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Monday, March 16, 2009

"I Don't Sign Nuttn without Pretending to Read it First."


So said Cletus, head of the family of hicks on The Simpsons. I wondered if maybe he's on the President's team of economic advisers when I learned that AIG still gets to pay $165 million in bonuses to the yokels who've sent that company flaming down the tubes out of the $180 billion in taxpayer bailout money they've received (so far). What the f...?!

Let me get this straight (and I'm a product of the American public education system, so it might take me a minute) -- bonuses, in the workplace, are typically given as a reward for a job well done. These guys sleights of hands were so masterful, they could've brought the world economy crashing to a halt (hence the bailout). Now, in most people's estimation, I'm thinking that's not considered a job well done. I imagine that's why the greedy AIG folks had the forethought to ensure their bonuses were a matter of contractual obligation rather than subjective consideration as to whether they'd done a good job. Bernanke said on 60 Minutes yesterday that nothing infuriates him more than the AIG fiasco. Join the club, buddy.

Given all the brainiacs in the Obama Administration, I'm stunned they're finding out about this obligation AFTER AIG has been given all these billions. Really? Well what information was requested from AIG (and actually read) when AIG asked for the money--just their ACH routing number for direct deposit? One would think finding out what financial commitments were outstanding would be pretty basic. One would also think the Administration would have the balls to say "so sue me" rather than pay the bonuses, (after all, the contract ain't with the Administration, um, us--those left holding the bag).

But then again, like I said, I'm a product of the public schools--what do I know? Not a helluva lot, according to Friday night's "Bailouts and Bull" on 20/20.

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