AIG: President Obama and the Federal Government Jokes on you … again

AIG: President Obama and the Federal Government Jokes on you … again

AIG has indicated it paid out over four times the original amount in retention bonuses to its employees. The company indicated that it paid these bonuses across several divisions with the average individual receiving between $4-11K as retention bonuses. This is a change from the earlier disclosure in which it was indicated that some employees received bonuses of over $1 million dollars. It would seem that AIG has been using “selected” accounting methods to indicate their retention bonus payments. While the amount that has been paid out in retention bonuses by AIG is a source of great concern. The more fundamental question is “What is President Obama, Secretary Geithner, and Congress going to do about this debacle that is being created by AIG? When the country is in a state of financial crisis, with the 6.1 million people on unemployment receiving at modest $315 per week, when their previous income was at least $1000 per week and you have a company like AIG that had a substantive impact on creating the financial crisis receiving significant government bailout monies and then using the taxpayer monies to pay out over $400 million dollars in retention bonuses. President Obama campaigned on the “Yes, We Can” and has talked of change and how businesses cannot continue to operate as they have in the past. Well, it is time for President Obama to “walk the walk” and demonstrate to the American Taxpayers that AIG is not to big to be held accountable for their actions. It is time to step up to the plate and bring AIG to their rightful place and indicate that they cannot continue to “dupe” the Federal Government without repercussions. When an American Taxpayer provides “erroneous” information on their taxes or does not disclose their financial status, they are held “accountable” by the IRS and required to pay monies back and penalties, as well. How can AIG not be held by the same requirements, even though it is a corporation? The Federal Government and President Obama have got to make a stand now on corporations that receive bailout monies and use the monies to pay out retention bonuses rather than for the “operating expenses” that they indicated the funds were needed for.
The first step for President Obama and the Federal Government should be to require that CEO Edward Liddy “step down”. He is not an effective leader when he allowed the bonuses to be paid without full disclosure. CEO Liddy represents the same philosophy that permeates throughout so many other corporations among the leadership, “It is okay for the Rich get Richer and the Poor get Poorer”. AIG needs a leader with “empathy” (the new President Obama buzzword”) that understands the plight of the American Taxpayers and that AIG cannot continue to operate as it has in the past. For the AIG employees that receive the retention bonuses, the Federal Government needs to require that AIG provide the names of the individuals and they need to be terminated from AIG for receiving retention bonuses for which they were not entitled. It is up to President Obama and the Federal Government to make sure that AIG is held accountable for their actions. If they do not then they are not representing the “will” of the American Taxpayers.

AIG bonuses four times higher than reported: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0509/22134.html