AIG uses bailout money to pay employees.

[KSig RC]

Originally Posted by srmom

Frankly, I don't think AIG will get better... And throwing money at it isn't going to rectify the problems within the company as far as management decisions, and certainly the problems within their risk management department, which I believe is led by either idiots or scoundrels (and I'm not talking about the thousands of back office people, I'm talking about the people making the unwise business decisions).

OK - this is fair, and kind of a different issue in my mind, but I can definitely see where you're coming from, and might even agree that AIG as currently comprised is doomed. However, it's not like these bonuses are going exclusively to who I would consider the 'decision-makers' - true, they're going to executives, but it's not like each individual is complicit just because of hive mind or something, right?

Let's find out who green-lighted the maneuvers, who know what and when, and fire those people - after all, we can probably assume that there are some bright and talented executives at AIG who could help steer the company out. It's important to retain those people for the company to have any chance, because it's not like they're going to pull the best and brightest from the market or other firms at this point.

Originally Posted by srmom

And, as for your cute kitty analogy - If I was given a cute kitty that I found out was paid for out of money that did not belong to the person who gave me the kitty, in good conscience, I would not keep the kitty, I would give it back to the person whose money was stolen to pay for said cute kitty.

The money DOES belong to AIG. We gave it to them. It's theirs, not the American people's, no matter how nice that sounds on conservative talk radio or Keith Olbermann outrage footage.

No money was stolen.

Originally Posted by srmom

And, I wouldn't need some legal clawback to make me give it back. I just, personally, could not take something from an innocent party to a fraud.

There is no way you can really think the American people (as a collective) are an 'innocent party' to any fraud, real or perceived, that AIG was involved with . . . AIG didn't create the crappy mortgages, it just traded them and insured them.