
(Thanks to Harry Pothead for the cite, below)
]]>Hey, consumerist, when are you going to fix the broken comments?
]]>Let's look at this in a different way. Let's say you work for an exterminating company. You spray the houses with too many chemicals and kill the homeowners. Later, the exterminating company, because of you doing your job incorrectly and killing people, goes bankrupt. So the community takes up a collection to save the company, who immediately turns around and pays you your "contractually obligated" bonus, regardless of the fact that your incompetence killed people and led to the downfall of the company in the first place. Under those circumstances, do you REALLY deserve those bonuses? Anyone who answers "Yes" needs to visit a doctor.
]]>like a 165 million dollar earmark.
]]>It's a slippery slope. Pray that they don't come after your paycheck next.
]]>Despite that, handing out bonuses when your company has just been bailed out by the government and calling them "retention" bonuses is just absurd. These people got retention bonuses when they were allowed to keep their jobs. I don't hate the receivers of the bonuses, though, I think the person or people responsible for paying out the bonuses needs to find a new career.
]]>Why do they still have jobs?!?!? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
]]>For 1 trillion dollars, which party received the most money in 2000 and 2002, when AIG was running amok doing the crap that led to its ruin?
OBAMA DID IT IT WAS OBAMA
Ohhhhhhhh, I'm sorry, the correct answer is the Republican party. Thanks for playing though!
]]>It's clear from your post that you don't understand Japanese culture or tradition.
I, for one, would be honored to be AIG's kaishaku should they choose such an honorable death.
@Gtmac: Web anonymity breeding extremism? Hardly. I think you're reading too much into my quip.
"String 'em up," could mean any number of things. It is a quip with a morbid sense of irony around it as the article contained a quote >"with piano wire"< See the irony? Also, it could be a simple figure of speech. Did I literally mean to have them hung from the nearest cypress or tall oak? No. But I do believe that EVERYONE that unabashedly took their piece of the pie (the bonuses) deserve to be held responsible and duly punished.
If it would ease your delicate senses, mayhaps a public flogging would be more appropriate?
]]>AIG is trying to sell them off, but it would be an enormous blow if they went insolvent. Especially considering some fixed Annuities are not transferrable.
]]>Now the news is so infuriating that it'd put a mar on my entire day. I'd get to work and be in an absolutely horrible mood. This goes double for my trip home since by that point Marketplace is on and that's even worse.
I can't do it any more. Now I just turn the radio off and listen to the hum of my engine and the noise of the road.
I realize how 'head in the sand' that manner of thinking is, but I don't want to be in a miserable mood all the time, especially when it impacts my work and my home life.
]]>Is it just me, or does this guy look like the evil twin of Newt Gingrich?
]]>What would you have the government do? Nothing? How does that make sense? By your logic we should forget prosecuting murderers because: a) it distracts us from the poor dead victim and b) it won't bring the murder victim back to life. That's nonsense.
]]>What would you have the government do? Nothing? How does that make sense? By your logic we should forget prosecuting murderers because: a) it distracts us from the poor dead victim and b) it won't bring the murder victim back to life. That's nonsense.
]]>JulesWinnfield and HFC: You are my commenting heros.
]]>Can we get this guy labeled as an "enemy combatant?"
]]>Except in this case you gave the guy the wallet after he gave you a sob story. And, when he came back with the same sob story you gave him the keys to your house.
Blame. The. Government.
]]>But by all means, let the executives not get anything
]]>who were the biggest recipients of money from AIG for their campaign? it wasn't obama and dodd was it?
]]>I would have hoped we'd evolved beyond lynch mobs. Or is this just another case of web anonymity breeding extremism?
]]>I have lost all respect for my elders running our businesses and governments.
You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Middle School CHILDREN could do a far better job than any of you greedy thieves in the public or private sector.
I think it's time to start putting the executives or politicians college they attended next to their names when it is displayed on TV so we viewers actually know who is (partially) to blame teaching these levels of greed. I'm convinced that this behavior is taught, not innate to a person.
I'm not even religious and I have twice the moral fiber of some of these fat cats who obviously have no shame.
On topic: HALF is nowhere near good enough! Get ALL the money back. Let AIG fail.
]]>Since Obama has not made a single move to undo the Unconstitutional "Executive Orders" and anti-terror legislation, I suggest he use some of the provisions thereof.
First: he should declare the AIG employees who got the bonuses to be "Enemy Cobatants".
Next: he should use his powers of "Extraordinary Rendition" to capture the enemy combatants anywhere in the world and take them to ... places unknown.
Finally: hold them there until they give up the money.
Sounds good to me.
There but for the grace of FSM go you and I.
]]>Edward Liddy's campaign contributions are a matter of public record. 58% republican candidates, 1% democratic candidates, the rest to insurance PACs.
As for the safety of the AIG employees, weak at best. Nobody touched Madoff, the public is nothing more than sissified sheep right now. Hopefully that will change as this crap continues and eventually the people will just remove Washington or start a tax revolt.
]]>Trillions vs millions: seems a bit of a distraction, no? Tempest in a teapot?
Oh wait. Now I remember. Conservatives and their nutty Free Market Fundamentalism. Yeah. Those guys.
]]>Boycott AIG. If you have AIG or 21st Century auto/life insurance, cancel your policy and find an insurer not associated with AIG. Find out if your bank or Realtor works with AIG.
While yer at it, vote out your Congressperson if they don't do something to stop these rich douchebags from stealing our tax dollars.
]]>The bonuses AIG is paying out total, roughly, 165 million dollars. The American population, according to [www.cia.gov] is roughly 303 million, with the age 0-14 demographic making up roughly 20% of that. So we've got ~242 million people 15 and over (old enough to work, and hence, pay taxes). I'd say it's a good estimate to say that not all of those people pay taxes, so, I'm going to round it out and say that for each person that payed taxes, $1 went to AIG for the express purpose of paying these bonuses.
Think about that for a minute. Uncle Sam took a dollar from each and every one of you, at a time when you could have REALLY used it (recession and all that), and gave it to one of less than 100 individuals. Nevermind that these people are the very ones that pissed away the American economy - who are among those responsible for so many of us losing our jobs or not being able to find work. These people are already quite rich. This bonus money is not going to go back into the economy - let me tell you why. It's going to go into a bank account, because, after all, we're in a recession, and all these rich people's investments are nose-diving. Plus, they're all bankers, so, being smart bankers, this money will be hidden away in off-shore accounts.
It's akin to theft. AIG found a way to legally steal $1 from the wallet and purse of EVERY American taxpayer, and give the spoils to less than 100 of it's higher-ups.
I'm pissed, and I, for one, want my damn dollar back!
]]>The truth is that AIG had contractual obligations to pay these people for work they did as much as 2 years ago. It's admirable that some are giving back the money and sad that that won't be enough for blow-hards like Barney Frank (someone who holds a great deal of blame for our current situation.)
]]>Half. Pfft. And he thinks the death threats his employees are receiving are going to make us sympathetic towards them? Just who's money does he think he's dolling out?
Sorry, I need to go bang my head against the wall. It's less painful than watching these jokers piss away our money.
]]>(1) I received a bonus and am an incompetent lout who is going to lose my job due to my own incompetence and be an unemployed finanical worker in this economy with AIG as a stain on my resume. What incentive do I have to return any money?
(2) I received my bonus and am good at my job, which I'm now probably going to lose due to the incompetence of my management and co-workers, leaving me an unemployed financial worker in this economy with AIG as a stain on my resume. What incentive do I have to return any money?
]]>@Rob Weddle: I'm not arguing that with you.
]]>Do the right thing, and they will most likely be able to keep their names secret. Course, people this greedy really don't see straight, and would most rather die a few thousand dollar richer (which won't help them when their dead) than be alive and not-as rich -_-
]]>I still wonder how in the ~F~ people get jobs that allow golden parachutes (and the mentioned bonuses) even when they tank the company/division/department. It is like getting fired but being paid for it.
Just how does one word these retention bonuses to a prospective employer? Saying "I am so good that even if you fire me I will make money from your company." I understand about non-compete clauses and paying a severance but for over $1 million?
Or are these terms buried deep in the micro print of a contract? Or do you have to have the whole board of directors out on the country club golf course drunk out of their minds before you can get this agreement?
]]>I keep thinking about the graph that compares the war in Iraq to the bailout, and how insignificant the war is. The amount of money Congress just dropped on this bailout is astronomical.
IMO, Congress should be tarred and feathered for giving a trillion dollars of taxpayer money to corporations that should be allowed to fail under a free market. Since when was it the government's job to bail out private companies?
]]>When someone murders another human being, nothing you can do can 'fix' the fact that a human being is dead, but you can punish the perpetrator. I'll admit, not a perfect analogy, but that's basically it.
]]>For those who won't follow the link lest they get a call from HR trying intervention after the network admin reported an employee researching suicide, I'll copy and paste.
Method 8: Emotionally Disturbing Piano Wire BeheadingYou will need
* Superglue
* Piano wire1. Find a very tall building, overlooking a public place. Stand on top of it with lots of piano wire and some superglue.
2. Tie one end of a piece of piano wire 5 meters short of the ground to your ankles. Secure the other end to the top of the building.
3. Tie one end of a piece of piano wire 10 metres short of the ground in a lasso around your neck, so it can tighten when pulled. Secure the other end to the top of the building.
4. Glue your hand to your head.
5. Jump!The result: at 10 meters from the ground, the piano wire around your neck will tighten and slice your head off. Your head will, however, not fall because it is stuck to your hand. You will be found dangling upside down 5 meters from the ground with your head stuck to your hand.
And a record 45,098 people have killed themselves after witnessing a piano-wire suicide. What a coincidence!
The original was in a chat log and ended with the other person in the chat saying "I don't think I can be your friend anymore."
]]>Welcome to the Age of Show Trials.
Jon Stewart was right about "They burned the f---ing house down and walked away rich as hell". Their actions has caused the highest jobless rate in a long, long time. Then they get paid.
They paid themselves after they made hundreds of thousands of people lose their jobs. How come no one up on Capitol Hill understands the severity of that? They have no idea what common people go through in a day and that makes me absolutely disgusted.
]]>By which I mean the money we've given them so far. Even if they somehow manage to survive and become profitable again they'll find a way to weasel out of repayment.
]]>"Using people's money to pay off other people. Sounds like a Ponzi scheme."
]]>hear ye, hear ye, I declare we should bring back the age-old public humiliation and tar and feather these fools!
]]>So you see, that makes it alright.
]]>Take the money out of subsidies for ethanol and HFCS and it's win/win.
]]>The point isn't so much about the $ per se - it's about the exceptionally irrational and greedy behavior that it makes evident.
The people getting these extravagant bonuses performed abysmally in their jobs. This being aside from the fact that they had a huge part in destroying our financial markets. The fundamental question is why in the hell would people who have clearly failed so miserably get magnificent bonuses for having done so?
]]>I don't think this Liddy guy is really fully aware yet that the government owns a staggering majority of his company. Half of the bonus? Is he shitting us? That's like catching the guy who stole your walllet, and having him tell you he'll give the wallet back with half the cash if you just let him go.
]]>Here's a hint, Liddy. Stop Rewarding Failure.
]]>Layoffs, pay cuts, outsourcing, downsizing, restructuring. Imprisonment.
I watched part online and caught an apology by the committee for threats and harassment to AIG employees. I don't advocate death threats, but do these executives have any idea how angry some of the less fortunate are going to be if they continue to see no consequences for disastrous actions?
]]>I second that motion!
]]>Piano wire? That's like 1-shot, 1-kill. Firebombing them all would be far far more effective.
]]>String 'em up!
]]>