Since we taxpayers own 80% of AIG, why not cancel the $165 Million in bonuses?

Pfft to contracts. We made the car companies and auto unions break their contracts on salary, medical care and even retiree benefits, as a condition of receiving money (a paltry 1% of what Wall Street has gotten, BTW) and people are trotting out the "ohh it's a contract" excuse?

Please. The only reason the company is even standing is because Uncle Sam has been furiously shoveling an ever increasing amount of money in their direction. When your company is bankrupt, your bonus is null and void, and you get in line, cap in hand, with all the other creditors. So their contract excuse doesn't fly, sorry.

Give them the same deal as the automakers. They had to come to Washington to literally beg for money. "Where's your viable business plan blah blah blah..." and the rest of that song and dance. Why should Wall Street be tiptoed around? Give them the same treatment.

Hell, we OWN 80% of AIG now. If we still can't tell them what to do, then hell, they truly aren't accountable to anyone then.

I dont understand why when the money was first being discussed that it wasnt made clear that it not to be used for raises, bonuses, etc....

I mean, did AIG leave the "bonuses" out of the original request and was the Gov really that stupid to not ask or even research first?

as long as we are dumb sufficient to maintain shoveling 1000's of billions into them without strings related, why no longer? The irony is that extremely some the bonuses are for "retention" of the executives who have been given it into this mess. Does all of us think of that any of their executives could desire to be retained? There are some situations the place the mafia does a miles better interest than the government; that's certainly one of them - a majority of those executives belong on the backside of lake Michigan. playstation - it extremely is time for Obama to push for a majority of those bailed out agencies to the two pay decrease back (which maximum of them won't be able to) or flow into financial disaster 11 and legally ruin a majority of those sweetheart deals with their executives. If I agreed to offer my spouse a 10 grand holiday on our anniversary, and then have been given laid off, it extremely is dumb to whip the mastercard out to fulfill the commitments of the previous. same applies to those executives; without the government bailouts, could the business enterprise have existed for all of us to get any bonuses - answer: no, so no bonus merely because of the fact that you bought a handout. in the adventure that your sub-operation is this type of fulfillment, spin it off AIG, run it as a income making entity and then take your bonus.

Because of binding contracts. They should voluntarily give the money back; don’t hold your breath though...

But, why can't we put a stop to the Billions and Billions and Billions of AIG money going to foreign Banks. This is the real outrage.

While I think that contracts should never have been written that gave them a bonus that big, I do think it is important to honor contracts. I also seem to recall reading one article where some of these people had a contract that has them working for a reduced rate assuming they would get a bonus.

The bonuses were already given out.

man i wish i could screw up on the job and yet get a bonus. haha gotta love america

This is why the government should not own private companies.

If we did they will sue and sadly they would win