Wednesday, March 18, 2009

AIG bonus outrage

It’s been a while since my last post, so I have quite a few options for this one, all of which are related to the perpetual joke that has become of the Obama presidency. I guess I could go on about the AIG thing and take the typical populist approach that we are all hearing on the TV. But I see it a little different, probably because most people don’t know what I and other conservatives know.

They don’t know that the bonuses were on the books long before any money was paid out. Therefore, we knew (or should have known) about them before the so-called “scandal” broke this week. Paulson knew. Geithner knew. Yet, Timmy Turbo Tax suddenly acts appalled and Obama is outraged for the cameras, so much that he is going to tell Jay Leno all about it. That’s bull. However, the Leno thing is a nice touch don’t you think? Maybe we can get Obama to do “Dancing with the Stars” next.

The fact is Timmy didn’t do his job, and neither did Paulson. If it were such a problem then why didn’t they mandate no executive bonuses as a stipulation of the bailout? Probably because in their minds it isn’t a problem until the public finds out about it, and then the administration suddenly scrambles to be on the right side of a populist backlash, claiming ignorance of the whole thing. Yes folks, this is change we can believe in, or to be more accurate change we’re told to believe in.

We’re also not told that the bonuses were protected by an amendment written by Senator Chris Dodd. Yes, the same guy who acted to protect Fannie and Freddie while Bush sought reform of those organizations apparently wrote an amendment that protected these corporate bonuses. Of course, he claims ignorance and wants to know where this amendment actually came from. We are all supposed to believe that he’s innocent, that is those of us who know about this since the MSM is completely silent on it. No one has asked Gibbs this question at the White House press briefing. So much for boatrocking.

We’re also not told that Dodd received more campaign contributions from AIG than any other Senator, and that Obama was ranked second on that list with over 100K in money from AIG. I’m waiting for the government to try to recover that.

And I find it interesting that Obama and Congress are outraged over these bonuses – an expenditure that could be called “wasteful”. Yes, our Washington politicians are hammering AIG executives for wasteful spending. Kinda like a prostitute calling someone a slut. Hypocrisy is clearly not a sin in our nation’s capital.

Schumer tells us that we Americans don’t care about earmarks. Obama signs a bill containing 9,000 earmarks and rationalizes it by saying that it is less than 1% of the bill. AIG received over $150 billion in taxpayer dollars and now Obama is outraged over $150 million in executive bonuses. If my math is correct that would be about one-tenth of one percent of the money paid to AIG. So what is Obama complaining about?

If it’s okay to pork 1% of a budget, then why is it not okay to bonus out one-tenth of one percent? Especially when Geithner knew about the bonuses and Dodd protected them? The reason is simple. It’s okay in Obama’s mind for the government to do whatever it wants but not okay for corporations to do the same.

And no one in Washington wants to say the obvious – that bailouts are bad. The easy answer is that if you don’t want corporations wasting taxpayer dollars then just don’t give them taxpayer dollars. But to do such a thing would mean drawing a clear line between government and business, and Obama would NEVER do something like that. It conflicts with his ideology.

It’s simple. All Congress has to do is vote on a bill that outlaws government money for private industry. Period. Yet, that isn’t happening. Hmmm. I wonder why.

If Obama were truly on the side of the people he would issue an executive order to the Treasury Secretary freezing all payments to bailout companies and recommend Congress pass a law banning such bailouts. Then he would fire Geithner. That’s what a man of the people would do. Don’t hold your breath.

6 comments:

Ju said...

Breaking News: Dodd Says loophole that protects AIG Bonuses added per request of the Obama administration. The video is about a fifth of the way down.


http://www.butasforme.com/2009/03/17/obamas-stimulus-bill-explicitly-grants-aig-the-legal-right-to-hand-out-bonuses/


Obama should take full and direct responsibility for this mess.

John Washburn said...

Don't count on it Pro. The media will NEVER report this and the "people" will drink Obama's koolaid.

This spectacle on the Hill is atrocious and downright scary. I hear Congressman demanding names. "Give us their names". Sounds too much like Cuba or Venezuela to me.

AIG was obligated BY LAW to pay these bonuses. A company must honor their contracts or else face a legal dispute, which they would lose. The ONLY way to get out of this is to go bankrupt, then you're no longer obligated to your contracts. Yet, AIG didn't go bankrupt, mainly because of Congressional intervention.

So, to be clear, Obama and the Dems are demanding that AIG essentially break the law by committing breach of contract simply because Congress gave them a lot of money.

This is inexcusable. And what's worse is that the people's anger is focused on AIG and not Congress. Preposterous.

SNAKE HUNTERS said...

Wow! Now we're focusing in on the major problem of "inherited mess" (!)

All of the Inner-Sanctum since November 4, 2006 when the Democratic Party
Took Control of Both The House & The Senate...Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Chris Dodd (banking), Barney Frank (banking), are all running scared because of their deep 'Complicity' in Countrywide, FannieMae & FreddieMac Sub-Prime Loans!

The financial melt-down is "their mess" in large measure; they created it long before Prez Obama appeared on the scene.

George Soros wants you to believe that Dubya Bush-Cheney did it.

That's rubbish! reb
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www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

AIG, is not the problem, congress and the other fools who run the government are at fault. Sad to say, they get their paychecks no matter how poorly they do their jobs. And no one can haul them up and put them under oath and question them for hour after hour about all the mistakes they have made---boy, would I love to see that just once.

SNAKE HUNTERS said...

The so-called "inherited mess" so often trumpeted by Prez Obama, is not just Sen Dodd & Barney Frank's
sub-prime loans, but also by the multi-billion bail-out of the auto industry.

Ford, GM & Chrysler should have been required to file for legal bankruptcy, relieving them from legal committments to the UAW Union demands for bloated & outrageous "Legasy Stipulations" for retired workers!

These bloated union contracts gave non-union Toyota, Nissan, & Volkswagen and Mercedes a huge and grossly unfair competitive advantage in the dealer showrooms.

Higher quality, at a better price has doomed the American product.

The Union Power-grab will be complete when they force the elimination of the workers Secret Ballot.

Ron Russell is correct when he points the finger of blame straight at our Democratic Leaders in Congress! reb
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www.lazyonebenn.blogspot.com

Ron Russell said...

Many conservatives are pinning their hopes on the upcoming "tea parties" on tax-day, April 15, hoping that these events scheduled for all parts of the country will be the spark that ignites so kind of tax-payer revolt that will sweep across the nation. Sadly, I feel that although the intentions are good the result will be far less than hoped for. The elite media will not cover such events unless the organizers practice civil disobediance and commit acts of violence. That however, is not in the conservative playbook. I feel will have been nice and polite for far to long and its time for a change of tactics. The left in this country figured this out years ago. They were right and we need to take a page from their playbook now. I feel the revolution has already begun and we on the right need to take bolder actions. I cannot see the "tea parties" getting the job done. I wrote on this subject in a recent post, "revolution".