Dear A.I.G., I Quit!

I boldened the part I want to comment on.

Congress and Bush should have made sure since the government now owns 80% of it, that the contracts would have benefited American people. Let's face it... it was a takeover. When a company takes over another, contracts have the possibility of changing. The Congress along with Bush/Obama failed to make sure the contracts were worded right...
And if the news reports are right.. Obama's Administration PUT THE WORDING INTO THE LAW that allowed the contracts to stand as written.

When the goverment took over, Congress should have made sure the old contracts were invalidated.. .and fired the people that ruined the company in the first place. This is what I have been saying since NOV.

NOW, there is no way to fix it.

 

Yes, I had to retract my Republican finger pointing from my original post in that thread. Looks like only 8 Senators voted against it so it had plenty of Dem support. It appears to be a place where government didn't learn from past mistakes which hurt us in the end.

 

I agree, Andy made a good point about retroactively taking all their pay vs cutting future pay but there is also no legislation taking the executive pay. Just proposed targeted taxes that I doubt will pass the congress. UAW had conditions put on future help that forced UAW to renegotiate. I am thinking these bank executives deserve to have similar pressure to bring sanity to salaries.

 

Who put on the conditions?

 

I think Andy and Rev make a good argument about retroactively taking someone entire years pay less a buck. In tat light the wording is appropriate.

I don't really have a problem with this guy since he only made $700K but there were other execs that were given bonuses like $6 Mil. $700K sounds about right for a EVP but I don't think anyone should make $6 Mil unless the bulk of that is in stock options.

 

YOu won't like it.

We as Americans have been living a life we can't afford. Debt has risen.. the Me generation (yep, I'm part of it) wanted so much that within the last 50 yrs prices have tripled, and so many just bought on credit.
We had the attitude that we were "entitled" to anything we want.

This is the reason Clinton pressured banks to give loans to people that don't deserve them.. . The libs felt sorry for the people that couldn't have what the "Jones" had... although the "Jones" worked hard to get what they got.

With the rise of the welfare system, whole families got stuck in the system, and parents started teaching their children how to get something for nothing. I know, I worked for DHHR.. I was raised poor... I know myself how to work the system. For instance... here in WV, Medicaid families can get paid to take their kids to the DR. for something like 50 cents a mile. Here in WV, that is easy money. For some families live 50 miles from their pediatrician... and if a family wanted to play the system, they can make many Dr appts. in a month...

This attitude of entitlement has played over into society. Now just because someone is poor they feel they are entitled to something they can't afford. From houses to healthcare.

The time has come to pay the piper...

The only way to get out of this mess is to suck it up, and go through hard times...

Otherwise we are just prolonging the mess to our kids or grandkids.

I for one would rather hurt now.. than have my grandkids hurt down the road.

Let the companies fail...
Some companies need to go out of business.

Let GM fail...
Saturn will pick up the pieces... (saw the commercial over the weekend... cool commercial BTW)

People will still need cars.. prices might come down where poor people can AFFORD to buy a new one... other companies will profit... companies that don't sell substandard products.

This is why I am a Capitalist.. not a Socialist..

This country works better when there is competition... not when the Government is trying to cheat for one company by backing it up.

It's the same problem with Little league baseball.. NOT EVERY KID DESERVES TO PLAY!!! But we don't want to hurt kid's feelings.. so we put them on the teams anyway...

Competition. That is the key.. .that is the only thing that will get us out of this mess.

 

Besides how the auto execs were made to drive to DC in electric cars and get on their knees and beg for bucks take a gander at this article http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/jan2009/pers-j15.shtml By government I am saying both administrations, Bush and Obama forced many conditions on the unions that are not being placed on the banks.

 

That is the problem... Not that you don't think... :laugh: sorry... but that just because someone THINKS someone else makes too much is no reason to tell them they can't make that much...

If a company chooses to pay that much. and the employee chooses to accept that much... what gives anyone else the right to complain?.

The problem with AIG is the company now is USA... and the government should have chosen to NOT pay that much WHEN the US took over the company.... inept politicians messed up.

For instance.. do NFL players deserver millions to go out and play a game?

I DON'T THINK SO. that is why I don't go to games.. .but why would someone pay outrages prices to support the game.. then complain when the players get paid?.

If you don't want the players to get paid that much... it could stop... if people refused to support their habit... if people wouldn't go to the games... the prices would adjust themselves.

NOW that Congress is involved.. we should make sure congress doesn't support bad habit... (cough, choke).. yeah, like that's going to happen....

Congress can't even straighten themselves out.. what makes us think they can straighten AIG out.

Here's a novel idea...

Let a successfull company straighten AIG out.