New York Post:
Insurance giant AIG is trying to seize a $490 million charitable endowment -- and claw back $27 million it already awarded to New York charities -- to pay executive bonuses, The Post has learned.
Congress backs off AIG crackdown - Lisa Lerer and Victoria McGrane - POLITICO.c...
The Volokh Conspiracy - The House Tries Again on AIG Bonuses:
AIG insurance products and services in United States offering auto ...
American International Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
AIG 'Bonus' Outrage - CBS News Video
A.I.G. Planning Huge Bonuses After $170 Billion Bailout - NYTimes.com
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Bankruptcy Bonuses.
Receivership ruddering renumeration.
Approved, on one non-negotiable condition: AIG returns to the Treasury all monies ever paid to AIG by the Treasury, Federal Reserve, or any other agent of the United States. That was also charity.
AIG already paid out that money to the Hedge fund holding car company bonds. Since the car companies went bankrupt the investment insurance they bought from AIG with TARP money.
TARP money is being used to bankrupt main street companies for hedge funds profits.
See my profile for details.
These people truly are from a different breed of human. This one act displays where their heart is. And it is not in step with the human condition. Seeing that they are the titans of the world, how sad for everyone.
AIG - Ad Infinitum Greed
Despicable company run by insects.
How sad!! It's rock bottom when you try to get back money from charities!!
Just tell the AIG executives that their money was donated to charities in each of their names and just let it go--it's easy.
More evidence of badly misplaced priorities at AIG - good riddance already to overpaid, corrupt and heartless managers!!!
In a twisted way, corporations seizing a $490 million charitable endowment and claw back $27 million it already awarded to New York charities to pay executive bonuses makes sense.
We already know the leadership in these companies don't suffer from morality (ie: conformity to the rules of right conduct or virtuous conduct). So it's fair to assume the donations were only made for marketing reasons. A way to generate a good buzz among peers or suck in new customers. Now that the company is in the excrement, no need to keep up the facade that AIG is beneficent and concerned about anyone other than the most senior management of the company.
These unprincipled gargoyles must figure if the company is going down the toilet anyway, might as well make a grab for a few more coins.
They put the money into the fund as a tax dodge. Basic scenario: We made too much money and want to keep it. So we'll put company stock in an overseas "charitable" trust. (See the book "Perfectly Legal" for more info).
A little stock was donated to charity (can't be called a charitable trust otherwise), but most remained in the fund. All was tax deductible. The execs got tax deductions, and in the end would have gotten the shares back (at least those not donated to charity) when they reached age 65.
But when the former CEO, who chaired the fund, was axed, he shifted the stocks into a NEW fund from which new execs cannot access them. Execs who were trust members before the shift get their shares back at 65, new execs don't get shares. Now the stock has lost value, so the losses from keeping the stock in the form of stock outstrip the tax benefits of having the trust.
Current execs are not happy all this, so they're suing to get the remaining shares in the fund, plus shares already donated, plus additional funds to cover the difference between what the shares were worth before they killed the company, and they're worth today. They don't care one whit about the actual humans who benefit (like elders receiving Meals on Wheels) from the charity. They care only for money ... for themselves.
Pay the bastards in credit default swaps.
Shame on the Feds for enabling these crooks.
I bet if they started sending any financial exec who tries it in jail for 5 years, that'll dry up the funny business.
To hell with AIG! It is an immoral institution and should be allowed to collapse.
The extent of these thugs' greed is truly incomprehensible--as if any one of them needed a dime. They should all have to actually work eight hours a day and live on the average worker's earnings, and then try living with no income when the job is taken away from them ...
Are these AIG executives begging for Justice Dept investigations?
Don't say that you are at all surprised. How these evil dark creatures exist is beyond reason.
What an absolutely despicable company. I wouldn't buy insurance from them if they were the last insurance company on the planet. I don't see how they can take back money already given and probably already spent by the charities. But to want to do it to give their worthless, corrupt, greedy execs bonuses and allow some of these worthy charities to collapse is beyond the pale. It's past time to dismantle AIG so it's not to big to let it fail -- then let it fail.
They telemarketed me a couple of years ago selling "health insurance" for a low premium. I agreed (stupidly), only to discover that it was accident insurance. I canceled immediately--but wonder how many people didn't read the fine print when they got their policies ...
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First Posted: 06- 1-09 10:29 AM | Updated: 06- 1-09 12:23 PM