President Obama Says AIG Bonuses An 'Outrage,' Violation of 'Our Fundamental Values'

[jefferson_dem]

President Obama Says AIG Bonuses An 'Outrage,' Violation of 'Our Fundamental Values'

March 16, 2009 12:24 PM

Saying "this isn’t just a matter of dollars and cents, it’s about our fundamental values," President Obama lashed out at the news of more than $121 million in bonuses being awarded to executives of AIG. "All across the country, there are people who work hard and meet their responsibilities every day, without the benefit of government bailouts or multi-million dollar bonuses. And all they ask is that everyone, from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, play by the same rules. This is an ethic we must demand."

The president called AIG "a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed. Under these circumstances, it’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165 million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?"

Pointing out that "in the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the U.S. Treasury" -- more than $170 billion, to be precise -- the president said he'd asked Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner "to use that leverage" of the U.S. taxpayer owning 80 percent of AIG "and pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole. I know he’s working to resolve this matter with the new CEO, Edward Liddy, who came on board after the contracts that led to these bonuses were agreed to last year."

The president, standing in East Room of the White House, also said that "what this situation also underscores is the need for overall financial regulatory reform, so we don’t find ourselves in this position again, and for some form of resolution mechanism in dealing with troubled financial institutions, so we have greater authority to protect the American taxpayer and our financial system in cases such as this. We will work with Congress to that end."

The regulatory reform the Obama administration supports includes resolution authority, which would have better allowed the administration to protect the American taxpayer and the financial system.

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http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2009/03/president-ob-11.html

[Median Democrat]

1. We Need To Amend Constitution To Revise Impairment Of Contracts Language

This is just bullshit about the bonuses!

[Life Long Dem]

2. SBA backed loans for businesses

[depakid]

3. If all the tough talk leads to little action

Obama ends up looking like a goat.

[Teaser]

4. And if it doesn't, he gets a win

I'll bet on the win.

[depakid]

6. Thus far, the record's not replete with many wins on that front

If the legal matters don't pan out, the advice I'd give is to quietly let it slip that if anyone on the list takes the bonuses, they'll have a great big target on their backs for the next 4 years....

There are a LOT of ways life can be made difficult for these folks (and for others who ought to be held accountable).

Of course, to do that, you'd 1st need credibility- which the adminstration doesn't have at this point.

[BeyondGeography]

5. ABC is stepping on the headline

"I will pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses," is the story. But they'd rather Obama sound weak...