White House Adviser: AIG Deserves 'Nobel Prize For Evil'

A top White House economic adviser said in a CNN interview today that the people behind American International Group's financial products division deserve a Nobel Prize -- for evil.

Austan Goolsbee, a member of the White House Council of Economic advisers, said it's "unbelievable" that senior executives at bailout-beneficiary AIG will get $165 million in bonuses.

"It's almost like these guys should have gotten the Nobel Prize for evil," Goolsbee said. "The financial products division has come up with shenanigans that ended up costing the company and ultimately the American taxpayer billions upon billions of dollars."

Comments

[Pennsanic]

11:10 AM on 03/17/2009

Nobel Prize for Greed and shortsightedness, maybe. Evil? Let's leave the Evangelical lingo out of it.

Where was the outrage over the $180 BILLION?! $165 Million is a drop in that bucket of AIG theft.

[maab76]

09:04 AM on 03/20/2009

What AIG has done in the large numbers is more than evil, it is criminal. What they have done in small numbers to anonymous people is equally damning. The companies which were acquired by AIG have "lost" record of policies intended for retirement and burial of retired professionals. Employees promise service but appear to "deep six" the requests and demands for service. We need many, many committees investigating this over-grown bully of a corporation.

[blood1]

09:29 AM on 03/17/2009

Spewing invectives is justified! It may or may not have any affect on policy, but it is better than picking up a gun.

AIG should be forced to release the names of those individuals who are getting the money for a job well done. Those individuals will then be held responsible for justifying their ill gotten bonus money. What is more American than that?

[solarian]

09:23 AM on 03/17/2009

aig needs a rope necktie

[Truby]

08:14 AM on 03/17/2009

AIG did not get to where it is now without help from a large number of people in positions of power, if it is an "evil" corporation, each person is tainted by proximity. Greed is the disease that infected this (and many other) corporations and the enablers will vector it if we do not bring in professional exterminators.
Pestilence and vermin go hand in hand, perhaps we will remember this period as they green plague period.

[tinarm]

08:01 AM on 03/17/2009

My answer for this mess, is any american that has anything associated with AIG cancel it and find someone else. They have been duping us let's close them down. Then next year there won't be an AIG and no one will get bonuses!

[Chris]

08:07 AM on 03/17/2009

Yes that is a good way to make sure that they repay our loan. Force them out of business.

[OliverTwist]

07:19 AM on 03/17/2009

"It's almost like these guys should have gotten the Nobel Prize for evil," Goolsbee said.

Goolsbee should stear away from characterizing people as "evil." That characterization serves mostly as a rationalization for abuse and often violence. The word seems to have no other useful purpose.

[FebM]

07:16 AM on 03/17/2009

Why is Maddoff the only one in jail?
All these guys are running Ponzi schemes with tax payers and shareholders money

[hellboundtrain]

04:42 AM on 03/17/2009

Correction here: "The vaunted financial services division has come up with shenanigans that cost the American taxpayer trillions and trillions of dollars!"

So bonus them?!!

[socalgal59]

02:32 AM on 03/17/2009

"It's almost like these guys should have gotten the Nobel Prize for evil,"

Evil?

I thing Austan Goolsbee got a bit carried away here.

Rendition is evil.

Torture is evil.

Deliberately lying to the American people to invade Iraq, destroy one country and bankrupt another is evil.

Allowing America’s wounded soldiers to languish in rat and cockroach invested veteran hospitals is evil.

Denying proper care to America’s veterans is evil.

But handing out bonuses to AIG employees…that certainly is reckless, outrageous, irresponsible and out right infuriating, but it certainly doesn’t rank up there as EVIL.

[jozinha]

01:42 AM on 03/17/2009

Got to:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/03/why-was-aigs-stock-up-66-today.html

An article on AIG STOCK ROSE TODAY 22%!!!!! Other Financial stocks rose as well!! The article states why the market liked the public outrage.

Ask yourself: Why is this AIG bonus story news? It was announced in January. Ask yourself: if this had the possibility of becoming the firestorm it did, why did sophisticated corporate actors allow it to go public? Why not deal with it many different ways -- all of which are viable and possible. A story going public is not necessary and can certainly be avoided. In this case the story did not get traction weeks ago and suddenly out of nowhere did.

WE ARE BEING PLAYED!!!!

They're just making money off of us five ways to Sunday. They do this because they can!

[ladyearth]

01:35 AM on 03/17/2009

Corporations, including AIG enjoy "personhood" status in the United States. All the rights and benefits of the 14th Amendment are theirs. Where is patriotism of AIG? Ever day United States citizens are asked to perform duty based on patriotism. Since corporations enjoy the rights and benefits of the 14th amendment, where is the call of patriotism for them? This also applies to defense contractors on those no bid, cost plus contracts, too. Where is their patriotism?

AIG should forgo those bonuses because it is the patriotic thing to do. They should also express gratitude to our great Nation for the ground on which their wealth grew.

[Chris]

08:10 AM on 03/17/2009

IF you had a legally binding contract for payment (and have fulfilled your duties under the contract) would you sit idly by and let the other party of the contract forgo their responsibility?

[KMKY]

12:19 AM on 03/17/2009

Hmmm...if AIG is "evil," does that mean that the people who gave, give, or will give them money are "evil enablers"? Perhaps we can tone down the rhetoric and focus on the economic stabilizing....

[Truby]

08:07 AM on 03/17/2009

Good points and what about the people who took money from this "evil" corporation, you know, politicians, public relation firms and law firms or is it ok to represent and enable "evil" as long as your only connection is cash.

[dolphy]

12:13 AM on 03/17/2009

I wouldn't go that far.......... having someone more evil than Dick?

[schatsie]

11:11 PM on 03/16/2009

If there is a god, he is laughing at your posturing...It does not take a genius to pick up the book FREE LUNCH and read about our Corporate Welfare QUEENS.....and that includes Buffett and Gates...

Time to get the tax rate high enough to stop this mess, I mean really 91%....and get Harry Markopolis back in front of Congress and get him a Fraud and Abuse Commission.... We cannot afford to be throwing money out the window...

[Rule Of Law]

11:09 PM on 03/16/2009

He's wrong.

That prize belongs to Goldman-Sachs, in perpetuity, for having given us not one, but two Depressions and for bringing about the total capitulation of our government to the international banks.

[KMKY]

12:25 AM on 03/17/2009

And for being the biggest beneficiary of the AIG bailout.