Monday, March 16, 2009

Fixing AIG

AIG management has shown contempt for the American people by accepting multi-million-dollar bonuses.

It's time to cut AIG off...immediately. Freeze any bailout money that's in the pipeline. No future taxpayer bailouts. If the company goes under, tough toenails. Trying to save AIG would obviously be throwing good money after bad.

But what about all the AIG employees who will suffer?

Simple. Give every low-level AIG employee one million dollars, tax-free. (Managers get nothing...they can live on their bonuses.) AIG has what, fifty thousand employees? A hundred thousand? That's $50 billion or $100 billion. Chump change, compared to what we've already poured down this rat hole.

Think of the message this would send to other companies receiving (or in search of) bailout funds: spend the money well, or you'll suffer the same fate.

What about tht guy in the back who says "The AIG bonuses aren't so big, they're only a tiny percentage of the bailout money, why is everyone getting so upset?"

True, the bonuses are a tiny percentage...but it's a highly meaningful percentage. Earth is only a tiny percentage of the Solar System, but it's important. Idodine is only a tiny percentage of the human body, but try to live without it. And a tiny percentage of carbon monoxide can kill.

Let's make these bonuses AIG's carbon monoxide.

-M



The Ivory Madonna's story is told in Dance for the Ivory Madonna by Don Sakers.
Like the blog? Send the author a donation.

 Subscribe in a reader