AIG

Someone asked me if I could defend the AIG bonuses that were given out. You know... the ones that have been causing all the furor in the press and the halls of Congress lately...?

The bonuses that were paid out were contractually agreed upon terms of employment for AIG's Financial Products division as a benefit for staying on long enough to close their respective portion of the sector of AIG that was losing tens of billions of dollars.

Public outrage that a company, which received tax payer bail out funds on multiple occasions and should not be paying out large sums of "bonus' money is sorely misplaced. The bonuses are actually a final payoff to people who were told that if they stayed around long enough to retired the book of assets they were managing, they would be given this 'bonus' as a form of severance. Congress and the public (ginned up by congress and the media) have issued death to your bonus tax legislation and people have been making death threats to people who work or worked for AIG.

WHether you like the amount of bonus given or disagree with someone making more than you, it is important to note that the contracts underlying the payment of these options were legally done, legally reviewed by numerous members of congress, the New York Federal Reserve board, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Congressional Leadership and by the President's own staff as well. The very people who are not trying to tax the death out of compensational bonuses are the very same people who received as much as 500,000.00 from AIG to push their own agenda.

It seems to me that the outrage is misplaced and we are dangerously close to mob rule in this country.