Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
Bwahahahaha!! *sniff* Hehehehehehe...
In a letter to [Treasury Secretary] Geithner yesterday, Liddy agreed to restructure some of the payments. But Liddy said he had "grave concerns" about the impact on the firm's ability to retain talented staff "if employees believe that their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury."
Bwahahahaha!! *sniff* Hehehehehehe... Go on, pull the other one:
AIG officials say that some of the upcoming bonuses are relatively modest once they are divided among employees. About 4,700 people in the company's global insurance units are receiving $600 million in retention pay. In addition, about $121 million in corporate bonuses will go to more than 6,400 people, for an average payout of about $19,000, according to AIG.
"These are not Wall Street bonuses," said one AIG executive, who was not authorized to speak on the record. "This is an insurance company."
Heh. Hehehehe.
>wipes eyes, catches breath<
Whew. Gods, I'm glad that those are not Wall Street bonuses. I mean, who in this economy can begrudge a mere average $19,000 bonus for the middle-managers there at AIG? Not to mention the average $127,000 retention pay to the upper management? I know if *I* didn't get that kind of bonus annually, I'd just leave. I mean really.
Heh.
OK, in all seriousness, if these people have contracts stipulating these bonuses, without some kind of escape clause pertaining to the performance of the company, then it would probably cost us more in lawsuits for violating those contracts. Yeah, I said "us" - because we're talking about AIG, which has received some $170 billion (and which as a result the US government owns 80% of). Does that make you feel better about the whole thing?
No, me neither.
Jim Downey
(Cross posted to my blog.)
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And now, we have this:
Dear A.I.G., I Quit!
And now they hate being the subject of ridicule
I do rather like the idea of a tour to AIG bonus-baby houses and their HQ. Anybody up for a bus trip on Saturday?
Maybe it's unfair that they are all being tarred, and that their children are being scared. But sometimes, you have to take the bad with the bad. What happened to bankers in 1929?
They had the decency . . .
They had the decency to jump out of windows well above the second story.
Aww, that was really *mean* of me, wasn't it? Insensitive. Borderline vigilantism.
Yeah, it was. Intentionally so. I think that society in general, and banking/finance/business in particular, would be well served by a round of these asshats deciding that they should just kill themselves. Sabotage of the world economy, failure on this scope, should come with sufficient shame and approbation that it is never risked again. Instead, we have gasbags like Limbaugh complaining that we're going to *tax* the bonuses they got too heavily. Give me a frickin' break.
Jim Downey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Like Science Fiction? Read *or listen to* my novel, Communion of Dreams, for free.
Contrast to when Liddy was at Allstate
Interesting to read the contrasting opinions in the media, from the sanctity of contracts to Sen. Grassley's suggestion that the AIG execs commit seppuku. As a (now former) Chicagoan I really liked one commentator's contrast of the hard-nosed Liddy of a decade ago, when he fought legal challenges to layoffs at Allstate, to the one today who has rolled over and agreed to pay ridiculous bonuses. It's going to be interesting to see how this plays out - and if AIG ever recovers from the negative publicity, even if it doesn't pay the bonuses in the end.
I like my bonus
I work for an insurance company and I get an annual business. I'm in a high grade pay level, so it's a pretty nice check, but nowhere near what these AIG brainiacs are getting. There's a catch to ours. Each year, management sets the goals that they want to achieve. If the goals are not achieved, no bonus. I've worked at this company for about 10 years and cannot recall ever not receiving a bonus, but that's only because the goals have been met every year.
Rewarding employees for company performance is good management. I know I bust my butt to do my part. But if my company did the things AIG has done, I would not only not expect a bonus, but I'd expect some heads to roll.
But did your company earn the bonuses?
Todd, unless your company is funded by federal bailout money, there's no comparison. In essence, we the taxpayers are paying this bonuses, because AIG received $170,000,000,000.00 in bailout funds. I'm not keen on keeping a company afloat only so that its employees and executives can take home more in a bonus than I, and some of my friends, make in a year.
Watching Larry Summers on This Week right now
Making the "they have contracts" case. I am considering the argument's validity in between vomiting sessions as my digestive system mistakenly tries to purge the rot from my moral indignation. Silly guts.
And why did the administration put Summers on there to begin with? Why tie an administration face to the idea of the AIG bonuses? Weird move, say I.