AIG

[classicman]

Yeh, that was a rhetorical question. Funny how big bad Barney is all over the press today touting his "anger" Where was he all along?

No he isn't the only one, but still. He is the Financial Services Committee Chairman. It was his job. Seems rather hypocritical to come out and be all pissed off when he was the one charged with preventing this sort of thing.

I'll just shut up now and say "Good job Barney"

[TheMercenary]

Barney has been a master at deflecting any responsibility he has in this. And he has plenty. Another great example of the double standards of the Dems. If he jumps up and down enough and makes a big fuss over all of it he can be seen as taking the issue head on, all the while ignoring history.

On another note, this was a very good discussion concerning AGI:

42 min long

click listen now

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...ryId=101936770

[DanaC]

Yeah...that's really interesting, Merc, but we were discussing AIG...


:P

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Barney has been a master at deflecting any responsibility he has in this. And he has plenty. Another great example of the double standards of the Dems. If he jumps up and down enough and makes a big fuss over all of it he can be seen as taking the issue head on, all the while ignoring history.

I would suggest you are ignoring history if you ignore the role of Frank's republican predecessor, Michael Oxley, as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee for six years...particularly the unintended (?) consequences of SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Public Accounting Reform Act).

As well as the impact of the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act by Clinton and the Republican Congress that torn down the wall between commercial and investment banking.

And Chris Cox, the Bush appointed chairman of the SEC who failed in holding the SEC to its independent oversight role.

There is plenty of blame to go around.

[sugarpop]

HOLY CRAP!

Rage at AIG Swells As Bonuses Go Out
A tidal wave of public outrage over bonus payments swamped American International Group yesterday. Hired guards stood watch outside the suburban Connecticut offices of AIG Financial Products, the division whose exotic derivatives brought the insurance giant to the brink of collapse last year. Inside, death threats and angry letters flooded e-mail inboxes. Irate callers lit up the phone lines. Senior managers submitted their resignations. Some employees didn't show up at all... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...031602961.html



It really does seem like these people are completely clueless, otherwise they would have been willing to waive their bonuses, like so many other people are being forced to do all around the country, even though they also had contracts. If this isn't brought under control, violence might break out, and that really would be a shame.

This is only the beginning of $400 million going to that department. AIG also has $600 million more in retention awards going out to about 4,700 people throughout its global insurance units. I expect some of those death threats/threats of violence may happen if something isn't done about this.


In addition, the bonuses are retention awards, but many of the people receiving them no longer work there. 11 people who don't work there received more than $1 million each.... According to the attorney general's office, the top individual bonus was more than $6.4 million, and the top seven received more than $4 million each...
http://www.usatoday.com/money/indust...g_N.htm?csp=34

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by lookout123

If those bonuses are in any way fraudulent or there is any possible loophole in the contract allowing the non-payment then by all means don't pay it. Any individuals who made policy or took action resulting in serious losses should already have been terminated and shouldn't be around to receive a bonus anyway. Individuals who are there and fulfilled their end of the contract (ill considered though they may be) must receive their compensation.

You know, this isn't a secret (the bonuses). It really is disingenuous the way President Obama, Geitner and all the others are expressing such outrage. They should never have given AIG money without first outlining this stuff. While most of the money went out before Obama was president (I believe), they certainly could have held back that last $30 billion. THAT is on them. And hasn't Gietner been involved in this since the beginning?

[DanaC]

Meanwhile one of our top disgraced bankers over here has walked away from the train wreck with a £650k per annum pension. Apparently he refuses to give up any of it. If he takes it in a lump sum I think he's due about £6m.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

You know, this isn't a secret (the bonuses). It really is disingenuous the way President Obama, Geitner and all the others are expressing such outrage.

Yup - Remember that conversation Bush and Obama had just after the election? The one where the tarp money HAD to be released so that the world didn't crumble? Hmm, now they are blaming him for this too. Interesting.

I've also seen a whole lot of Barney Frank on all the cable news talking tough and playin politics. Not one question from any of the anchors about his position and what he was doing to prevent this type of thing from happening.
Anyone see where all the AIG donations went over the last few years? Chris Dodd was #1 on the list. Did he jump up to give that money back? Did any of them? They're FULL OF SHIT.

Even if they got AIG to pay back the bonus money, its coming from taxpayer money anyway. They're gonna pay you back with YOUR money - feel better now? WTFFF JFC GDMFPOS

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Meanwhile one of our top disgraced bankers over here has walked away from the train wreck with a £650k per annum pension. Apparently he refuses to give up any of it. If he takes it in a lump sum I think he's due about £6m.

So give it to him. In coins. From a great height.

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

It really does seem like these people are completely clueless, otherwise they would have been willing to waive their bonuses, like so many other people are being forced to do all around the country, even though they also had contracts. If this isn't brought under control, violence might break out, and that really would be a shame.

It'd break my heart.

[classicman]

We found one guy to blame - Chris Dodd

"We wrote the language in the bill to deal with bonuses, golden parachutes, excessive compensation -- executive compensation, that was adopted unanimously by the United States Senate in the stimulus bill," Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, told CNN."

In a complete reversal from his stance Tuesday, Sen. Chris Dodd admitted he inserted language into the federal stimulus bill allowing $165 million in bonuses to those AIG executives. But the president made him!

Dodd, chairman of the senate banking committee, finally admitted to CNN (see clip) that his stimulus amendment allowed the universally-reviled bonuses, which went to the very AIG executives responsible for tanking the company.

In talking to CNN, Dodd used excruciatingly boring legislative/parliamentary language, probably to try and put the audience to sleep. But his argument boils down to this: The Obama administration asked him to put the bonus language in, and Dodd was afraid all other executive compensation limits would be stripped from the stimulus package if he didn't comply.

It looks like there's some actual truth behind this buck passing; following Dodd's admission, the president said at a town hall meeting in California, "I'll take responsibilty. I'm the president."

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by classicman

We found one guy to blame - Chris Dodd

Ummm...

It looks like there's some actual truth behind this buck passing; following Dodd's admission, the president said at a town hall meeting in California, "I'll take responsibilty. I'm the president."

By that standard, Harry Truman was personally behind every mistake and misdeed the entire government (congress included) made during both of his terms, because "the buck stops here".

[classicman]

Twist it however you like.

[classicman]

Here’s the problem with all the hoopla over the $135 million in AIG bonuses:
This sum is only less than 0.1% – one thousandth – of the $183 BILLION that the U.S. Treasury gave to AIG as a "pass-through" to its counterparties. This sum, over a thousand times the magnitude of the bonuses on which public attention is conveniently being focused by Wall Street promoters, did not stay with AIG. For over six months, the public media and Congressmen have been trying to find out just where this money DID go. Bloomberg brought a lawsuit to find out. Only to be met with a wall of silence.

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by classicman

Twist it however you like.

Hahahaha!

Sorry. Did I just laugh at you out loud?