AIG

[bigdpimpin]

This weekend AIG announced the payout of 108m in bonuses to upper level manangement that have to be paid because they were promised before the bailouts began. Government officials were out en masse complaining about how insulted and disgusted they were by this news. It occured to me that there were 3 reasons something like this could happen. 2 of

Comments

[maxverbosity]

"1. The government knew that these bonuses were due to be paid and are only covering their asses since the public found out."

It is common practice for companies to pay such bonuses, although they aren't necessarily obligated to tell you how these are calculated, and usually not that big. I don't know if the government got that far into their questions, if they even asked.

"2. The government didn't know and gave out 100b in bailout money without any oversight or caring where the money was going. Even though AIG had 100m of that money in bonuses they were obligated to pay. They just didn't think to ask."

The first bill had no oversight, and ideological blinders keep a lot of it from being in successive bills, strangely enough.

"3. They did ask and it was hidden from them. Isn't that fraud?"

If they were asked and AIG misrepresented this fact, it is fraud and they could be brought to account.

[bigdpimpin]

It seems the government thinks the most prudent course of action is to find a legal way to ask politely for the money back and to proclaim from the highest rooftops how outrageous this all is. This really just smells like government incompetence with taxpayer money.

[joshsapien]

sigh