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Republican Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa told a Cedar Rapids radio station how he really feels about the AIG executives taking bonuses after needing to be bailed out with $170 billion in federal money: "I suggest, you know, obviously, maybe they ought to be removed. But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they'd follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I'm sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide. And in the case of the Japanese, they usually commit suicide before they make any apology." His spokesman later said Grassley was speaking rhetorically.
GOP Senator Suggests AIG Bonus Execs Kill Themselves
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2nd avenue and 47th- 1 hammarskjold plaza. 15-20 ambulances and trucks.
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A.I.G.
Arrogance Incompetence Greed
The government couldn't wait to hand all that money over to AIG with no stipulations or oversight. Who is really the more incompetent one here?
no question, there's plenty of blame to go around
Unfortunately, the blame and outrage is highly selective.
LOL, here is a blatant case of the pot calling the kettle black. You hypocritical piece of shit.
Why is cursing of opponent a standard reply of an Obamabot?
posted in wrong place! meant for #27.
"Why is cursing of opponent a standard reply of an Obamabot?"
http://www.culturejamming101.com/syllabus.html
The issue here is that the executives signed contracts guaranteeing their bonuses. I'm sure that those contracts contained a clause stating that they would be working in their clients' best interests, which, of course, they didn't. Therefore, they broke their contracts and shouldn't receive the bonuses. Their contracts are void.
I want the kind of contract that says regardless of my performance, I still receive my bonus. Every bonus I've received has been tied to either the performance of the company or my individual performance rating.
Such a good feeling to know that the guys in the very units that managed these toxic assets and burned the house down are being rewarded for doing so.
Viva la Revolucion!
I had the same thought. AIG's corporate attorneys must really suck if they write contracts like that. The attorneys should be let go immediately. Although I wouldn't be surprised if some of them are in line for the bonuses.
Maybe, but they would fight that and it would be in the courts forever. Another perfectly legal way would be to get the IRS to audit their tax returns for the past 3 years. If any of the people comin' to Washington over the past couple of months is any indication, there's at least $165 million in unpaid taxes between these scumbags.
If AIG had been allowed to go the chapter 11 route, the sensible thing to do, this would be a moot point since all contracts in that case could be renegotiated.
Just another example of the government cure being worse than the disease.
I want to know how you can commit suicide _before_ you apologize.
Are you trying to suggest that someone can't apologize just because they're dead? Psshaw!
I think he is saying that in the case of the Japanese - they would rather commit suicide first than to apologize.
Sometimes suicide is the answer.
This sounds like a plan.
I hear suicide is painless and it brings on many changes
And I can take or leave it as I please.
He wrongly assumes that these execs have both honor and therefore shame.
What's say, ferret-face?
This is really similar to the whole earmarks debate. Yes, these bonuses are bad, but they are a tiny fraction of the money that was given to AIG. Billions went through AIG to other banks who were owed under the debt obligations.
So if you want to focus on the bonuses, maybe bankruptcy sounds like it would have been a better option. But under bankruptcy, not only would there be no bonuses, but none of those banks who were owed would have been paid, either, and who knows what would have happened to the insurance side of the business. IMO, those ramifications outweigh the minor pain of seeing these unwarranted bonuses being paid out.
In a perfect world, of course, the bailout would have had some better conditions and oversight.
Buyer beware indeed. Grassley has been a Senator since '81. Seems to me he can take plently of blame too.
Seems he neverminds the bonuses called farm subsidies! $16 billion a year.
It's a shame this Senator didn't suggest the same thing to Bush for bringing dishonor upon the entire country.
early in the running for "best off-color political statement of 2009."
cheers, senator grassley!
Only if you are a partisan hack on whatever side of the fence. Most normal people would say what TGirl said. There is a life outside of spin, you know.
Ah fuck, that was a response to Ides. And a fairly snappy one, if I do say so myself.
Fire their asses. Abrogate the contracts. Let the fuckers sue. Don't settle. It'll take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to get to trial. Then let a jury decide whether they get the bonuses.
Ignoring the law because it's inconvenient was bad before January 20, and it's still bad today.
However that doesn't mean that the contracts actually require the bonuses to be paid, as discussed here: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/03/16/aig/ . Though I believe some of the proposed remedies are also illegal I think they would be bills of attainder, but that's another debate.
i wish we can have this outrage over no-bid military contracts, blank checks for wars, billions vanishing in Iraq, etc
There was and still is plenty of outrage, where have you been living for the last eight years, under a rock? Do you remember the RNC in '04?
Staying in Iraq and escalating in Afganistan sounds more like LBJ to me.
Put a stop payment on that last bail out check they got. This is honestly just sickening, no matter how you look at it.
Don't these silly businessmen know that only politicians can squander a ton of money and still expect to be rewarded? Last time I checked, politicians can also vote themselves a pay raise.
Congressional pay raises only go into effect after a House election, per the 27th Amendment. So all Representatives and 1/3rd of Senators technically do not vote themselves a pay raise. It's whoever holds the seat after the election that gets the raise (which, due to other factors, is usually the same person, but that's another issue).
Nice take here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/03/16/is-obama-finally-pus.html
Congress should just do a rapid pass on a 110% AIG bonus tax just for people who worked in management of that division.
Why didn't the Republicans commit seppeku after the elections? Have they no honor either? They lost face and yet those zombies still walk among us as if there was something left for them down here. They need to go away...and take their friends and contributors at A.I.G. with them.
Well, shit. I agree with a Republican?? I may have to go kill myself along with all the AIG execs!!