You may not be aware but last fall the economy exploded. This recession has been one of the most difficult economic times since the Great Depression, and I really don't need to give anyone on DKos a refresher on how bad it's getting. I would like to bring attention to a new story emerging today that has AIG looking for a way to pay out more bonuses.
In this trying economic time people all across this great nation are attempting to make ends meet. I am lucky in that I still have my job, we have had to tighten our belts at our company. I now pay a sizable percentage of my health care insurance premiums, profit sharing has been suspended, bonuses have been suspended, pay raises will more than likely be suspended, and expense accounts have been greatly restricted. The company I work for is in good financial shape and being cautious. Am I happy about not getting a bonus, no, of course not. They told us, hey you guys will get bonuses, and we were all looking forward to that money, some people had already made plans for it. But, in this economic slump we realized that we would rather keep our jobs with no bonuses then have bonuses and have to lay off workers. This is a sacrifice most of us willingly made, because we are professionals and adults who can realize the reality of the situation and be thankful for what we have.
AIG on the other hand is a spoiled little brat, whose actions were instrumental in the destabilization of the world economic system, and yet they continue to seek some way to reward themselves. AIG was deemed "too big to fail" and so we bailed them out, now they are pursuing this course of action
Officials at the embattled insurance company, which has received more than $170 billion in taxpayer money, have sought meetings with Kenneth Feinberg, the pay czar, to review the payments for 40 of its highest ranking employees
So these fools, these hapless clowns that destroyed our economy and have ruined countless lives as the Unemployment Rate hit 9.5% in Jun 2009, have decided that they of all people deserve bonuses.
About $9.6 million in bonuses was allocated to 40 executives, with roughly half of money paid in March and the rest scheduled to be paid out on July 15 and in mid-September so long as the employees met certain requirements. That would be an average payment of roughly $60,000 for each employee in both months.
$60,000!?! Are you fucking serious!? So these people whose incompetence led us to the precipice of destruction deserve a monthly bonus that is more than most Americans' yearly salary. This is insanity. We give them $170 billion for destroying our economy and then as people struggle to get by they give themselves more lavish bonuses, and the MSM is so busy talking about what celebrity has just kicked the bucket or whether or not we can afford $100 billion over the next 10 years for health care that no one will ever hear about this.
It's amazing that when a corporation needs a hand out or a war needs to be fought, the Conservatives have all the money in the world. Want to help provide basic care for human beings, and they become the spitting image a fiscal restraint. Their ideology is a hollow soulless thing, and the sooner we get Progressives on the air waves pounding this point home the sooner this regional rump party can end up in the dustbin of history.