March 18, 2009 08:00 AM
Mike's Blog Roundup
Slate: The real AIG scandal isn't the bonuses, it's that their counterparties are getting paid back in full. Boss Rush and Blubbering Bircher Beck defended the bonuses.
Ken Silverstein: AIG and Congress: Washington on $53,000 a day
Attackerman: Something in the way
Ezra Klein: Secret liberal cabal plots to run the universe
Mercury Rising: A sliver of good news, but it might be based on bullshit. I always have high hopes but low expectations
They gave us a republic: The Nightowl Newswrap
Washington is so full of bull s**t, they can run their cars on it.
But it smells like limpballs cut one.
Diabolus est Deus Inversus
it would, in fact, be a much bigger (not to mention, international) scandal if we weren't paying back the people across the globe who's $$ AIG lost. The scandal is that Bush and his lackeys allowed this company to keep claiming it had money it never had, and to put the US govt & taxpayers down as collateral in making myriad bad deals.
The bonus fight is theater, meant to win back some public support while we watch the Treasury hand over money to the people AIG cheated. Only, it had been quite badly bungled and is not helping Obama's PR at all right now, it just makes them all look silly. But what does Spitzer suggest doing to the people around the world who's money was essentially stolen or vaporized by AIG? Let them eat cake?
and AIG FP was formed, Hank Greenberg still had a firm grip on his ship. He made it very clear...AIG was an insurance company FIRST. He floated enough funds to allow Sosin to play his little games, but he kept him on a short lease.
Now...I don't really know the timing of all this, but...it seems to me that since "the old man", Greenberg, was forced out of AIG roughly two years ago that the whole company underwent a rapid and fatal decline.
Hate him or love him, Hank Greenberg was responsible for making AIG the powerhouse that it became in the '90s. I refuse to believe that he was in agreement with the board with regard to this change in strategy. I believe that that was why he was forced out.
Vote GOP and move forward to the 18th Century.
Other good news. One Bush felon sentenced.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090318/ap_on_go_...
To people who then either left or had ALREADY left the firm.
I am beginning to think actual "mob" action may be the only to make these fux pay what they owe...
I was talking with a co-worker yesterday about the bonuses. I was saying, how do you get a bonus for doing such a crappy job. We decided, well, they did call them "retention" bonuses. New question, how do you get a retention bonus for a job you've already left?
Maybe they have a different language - like Rove has a different math.
Damnit. Could we please get some reform on the pay to play business? Maybe not possible with Sammy, John-boy, Uncle Tom, and Scaley on the SCOTUS. Money=speech, my ass. Speech isn't exactly fungible.
No, the real real scandal is that ordinarily $1,000,000.00 bonuses are only taxed at a 25% rate. Why is no one talking about this shameful tax loophole for the rich?
This is becoming scandals on top of scandals.
I'm more and more convinced that Summers, Geithner, and all the Goldman-Sachs fuck-sticks are in on this deal, and everyone's getting paid.
It's time to nationalize AIG and then let further TARP payments to other banks be accompanied by FDIC receivership. I'm not sure if they are just juvenile or if its more pathological, but I don't trust whoever is in charge of this asylum.
This was fairly obvious, even with the bank bailouts, it's just AIG was less furtive about how they did this. What we've basically done by giving these folks billions of dollars is allow them to pay off their counterparts for the shady crap they did that they knew they could never pay back but got traded off on wall street as assets anyways. At that point it was basically a criminal sort of enterprise but now that we're covering their schemes with taxpayer money and places will be getting their money back no criminal investigation required and prob business as usual. Talk about enabling bad behaviour!
AAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!
Stewart spotted this on his March 4th show - TWO FREAKING WEEKS AGO!
"Aren't we buying the same crappy loans twice?"
Jesus Christ returns to Earth - punches Pope in face, leaves again
;)
Hearst shut down the printed paper today.
However, in a move to be closely watched around the country, the P-I will be the largest paper to convert totaly to an online edition.
http://www.seattlepi.com
Only 40 people will be enployed by the online site compared to 190 for the printed paper. The PI had a JOA with the Seattle Timees. The Times printed both papers.
"Let's talk dirty to the animals"
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