This isn't entirely true, and I'll tell you why. The bonuses were actually filed with the SEC several months ago; Bernake and Paulson knew that AIG was planning on paying the retention bonuses when the FIRST bailout bill was written, and provided no oversight to stop them - in fact, Paulson came out publicly against limiting executive bonuses.
>From the Seattle Post Intelligencer: AIG's plans to pay hundreds of millions of dollars were publicized last fall, when Congress started asking questions about expensive junkets the company had sponsored. A November SEC filing by the company details more than $469 million in "retention payments" to keep prized employees. Back then, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., began pumping Liddy for information on the bonuses and pressing him to scale them back. "There was outrage brewing already," Cummings said. "I'm saying (to Liddy), 'Be a good citizen. ... Do something about this.' " Around the same time, outside lawyers hired by the Federal Reserve started reviewing the bonuses as part of a broader look at retention and compensation plans, according to government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity. The outside attorneys examined the possibility of making changes to the company plans - scaling them back, delaying them or rescinding them. They ultimately concluded that even if AIG's bonuses were withheld, the company would probably be sued successfully by its employees and be forced to pay them, the officials said. In January, Reps. Joseph E. Crowley of New York and Paul E. Kanjorski of Pennsylvania wrote to the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department pressing the administration to scrutinize AIG's bonus plans and take steps against excessive payments. "I at that point realized that we were going to have a backlash with regard to these bonuses," Kanjorski said in an AP interview. In a meeting with Liddy later that month, he said he told the AIG chief that "all hell would break loose if we didn't find a way to inform the public ... and that we should take every step to put that information out there so we wouldn't have the shock." ********** While I don't agree with the backroom deal made by Obama this time, the blame for this does not rest entirely with him; a good chunk of it rests with the previous administration, because the legislation preventing these bonuses should have been written into the first bailout bill, which, by the way, was written in May of last year, after the collapse of IndyMac Bank. Another interesting side note: While AIG was begging for money from the government, it was spending an intense amount in lobbying - nearly $11 million. Why? To stop the passage of a mortgage fraud bill. Seems kind of stupid, doesn't it? Personally, I think AIG should be allowed to collapse, and every one of the execs should be sent packing (since 11 of them have already packed up after receiving their $1 million bonus). On Mar 18, 8:16 am, jgg1000a <[email protected]> wrote: > between Democrats in Congress and Obama in the rush to pass the > Stimulus Bill should not say the Stimulus Bill is aptly named??? Can > one see Obama's rage in any other light than dishonest as he demanded > immediate passage without giving Congress a chance to READ THE BILL > FIRST??? > > http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/politics&id=6715304 > > > > >>> During a late-night, closed door meeting last month, negotiators for the > >>> House, Senate and White House agreed to strip an amendment to the > >>> stimulus bill that would have restricted bonuses to any company receiving > >>> federal bailout funds. Instead of that measure, another measure by > >>> Senator Chris Dodd (D) from Connecticut was inserted that limited > >>> "executive compensation," but specifically exempted bonuses.- Hide quoted > >>> text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
