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AIG
Mar 17, 2009 11:45:46 GMT -5
Post by Connie on Mar 17, 2009 11:45:46 GMT -5
Im surprised I haven't seen this lovely topic here yet...
Thoughts? I was listening to a guy this morning saying they have to uphold their contracts and pay the bonuses... why? Do we care if they break the contract, don't pay the bonuses and the people who are responsible for the mess leave?
If they didn't get the bailout money, HOW would they be upholding their contracts and paying the bonuses? They wouldn't get them then and shouldn't get them now.
Plus.. when did bonuses cease to be "bonuses" and become expected? Isn't a bonus something you get because you did your job really well and therefore the company did really well? Obviously AIG did NOT do really well... so why should bonuses even be an option?
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AIG
Mar 17, 2009 12:46:37 GMT -5
Post by Organized Chaos on Mar 17, 2009 12:46:37 GMT -5
Dems & Obama are against tax cuts for the rich. So instead of tax cuts, we hand their failing companies millions of dollars so they can pay their rich millions in bonuses and D.C. doesn't do anything about it. How is that any different?
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AIG
Mar 17, 2009 19:34:53 GMT -5
Post by havingfunnow on Mar 17, 2009 19:34:53 GMT -5
If people are having problems with the bonuses, then I can just imagine the uproar that is going to happen about the Golden Parachutes when the rats start leaving the sinking ship. The rats are the ones setting the rules, and seemingly thumbing their noses at the government. Since people in the know are already forecasting the dissolution of AIG into smaller conglomerates (there's a contradiction of terms for you), I am willing to bet many are going to get what they can, while they can, before the Government steps in with new regulations preventing it. Just my opinion, we shall see.
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AIG
Mar 18, 2009 13:42:05 GMT -5
Post by Connie on Mar 18, 2009 13:42:05 GMT -5
Personally I liked Congress's idea of taxing the bonuses 95-100% WASHINGTON – The head of financially strapped AIG is telling Congress he's heard the rage over executive bonuses and has called on employees to voluntarily return at least half of the money. Testifying under oath at a congressional hearing as intense as any in recent memory, Edward Liddy said that some workers there already have stepped forward to give money back. Liddy, who is chairman and chief executive officer of AIG, told a House subcommittee that the bonuses could be defended legally as a legal obligation of the company. But he also said that given the national uproar, he asked those who got "retention payments" over $100,000 to return at least half of it. news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090318/ap_on_go_co/aig_outrage
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AIG
Mar 18, 2009 16:57:51 GMT -5
Post by Organized Chaos on Mar 18, 2009 16:57:51 GMT -5
I happened to catch 5-10 minutes of Obama's press conference today. Like any politician, he danced around it pretty much. Said new regulations need to be put in place. American's have a right to be angry. He's not here to protect banks but to protect Americans...which I agree with, but still beating around the bush.
AIG contributed 6 figures to his campaign. You be the judge. One reporter did ask him about it but he dodged it.
According to John McCain, we've also spent $20 billion in bail-out money to European banks. Branches of AIG in London were some of them.
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AIG
Mar 19, 2009 15:35:28 GMT -5
Post by Connie on Mar 19, 2009 15:35:28 GMT -5
It just gets better and better... they OWE all this money yet recieved bailouts and paid bonuses? I owed $150 in state taxes last year.. I had to make payments and sent the first payment in with my return... Within TWO months they sent a letter saying they would put a lien on my accts and property if it weren't paid. I had actually forgotten about it and sent dh down to pay it in person the same day. So WHY aren't these companies being threatened when they owe such HUGE amts? news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090319/ap_on_go_co/bailout_delinquent_taxesWASHINGTON – At least 13 firms receiving billions of dollars in bailout money owe a total of more than $220 million in unpaid federal taxes, a key lawmaker said Thursday. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., chairman of a House subcommittee overseeing the federal bailout, said two firms owe more than $100 million apiece. "This is shameful. It is a disgrace," said Lewis. "We are going to get to the bottom of what is going on here." The House Ways and Means subcommittee on oversight discovered the unpaid taxes in a review of tax records from 23 of the firms receiving the most money, Lewis said as he opened a hearing on the issue.
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AIG
Mar 20, 2009 10:02:49 GMT -5
Post by eileen on Mar 20, 2009 10:02:49 GMT -5
Follow the money, In Sept of 2008 the FED gave out a ton of money that they did not even have to ask for Congress to approve. It was an old Depression Era policy tool. They handed it over no strings attached.
Another pay out soon followed, formed this time with Congress's say so, (pretty much bi partisan) since the Sec of Treasury Paulson and Pres. Bush said it would crush the country. (AIG) was in the mix, they had just let Goldman Sachs(I think that was the one) fail, but AIG was too big!@#$%% to fail. Still no strings attached.
Now comes New Sheriff in town, same old bad guys Big bad companies, buy airplanes, go to Spa and redecorate bathrooms. Working people go nuts, sales of pitch forks and torches sky rocket.
Next comes hearings, more money, more craziness. This last big money had lots of strings on it, so much so that some of the banks are actually giving the money back.
The absolute greed and arrogance of these financiers is beyond what most working types can even get there heads around. I hope they break up AIG and any other of these monsters of the financial shell games that 'are to big'. We own them now, I don't see the problem.
Some administrations ago Ronald Reagan convinced the American people that "Government is the Problem", in some ways he was right. But since government grew in size greatly under his watch who knows if he really believed it. But about then we started down the road of laxed Government over site of finance, infrastructure, health and human services, food supply, etc.
Both Dems and Rep watched it happen without much stink. Well the big bad US finally broke under its own weight, it is going to take more then the 'first 100 days' to fix it.
I think the President is doing more good things than bad. Some credit is losening up, the G20 is talking about working together, stocks are moving about, some up. But as I said in a similar thread, I wish the President would get some more 'outside' (of Wall Street on Beltway)advice. (But then again, maybe that is what he is doing with all these town meetings outside the beltway)
I loved the tax idea, but it was only for show. It is unconstitutional to retro a law and I think the tax law does not really allow for that kind of tax either. Madam Speaker just wanted to show off the Republicans as ruderless. She got half of them to vote for a bogus tax hike, that is unheard of. (At least I don't think they could win a court battle over that tax)
If this mess were not literally killing so many American, messing with every aspect of daily life, it would almost be amusing to watch.
Keep well everybody. Eileen
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AIG
Mar 20, 2009 23:46:22 GMT -5
Post by Connie on Mar 20, 2009 23:46:22 GMT -5
Who was it today.. the CEO of AIG who admitted that AIG now stood for "Arrogance, Ignorance and Greed" and that they wouldn't be able to keep the name.... Do they REALLY believe that changing their name will make us feel more secure?
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AIG
Mar 20, 2009 23:47:07 GMT -5
Post by Connie on Mar 20, 2009 23:47:07 GMT -5
Yes... I do know that it was NOT the CEO who said that's what it stood for.. but he did admit they wouldn't be able to retain their name.
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AIG
Mar 21, 2009 9:08:42 GMT -5
Post by tara on Mar 21, 2009 9:08:42 GMT -5
I have a feeling that the awful, evil, god hating, puppy kicking media wont let us forget who they were when they change the name. We own 80% of it, maybe we should get to pick it (I think arrogance ignorance and greed sounds about perfect), in fact we own 80% of it, where the hell are our bonuses?
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AIG
Mar 21, 2009 11:47:52 GMT -5
Post by havingfunnow on Mar 21, 2009 11:47:52 GMT -5
There are a lot of name changes that go on, some because of mergers, buy-outs, but most due to bad publicity. I remember reading about name changes due to bad publicity in the past, and thinking that a name changes isn't going to change the publics opinion. But then again, I really couldn't think of a specific instance, so I went to the Internet. Blackwell is one who is in the process, and other than Diebold Electronics, which took a beating for their voting machines, I didn't find much. So I was confused and started to research more - lo and behold, I have found that big companies can eliminate bad publicity made about their companies. Some examples are: * Using Search Engine Optimization to bury negative reviews about a company, click Here. * A company that does nothing but promotes positive images of companies, and even states that it posts positive information about you or your business pushing aside negative Internet posts. (very sad that the company doesn't even use spell checker for it's own site), click Here. * How a company can shut-up a blogger - read Here.
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AIG
Mar 21, 2009 20:40:39 GMT -5
Post by Connie on Mar 21, 2009 20:40:39 GMT -5
I wonder what every happened to that last blogger.. does't look like he ceased or desisted. I've personally recieved threats to remove posts on wahmscam blog but they were from the website owner and not a lawyer so I knew I was within my rights. That eperks guy though...
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AIG
Mar 21, 2009 23:33:18 GMT -5
Post by havingfunnow on Mar 21, 2009 23:33:18 GMT -5
Aren't these the same guys who caused the crisis anyways? New acronym - AIG = Awarding of Incompetence Guaranteed!
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