BONUSES AND BAILOUTS

The Rev. Dana Prom Smith, S.T.D., Ph.D. (3/15/09)

The citizens of the United States now own nearly 80% of A.I.G., the American International Group, having bailed them out with $170 billion of tax payer dollars. Now, the current chairman of A.I.G., Edward M. Liddy, wants to give $195 million in bonuses to its senior executives claiming that if the bonuses aren't paid, A.I.G. won't be able to retain those executives.

First, why would A.I.G. want to retain them since they recklessly messed up A.I.G. in the first place. The bonuses appear to be rewards for incompetence and greed. Secondly, in the current economic climate where would these allegedly invaluable employees go? The market is already flooded with invaluable employees. Who would employ someone who engineered a flop?

Rather than giving them bonuses they should be fired. Once corporate fat cats think themselves indispensable, it's probably time to can them and replace them with wizened skinflints.

A sign of their incompetence is the repeated gaffes they've recently made at A.I.G. First of all, soon after the first bailout money was handed over to them carte blanche by the Bush Administration's give-away artist, Henry Paulson, they planned a big party for themselves at California's Ritz Carlton seaside resort. They then gave bonuses after bonuses to themselves while everyone else suffered. Clowns, these guys gold plated their toilets. They don't even know on what side their bread is buttered.

As a citizen shareholder of A.I.G., I vote for their termination sans severance pay. On the street or in the hoosegow.