It is in the best interest of the US taxpayers for AIG to be successful and pay back the vast majority of the Government assistance they received. Allow them to do so.
If the term “compensation czar” does not scare the crap out of anyone reading this article then we have finally turned socialist. If anyone was contractually promised a bonus they should receive it. PERIOD. Wake up America! Without the rule of law we are finished.
You are paying bonuses to the top people who were the top people prior to and part cause of the failure and bailout. So, lets not pay them these bonuses anymore, let them quit.
There are plenty of honest people out of work who would be willing to get a new job with AIG working hard and earning the pay that they deserve, to keep AIG successful and aid them in paying back the government. These pay checks would not be anywhere near these bogus bonus checks, thereby saving AIG money and thus increasing the speed that AIG will be able to pay the tax payers back.
Why don’t just we let you two run things? You both clearly have a keen grasp on how businesses and economies operate successfully. Thanks for your input.
Hmmm…and statistically speaking, there aren’t nearly as many women, children and minorities paying the lion’s share of this nation’s taxes, right ROSIE? Hurts to think that the ride on the gravy train might be threatened, doesn’t it? But really, it would just break my heart in two if I didn’t have the opportunity to continue supporting all the non-taxpaying masses. Oh, that’s right…thank GOD for Obama, Pelosi, Reid and “progressives”, who will always be there to ensure that my tax paying privilege will be intact and ever expanding! I’m sure that my own children can figure out how to pay tuition somehow.
Instead of bonuses, why not restore the dividend.-or at least some remuneration to the shareholders.
As to losing employees; that happens everyday to every company.
People come & people go.
Give us a break & quit the bull !
Once again we have part of the information. There are several types of bonuses in corporations. If they were promised these bonuses the important issue is what was the criteria for obtaining their bous.
If the criteria was performance on the entire company than clearly in my opinion these bonuses are in dispute, because it is evident AIG would not be in business if it were not for the American taxpayer. Absent the American taxpayer there was certainly no profit and the comapny would definately be bankrupt.
If on the other hand individual managers and executives were promised orally or written based on divsional objectives like it or not they need to be paid. To not pay them will be inviting more expense through employment practice liability lawsuits and by the time punitive damage is added we may be paying more and still lose.
On the other hand if there is a way not to pay these bonuses, and not be in breach of oral or written agreements then by all means I hope we don’t waste any more taxpayer money on a company that should have been allowed to fail.
As far as the czar’s are concerned, it is ludicrous to arbitrarily let one branch of our government allow so much power to be entrusted in the czar’s. This is not Communist Russia, the last I checked we are the United States of America where free enterprise and liberty is still suppose to be alive and well. At least it is still alive struggling to not become extinct, but still alive.
If our company doesn’t perform well, we don’t give out bonuses to owners, management or staff. If we perform well, the profit is shared with all. We would NEVER promise a bonus that isn’t based on profitability of the company…and our managers and employees don’t leave. Our average tenure with our company is 13 years, because we share the profits! Everyone obviously tries to keep us profitable, so they can receive a bonus!
What’s wrong with that picture?
Uhmm..how about Drug Czar? Sheeple…it is a silly term that has nothing to do with Obama his administration or what is going on. Stop living for catch phrases and pay attention. You may actully understand that sifting through this kind of **** is the best way to go when trying to see what is going on.
“Czar” has been a pet term of reporting for a while now. I see you threw the catch phrase “socialist” in there too. You covered all the hot button, empty phrases regarding this. Congrats.
Nice response. The “sheeple” part was especially clever. NONE of us had a clue about the use of the word czar by our government over the past decades, so really, thanks a BUNCH for bringing that fascinating tidbit to our attention. They probably were just obsessing about the word “czar” anyhow…not at all about the idea of a government stooge telling people how much they can make. Gosh, mr. realist, since you’ve been so helpful, maybe you could now start reviewing a few of these tricky government budget spreadsheets, or even the nonpartisan report of the Congressional Budget Office and come up with a snappy analysis that will just set us all straight and dispel all those nasty historical facts about socialism in its various forms. A clever response that will make me feel stupid for complaining about my tax bracket and how I now won’t be hiring any new staff this year, in light of the current economy and anticipated impact of taxes and health reform on my agency is what I’m hoping you can offer, as it would really fit the bill right now. And since you ARE super clever, I’m sure you have a good reason that I’m not supposed to hire the extra help anyhow…right?
For those of you claiming this is socialism, I ask isnt a bonus in a capitalist society, supposed to be a reward for a job well or because the company as a whole was profitable?
you are correct. most of think that these are actually bonuses instead of part of the compensation package when they were hired. i think after this near-collapse, they will change these compensation packages to related to the job being completed on a profitable note. it helps when writers correctly identify that these are not actually bonuses. construe one word from an article we can think of different ways to define a meaning. i think that the shareholders will finally have say in these hiring packages for ceo’s and other executives. again, why should they get all this big $$$ and no recourse for the shareholder for their loss of money when these folks get the money from the contracts. why does a big company get all the relief? if it was a smaller company, the gov’t would not have cared. if this company is so huge and can make that much of a difference worldwide, there should have been some oversight, at least w/in the company. same with the automakers, they should have been allowed to fail, file bankruptcy w/o the interference of the gov’t. whether small companies or individuals, we should have the same treatment. big companies should be treated just like smaller ones, if they fall, they fall. if folks lose jobs, well, we did in the past with the depression. our grandparents and great grandparents and generations past survived that era. we can today as well.
our government needs to look at why we keep spending more money than we can take in. we need to stop giving money away and causing or deficit to rise. we need to stop borrowing money from china and many other nations. we need to stop forgiving loans to these nations. if we are able to forgive loans of millions of dollars to 3rd world countries, then we can forgive loans such as student loans.
our legislators are so old we need to replace them. they can’t look outside the old box. we need to look forward and not backwards. we need to focus on national needs and interests. get away from steroids and baseball. if they can create laws to tell folks to retire at 63, then we need them replaced as well.
American International Group Inc., the insurer that has received billions of dollars in federal aid, withheld $2.4 million in bonuses due to be paid to dozens of senior managers on July 15.
AND WE CAN NOT GIVE PEOPLE HEALTH INSURANCE. HOW IRONIC
I’m with you; since the media went to “entertainment”, all politics is now just catch-phases and labels. No one thinks any more. for all those crying about the evils of socialism and capitalism, things just ain’t that simple. But simple minds apparently make the most noise and that is what get all the attention. I just wonder when it was that America stopped thinking and let others to their talking for them….one question: do you vote? voting in national elections is more like American Idol than democracy but at least participate and try to make INFORMED decisions. Enough of the vitriol and name-calling, labeling. the one thing about blogs etc, is that they give a voice to many who have nothing of import to say.
HOW IRONIC
Comment:
American International Group Inc., the insurer that has received billions of dollars in federal aid, withheld $2.4 million in bonuses due to be paid to dozens of senior managers on July 15.
AND WE CAN NOT GIVE PEOPLE HEALTH INSURANCE. HOW IRONIC
A SELF-CENTERED EGO. A COMPASSIONATE MIND HAS A TRUE SENSE OF THE PAIN AND SUFFERING OF OTHERS. ALL WHO HAVE HELD OFFICE IN THIS GOVERNMENT HAVE HAD INSURANCE. YOUR QUOTE IS ”they all have health insurance that is better than almost every person on the planet”. My point is that Bush had INSURANCE AND WE ARE STILL PAYING FOR IT. THINK OF IT THIS WAY. ISN’T IT IRONIC THAT PUBLIC SERVANTS WORK FOR THE PEOPLE BUT THE PEOPLE CAN’T HAVE THE SERVICE THAT THEY ALL COMFORTABLY TAKE FOR GRANTED. IF OUR FOREFATHERS COULD COME BACK TODAY AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE CREATED I THINK IT WOULD SICKEN THEM. WE ARE AMERICANS AND ARE BETTER THAN THIS. AT LEAST I AM. THANK YOU GOD!
If the deferred compensation plans are paid, then there goes the United States. AIG should have failed, and would have failed if not for the help of us, therefore nobody should be paid anything extra. They were technically bankrupt, broke, hanging by a thread, and deferred payments are still being considered. Maybe we really are The United States of Embarassment.
Read the Wall Street Journal. They are talking about “Deferred Compensation” – not bonuses the way you are describing them. The Insurance side of the house always made money (and still is), and was always there for me on ANY business.
To Ridiculous: Although I agree in our Free Enterprise System AIG should have failed, I disagree with your comment perhaps we are the United States of Embarasssment. We may at times make mistakes we are in my opinion still the best place on this earth to live and to bring up our families. It is evidenced by people waiting in line and even breaking through our border barriers to get here. I resent the President trying to make us feel that we owe the world an apology. No other country gives more of itself to the pursuit of liberty and humanity than nour country. When we go into a country it is not to occupy, but rather to liberate. I am proud of my country and I am not embarrased to call myself a U.S. Citizen.
If I’m not mistaken, AIG has no money at all except for what we the taxpayers gave them. Then the Government on behalf of the taxpayers should control how the money is spent. On a related subject, is the Financial Division still paying out billions of dollars to counterparties without any government supervision or any negotiating? What a great way to spend my money since I don’t owe the counterparties anything and neither does the US government. This while we taxpayers are suffering now and will suffer even more in the future to pay for this mismanagement. Who in heavens name would place that many bets on sub-standard mortgages thinking the the housing boom would last forever? Oh, I forgot, they call them sub-prime mortgages don’t they? It sounds a lot better.
What does a prudent person do if something sounds too good to be true?
It is in the best interest of the US taxpayers for AIG to be successful and pay back the vast majority of the Government assistance they received. Allow them to do so.
If the term “compensation czar” does not scare the crap out of anyone reading this article then we have finally turned socialist. If anyone was contractually promised a bonus they should receive it. PERIOD. Wake up America! Without the rule of law we are finished.
You hit that nail right on the head. As soon as I read “compensation czar” I nearly got sick to my stomach.
You are all 3 right on!
You are paying bonuses to the top people who were the top people prior to and part cause of the failure and bailout. So, lets not pay them these bonuses anymore, let them quit.
There are plenty of honest people out of work who would be willing to get a new job with AIG working hard and earning the pay that they deserve, to keep AIG successful and aid them in paying back the government. These pay checks would not be anywhere near these bogus bonus checks, thereby saving AIG money and thus increasing the speed that AIG will be able to pay the tax payers back.
NONSENSE. AGAIN, THIS HURTS WOMEN AND MINORITIES THE HARDEST.
Shouldn’t that be Tsar?
No Rosie, idiocy, thievery, and deception does not recognize sex or race. This hurts every legal working tax paying United States Citizen.
Let them quit..there are plenty of folks out there that need a job and won’t ***** if they don’t get $500,000 bonus one year! Makes me sick!!!!
Why would a company want to pay bonuses to employees who lost the Company $50 bil?
Why don’t just we let you two run things? You both clearly have a keen grasp on how businesses and economies operate successfully. Thanks for your input.
Hmmm…and statistically speaking, there aren’t nearly as many women, children and minorities paying the lion’s share of this nation’s taxes, right ROSIE? Hurts to think that the ride on the gravy train might be threatened, doesn’t it? But really, it would just break my heart in two if I didn’t have the opportunity to continue supporting all the non-taxpaying masses. Oh, that’s right…thank GOD for Obama, Pelosi, Reid and “progressives”, who will always be there to ensure that my tax paying privilege will be intact and ever expanding! I’m sure that my own children can figure out how to pay tuition somehow.
Instead of bonuses, why not restore the dividend.-or at least some remuneration to the shareholders.
As to losing employees; that happens everyday to every company.
People come & people go.
Give us a break & quit the bull !
Once again we have part of the information. There are several types of bonuses in corporations. If they were promised these bonuses the important issue is what was the criteria for obtaining their bous.
If the criteria was performance on the entire company than clearly in my opinion these bonuses are in dispute, because it is evident AIG would not be in business if it were not for the American taxpayer. Absent the American taxpayer there was certainly no profit and the comapny would definately be bankrupt.
If on the other hand individual managers and executives were promised orally or written based on divsional objectives like it or not they need to be paid. To not pay them will be inviting more expense through employment practice liability lawsuits and by the time punitive damage is added we may be paying more and still lose.
On the other hand if there is a way not to pay these bonuses, and not be in breach of oral or written agreements then by all means I hope we don’t waste any more taxpayer money on a company that should have been allowed to fail.
As far as the czar’s are concerned, it is ludicrous to arbitrarily let one branch of our government allow so much power to be entrusted in the czar’s. This is not Communist Russia, the last I checked we are the United States of America where free enterprise and liberty is still suppose to be alive and well. At least it is still alive struggling to not become extinct, but still alive.
How bonus and bogus are only one letter apart?
If our company doesn’t perform well, we don’t give out bonuses to owners, management or staff. If we perform well, the profit is shared with all. We would NEVER promise a bonus that isn’t based on profitability of the company…and our managers and employees don’t leave. Our average tenure with our company is 13 years, because we share the profits! Everyone obviously tries to keep us profitable, so they can receive a bonus!
What’s wrong with that picture?
Uhmm..how about Drug Czar? Sheeple…it is a silly term that has nothing to do with Obama his administration or what is going on. Stop living for catch phrases and pay attention. You may actully understand that sifting through this kind of **** is the best way to go when trying to see what is going on.
“Czar” has been a pet term of reporting for a while now. I see you threw the catch phrase “socialist” in there too. You covered all the hot button, empty phrases regarding this. Congrats.
Nice response. The “sheeple” part was especially clever. NONE of us had a clue about the use of the word czar by our government over the past decades, so really, thanks a BUNCH for bringing that fascinating tidbit to our attention. They probably were just obsessing about the word “czar” anyhow…not at all about the idea of a government stooge telling people how much they can make. Gosh, mr. realist, since you’ve been so helpful, maybe you could now start reviewing a few of these tricky government budget spreadsheets, or even the nonpartisan report of the Congressional Budget Office and come up with a snappy analysis that will just set us all straight and dispel all those nasty historical facts about socialism in its various forms. A clever response that will make me feel stupid for complaining about my tax bracket and how I now won’t be hiring any new staff this year, in light of the current economy and anticipated impact of taxes and health reform on my agency is what I’m hoping you can offer, as it would really fit the bill right now. And since you ARE super clever, I’m sure you have a good reason that I’m not supposed to hire the extra help anyhow…right?
Have we always had a “Compensation” Czar? I had never heard of it until now. That is the scary part, not the word Czar.
For those of you claiming this is socialism, I ask isnt a bonus in a capitalist society, supposed to be a reward for a job well or because the company as a whole was profitable?
you are correct. most of think that these are actually bonuses instead of part of the compensation package when they were hired. i think after this near-collapse, they will change these compensation packages to related to the job being completed on a profitable note. it helps when writers correctly identify that these are not actually bonuses. construe one word from an article we can think of different ways to define a meaning. i think that the shareholders will finally have say in these hiring packages for ceo’s and other executives. again, why should they get all this big $$$ and no recourse for the shareholder for their loss of money when these folks get the money from the contracts. why does a big company get all the relief? if it was a smaller company, the gov’t would not have cared. if this company is so huge and can make that much of a difference worldwide, there should have been some oversight, at least w/in the company. same with the automakers, they should have been allowed to fail, file bankruptcy w/o the interference of the gov’t. whether small companies or individuals, we should have the same treatment. big companies should be treated just like smaller ones, if they fall, they fall. if folks lose jobs, well, we did in the past with the depression. our grandparents and great grandparents and generations past survived that era. we can today as well.
our government needs to look at why we keep spending more money than we can take in. we need to stop giving money away and causing or deficit to rise. we need to stop borrowing money from china and many other nations. we need to stop forgiving loans to these nations. if we are able to forgive loans of millions of dollars to 3rd world countries, then we can forgive loans such as student loans.
our legislators are so old we need to replace them. they can’t look outside the old box. we need to look forward and not backwards. we need to focus on national needs and interests. get away from steroids and baseball. if they can create laws to tell folks to retire at 63, then we need them replaced as well.
American International Group Inc., the insurer that has received billions of dollars in federal aid, withheld $2.4 million in bonuses due to be paid to dozens of senior managers on July 15.
AND WE CAN NOT GIVE PEOPLE HEALTH INSURANCE. HOW IRONIC
I’m with you; since the media went to “entertainment”, all politics is now just catch-phases and labels. No one thinks any more. for all those crying about the evils of socialism and capitalism, things just ain’t that simple. But simple minds apparently make the most noise and that is what get all the attention. I just wonder when it was that America stopped thinking and let others to their talking for them….one question: do you vote? voting in national elections is more like American Idol than democracy but at least participate and try to make INFORMED decisions. Enough of the vitriol and name-calling, labeling. the one thing about blogs etc, is that they give a voice to many who have nothing of import to say.
HOW IRONIC
Comment:
American International Group Inc., the insurer that has received billions of dollars in federal aid, withheld $2.4 million in bonuses due to be paid to dozens of senior managers on July 15.
AND WE CAN NOT GIVE PEOPLE HEALTH INSURANCE. HOW IRONIC
MELANIE
A SELF-CENTERED EGO. A COMPASSIONATE MIND HAS A TRUE SENSE OF THE PAIN AND SUFFERING OF OTHERS. ALL WHO HAVE HELD OFFICE IN THIS GOVERNMENT HAVE HAD INSURANCE. YOUR QUOTE IS ”they all have health insurance that is better than almost every person on the planet”. My point is that Bush had INSURANCE AND WE ARE STILL PAYING FOR IT. THINK OF IT THIS WAY. ISN’T IT IRONIC THAT PUBLIC SERVANTS WORK FOR THE PEOPLE BUT THE PEOPLE CAN’T HAVE THE SERVICE THAT THEY ALL COMFORTABLY TAKE FOR GRANTED. IF OUR FOREFATHERS COULD COME BACK TODAY AND SEE WHAT WE HAVE CREATED I THINK IT WOULD SICKEN THEM. WE ARE AMERICANS AND ARE BETTER THAN THIS. AT LEAST I AM. THANK YOU GOD!
If the deferred compensation plans are paid, then there goes the United States. AIG should have failed, and would have failed if not for the help of us, therefore nobody should be paid anything extra. They were technically bankrupt, broke, hanging by a thread, and deferred payments are still being considered. Maybe we really are The United States of Embarassment.
Read the Wall Street Journal. They are talking about “Deferred Compensation” – not bonuses the way you are describing them. The Insurance side of the house always made money (and still is), and was always there for me on ANY business.
To Ridiculous: Although I agree in our Free Enterprise System AIG should have failed, I disagree with your comment perhaps we are the United States of Embarasssment. We may at times make mistakes we are in my opinion still the best place on this earth to live and to bring up our families. It is evidenced by people waiting in line and even breaking through our border barriers to get here. I resent the President trying to make us feel that we owe the world an apology. No other country gives more of itself to the pursuit of liberty and humanity than nour country. When we go into a country it is not to occupy, but rather to liberate. I am proud of my country and I am not embarrased to call myself a U.S. Citizen.
If I’m not mistaken, AIG has no money at all except for what we the taxpayers gave them. Then the Government on behalf of the taxpayers should control how the money is spent. On a related subject, is the Financial Division still paying out billions of dollars to counterparties without any government supervision or any negotiating? What a great way to spend my money since I don’t owe the counterparties anything and neither does the US government. This while we taxpayers are suffering now and will suffer even more in the future to pay for this mismanagement. Who in heavens name would place that many bets on sub-standard mortgages thinking the the housing boom would last forever? Oh, I forgot, they call them sub-prime mortgages don’t they? It sounds a lot better.
What does a prudent person do if something sounds too good to be true?