AIG Execs Left After ‘Retention’ Bonuses, NY Official Says
Buried deep in the article: Obama spared AIG’s new CEO, Edward Liddy, from criticism, saying Liddy got the job “after the contracts that led to these bonuses were agreed to last year.”
But he said the impropriety of the bonuses goes beyond economics. “It’s about our fundamental values,” he said. “All across the country, there are people who are working hard and meeting their responsibilities every single day, without the benefit of government bailouts or multimillion-dollar bonuses. You’ve got a bunch of small-business people here who are struggling just to keep their credit line open,” Obama said.
“And all they ask is that everyone, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, play by the same rules. That is an ethic that we have to demand.” Obama said he would work with Congress to change the laws so that such a situation cannot happen again. Then, coughing, he added in jest, “I’m choked up with anger here.”
Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa didn’t appear to be joking, however, when he spoke with Cedar Rapids, Iowa, radio station WMT. “I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little better toward them [AIG executives] is if they follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, ‘I am sorry,’ and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide,” he said. “And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide.”
