Greedy Little ........

This headline on MSNBC distressed me: “AIG paying millions in bonuses despite bailout”.

The Washington Post headline reads “Bailout King AIG Still to Pay Millions In Bonuses”

Here’s one from China View “AIG paying millions in bonuses despite gov’t pressure”.

And for Europeans on Newsnet 14 “AIG Paying Millions in Bonuses despite ‘Taxpayer’ bailout”

According to these articles, AIG is paying out $165 - $225 million dollars in bonuses, much of it to executives in the division that caused the multi-billion dollar loss in 2008 that led AIG to beg for tax payer money to bail them out.

One article said that our Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner has “asked” AIG to scale back these bonuses in the future. (Do you think he said “Please” and “Thank you”?)

According to AIG they are contractual obligated to give bonuses to the executives that caused their multi-billion dollar losses. They claim that can face a lawsuit from their employees if they don’t pay these “retention bonuses” and AIG Chairman Edward Liddy complained that AIG could not retain “the best and brightest talent” for AIG if the employees think [they aren’t going to get their inflated salaries and bonuses whether they deserve them or not].

OK, I admit I paraphrased the part in italics. Does AIG still think they’ve got the “best and the brightest” after the company suffered a 62 billion dollar loss in the fourth quarter of 2008? This was the biggest loss in the company’s history. If I was the boss, I’d be firing people, not paying them extra to hang around and do it again.

Liddy thinks they can decrease the bonuses by about 30% in the future.

I think you can do better than that, Ed.

Does anybody else in America want to sue AIG execs to get some of their tax money back?