This is getting to be pretty predictable:
President Barack Obama's top economics adviser, Lawrence Summers, said that insurance giant American International Group's plan to award senior executives hundreds of millions of dollars in bonuses and retention pay is "outrageous."
...In a phone call Wednesday to AIG CEO Edward Liddy, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said it was unacceptable for the company to give out tens of millions of dollars in bonuses for senior executives after the government committed $170 billion to keep the struggling company afloat -- far more government bailout money than has been awarded to any other firm.
"UNACCEPTABLE", says one.
"OUTRAGEOUS", says the other.
Fake and disingenuous also come to mind.
Between Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Summers, its hard to imagine Obama's economic leadership being any worse. We really need for the Democratic congress to take away the economic agenda from these two. The corporate bailouts have become a complete political disaster.
Whisky Fire has had it:
The other fun thing about this continuing saga is that we still have no idea what the bailout money was used for or where it has gone and to whom. Keep in mind that the American taxpayer now owns 80% of A.I.G. The socialization of this company has happened, very quietly, but also very definitely. The large banks and corporations we are bailing out continue to report that it would be impossible to track where all the money is going. This is unequivocal bullshit as these accounting professors point out.
Josh Marshall is too timid:
I've been highly critical of the government bailout of AIG.... So on the business merits, they're bankrupt. But we decide it's in the national interest to prevent formal bankruptcy. And these sharks -- not everyone at AIG, but the execs that created this mess -- use that as a lever to get paid the money they never would have seen if we'd let (market) nature take its course.
Chris in Paris, over at AmericaBlog, has an attitude problem:
Geithner has been such a firebrand, standing up for the American investor who has lost their retirement plans. It's hard to understand how so many people believe Geithner is in deep over his head and not up for the job. Sure, he sat on his hands and did nothing for years while working at the NY Fed, but can't they see that he kindly asked AIG to scale back bonuses after they rolled out yet another round just to kick sand in the face of the American public? I hear he asked very sternly and insisted they would all be very naughty if they ran over him again.
The leadership out of the Obama administration has been oh so impressive and investors become happier by the day as they watch such forceful displays of executive power. What red blooded American doesn't like to be abused by Wall Street and lose their retirement money? Heck, there's no way the public would ever start pointing the finger at Obama for failing to stand up to Wall Street with this response. Nope, never, ever, never.
David Waldmanis having a period:
Do. Not. Pay. Any. More. Bonuses.
You. Are. Failing.
There. Are. No. Bonuses. For. Failure.
Down with Tyranny:
It's time for Liddy and Geithner to get a clue. They don't have the best; they don't have the brightest. They employ a bunch of failures and losers who are lucky to have jobs at all after leading their company into the toilet.
Wednesday morning the House Financial Services Committee will be holding an AIG hearing at 10AM. These people won't be facing a Wall Street shill like Geithner or a panel like Stephanopolous' today on ABC-TV. They'll be facing Barney Frank, Alan Grayson, Brad Sherman, Jim Himes, Jackie Speier, Mary Jo Kilroy, Keith Ellison, Brad Miller, Gary Peters and Maxine Waters.
That
Cramer vid is classic.
There's more...
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