I know I shouldn’t feel sorry for the executives at AIG. I admit to getting a great deal of Schadenfreude out of this recession. But enough is enough people. Death threats!? Are we becoming 18th century France? These are the same variety of people that America venerated for the last half century. Where was this populist outcry before the current troubles? The same people starting the lynch mobs today made Donald Trump a celebrity and the women of The Real Housewives of Orange County famous.
And in the greater scheme of things the amount the public is demanding back is such a trifling amount that to cavil about it makes about as much sense as complaining that someone removed a bucket of water from your swimming pool. The $165 million in bonuses is less than one-fifth of one-percent of the bailout money given to AIG so far. Extrapolate to the entire cost of this bailout, and the fraction becomes soridiculously small, that I will not even bother typing it. If you want a cause to rail against, it is that we have a capitalistic system that has allowed certain corporations to become to big to fail. But to come after a small groups of executives who played by the rules, signed contracts, and made a glut of money is absurd. Every journalist doing a hatchet-job on the AIG employees should be ashamed.
I guess what I am trying to say is this: don’t hate the player, hate the game.
– Jeff
Shouldn't But Do 