Where is the Prozac?dragonwitchlingMarch 25 2009, 08:13:04 UTC
I didn't wholly disagree with you about the AIG bonuses. I think it was heinously irresponsible of them to go ahead and give out the bonuses, especially when it turns out they were significantly more substantial than earlier reported. I wholeheartedly agree that a contract is a contract. If the terms are agreed to and they do not violate the law then they should be honored. It is a foundational concept both in business and law; PERIOD. What they should have done is simply renegotiated the contracts for significantly lower or nonexistent bonuses and this entire debacle would have been avoided. I disagree VERY much with the idea of arbitrarily using the tax code to penalize ANYONE, it sets a dangerous precedent and it is every bit as irresponsible as AIG's bonuses.
Freddie and Fannie May weren't quite as high on the bonus list but you are again correct, the double standard is painfully obvious. My only distinction is the type of company involved. AIG is primarily an insurance corporation that put up a hedge fund and began selling off dividend products (essentially intangible things created by other industries). Freddie and Fannie are BASELINE lenders and hold enormous amounts of Federal debt (particularly educational loans) and mortgages on a level that most other national lenders do not. That is the only justification (and I freely admit it is VERY SLIM) that I can find for the disparate treatment.
I don't agree with how the government has handled the bonuses for ANYONE, but I am simply nauseated by the behavior of the corporations handing them out. Contract renegotiation would have been simpler, and the govn't requiring (at the OUTSET) where and how the stimulus monies could be used (i.e. NOT for bonuses, ONLY for debt relief etc.) would have been simpler and the furor would have been significantly less. At the risk of being very crude it is something of a cluster f*** all around.
The currency debate is a whole other nail biter damnit.
Freddie and Fannie May weren't quite as high on the bonus list but you are again correct, the double standard is painfully obvious. My only distinction is the type of company involved. AIG is primarily an insurance corporation that put up a hedge fund and began selling off dividend products (essentially intangible things created by other industries). Freddie and Fannie are BASELINE lenders and hold enormous amounts of Federal debt (particularly educational loans) and mortgages on a level that most other national lenders do not. That is the only justification (and I freely admit it is VERY SLIM) that I can find for the disparate treatment.
I don't agree with how the government has handled the bonuses for ANYONE, but I am simply nauseated by the behavior of the corporations handing them out. Contract renegotiation would have been simpler, and the govn't requiring (at the OUTSET) where and how the stimulus monies could be used (i.e. NOT for bonuses, ONLY for debt relief etc.) would have been simpler and the furor would have been significantly less. At the risk of being very crude it is something of a cluster f*** all around.
The currency debate is a whole other nail biter damnit.
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