"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast"
-Oscar Wilde		 Brilliant at Breakfast title banner "The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself."
-- Proverbs 11:25
"...you have a choice: be a fighting liberal or sit quietly. I know what I am, what are you?" -- Steve Gilliard, 1964 - 2007

"For straight up monster-stomping goodness, nothing makes smoke shoot out my ears like Brilliant@Breakfast" -- Tata

"...the best bleacher bum since Pete Axthelm" -- Randy K.

"I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." -- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (1954-2015), They Live
Friday, November 14, 2008

Aren't you glad you gave a big fat early Christmas present to AIG executives?
Posted by Jill | 5:34 AM
I wonder if all the people who think we have to keep shoveling ever more cash into the pockets of corporate executives because "they create jobs" are happy that the huge bailout given to AIG with THEIR tax dollars is going to make sure top executives get their nice fat end-of-year payments:
American International Group plans to pay out $503 million in deferred compensation to some of its top employees, saying it must tap the funds to keep valuable workers from exiting the troubled insurance giant.

News of the payments to top AIG talent comes as the federal government has just put more money into saving the company from bankruptcy, beefing up the total public commitment to $152 billion. Meanwhile, members of Congress are questioning the company's expenditures -- including lavish business trips to resorts -- during a time when taxpayers are on the hook for the bailout.

AIG's troubles stem from bad bets it made guaranteeing and buying risky mortgage investments. On Monday, the U.S. government announced that it would have to expand its rescue of the company to nearly double the $85 billion loan it first provided in September when AIG was unable to pay billions of dollars in claims.

[snip]

AIG's plans to crack open its deferred compensation bank for payments early next year is conveyed in a two-sentence paragraph buried inside a quarterly financial report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. But some compensation experts and AIG stakeholders yesterday said they considered the exodus of $503 million in AIG money dubious at a time when the company is drenched in red ink. The company reported losses this week that brought total losses to $37.63 billion for the first nine months of the year.

AIG spokesman Nicholas Ashooh said yesterday that the company is desperately trying to keep top talent from leaving, and that giving them deferred compensation works as a carrot to keep them on board. He said more than 6,000 employees are covered by AIG deferred compensation plans, but declined to name any employees or the number of top executives who will receive the early payouts.

You know what? I don't care that it's deferred compensation. I don't care that it's money already earned. As far as I'm concerned, in the highest executive offices of AIG, there IS no "top talent" that warrants protection. What did this "top talent" do? They ran the company into the ground insuring bad debt.

AIG is a huge insurance company. Not a year went by in the last decade that I didn't get at least one mailing from AIG trying to lure me away from my little NJ-based auto insurance company and get me to go with AIG. But you know damn well that if I'd gone with AIG and had as much as one accident, I'd be dropped like a hot potato.

All of us who own homes are required to have homeowners insurance policies. But you can be dropped simply for INQUIRING if something is covered? In some states, you can be dropped simply because you have a dog that is a breed the insurance company has decided is high-risk? And we all know about pre-existing conditions and health insurance.

So why is it that AIG executives should get a free pass for insuring high-risk mortgages?

The company insists that this isn't taxpayer money, but it IS taxpayer money that's freeing up the cash to make these payouts.

The number of people filing for unemployment claims is at its highest in a quarter-century. Stores like Circuit City and Linens 'n' Things aren't even waiting to see if Christmas can turn things around for them. The unemployment funds in five states are insolvent, and Florida's isn't much better. In Georgia, new unemployment claims are up 75% over last year.

Here's my question: Where is this so-called "top talent" going to go, if AIG doesn't stuff their pockets with compensation they were easily able to afford to live without when they signed their contracts? Or are corporations scaling back on everything BUT executive compensation?

The October budget deficit hit a new record of $237.2 billion. For AIG to pay out this deferred compensation now....EARLY... is sort of like Dad going out and buying a Maserati after borrowing from his in-laws to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. We wouldn't defend him, why should we defend these guys?

Labels: , , ,

3 comments
Bookmark and Share
3 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Thank you for saying what many many
people are thinking but have no
venue to express their frustration.
Keep hammering away at this AIG
sham! Everyone should be protesting to congress to put language in these bailouts that prohibit bonus payouts. And also
let's review the accomplishments of
the 6,000 workers while we are at
it. We are stockholders now so aren't we entitled to go to the
annual shareholders meeting and vote on Directors?
11/14/08, 7:42 AM  
Blogger Mr Furious said...
I have to wait until at least 10:00 a.m. to get a s pissed as this warrants...
11/14/08, 9:54 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
Don't you just wish someone was paying you to "stay put". Then again you'd need some talent first.
12/24/08, 8:00 PM  
Post a Comment
<< Home