Dear A.I.G., I Quit!

Dear A.I.G., I Quit!

www.nytimes.com

The following is a letter sent on Tuesday by Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group’s financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of A.I.G.

DEAR Mr. Liddy,

It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context:

I am proud of everything I have done for the commodity and equity divisions of A.I.G.-F.P. I was in no way involved in — or responsible for — the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage.

After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company — during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 — we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is a very interesting letter from someone actually part of AIG.

Its easy to demonize someone without a face or a voice... Those evil executives at AIG... its totally different when they do.

What I found interesting is that (1)

... I was in no way involved in — or responsible for — the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage...

and (2):

... Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both...

What I find amazing is the notion that only a handful of people could bring down such a massive company without any apparently serious oversight and that some other way of compensation wouldn't have been worked out when the company was taken over.

I mean think about it... true hindsight is 20x20 but still were they oblivious to the loaded word BONUS in this economic climate? Or couldn't they have found a way to separate out those people who had a hand in its failure so that they wouldn't be rewarded too...

... or had they all like rats on a sinking ship... fled already?

www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 25-3-2009 by grover]

Flag. Star. This is spectacular! Good job man, can someone send him a cookie? Stupid, stupid A.I.G., wasting talent like this by not paying enough.

A chocolate chip cookie would be nice.

Yeah when you read pieces like that it has a way of putting the human back into the news cycle spin... something we need more of.

Yes for the last year, they got $1.
That's because for the last 11 years, they earned millions in bonuses, knowing full well what Joe Cassano was doing.
And knowing full well what the end result would be, and who it would detrimentally affect.
But no, they didn't think to try and expose it.
They didn't think to leave the company then, while the cash was flowing.
They just lapped up the millions they were paid while it lasted.
Oh what a poor man spending 14 hours a day away from his family, for only $1.
They are happy at home in there million dollar mansion.
While millions of family's live on the streets.

reply to post by aLiiEn


Let's see how long they remain in their million dollar mansions!

Talk about a resume that will mean crap! This guy will be lucky to find a job working at McDonalds!

Booo, hooooo! Poor guy!

Unless..........some other company needs people to cover crap up!

reply to post by grover


I am not sure if you have read it or not, but the Rolling Stone has a great write up on how just a few people could bring down the entire company / global economy. The read is well worth your time.

www.rollingstone.com...

There is some profanity in it. If you like the story, there is a thread called "The Big Takeover" that you could chime in on.

reply to post by aLiiEn


I highly doubt that everyone that worked for AIG received million is bonuses but hey, since we're on a witch hunt, lets burn em all at the stake, right?

Obviously AIG is the single cause for the financial meltdown. Thank God we have a fiscally responsible Government telling us who to hate.......er, I mean watching out for us.

Originally posted by aLiiEn
Yes for the last year, they got $1.
That's because for the last 11 years, they earned millions in bonuses, knowing full well what Joe Cassano was doing.
And knowing full well what the end result would be, and who it would detrimentally affect.
But no, they didn't think to try and expose it.
They didn't think to leave the company then, while the cash was flowing.
They just lapped up the millions they were paid while it lasted.
Oh what a poor man spending 14 hours a day away from his family, for only $1.
They are happy at home in there million dollar mansion.
While millions of family's live on the streets.

i agree, everybody in finance knew what was going on..and you know why...remember back a few years ago when that "trader" in hong kong lost a sh*tload of money for that british bank and it was all over the news. and it included the info that he was active in trading derivitives??? everybody knew at that time how friggin' dangerous it was, i think that guy lost billions. right then and there the western nations should have shut those financial products down, but did they? NO!! because all the rest of the wealthy were making piles of money, and the regulators looked the other way. this whole thing is a dog and pony show put out by wall street, trying to say that they didn't know these derivitive products could crash the whole financial system of the western world. that's why the big players got out in 2006 and 2007, they knew it couldn't last. my question is why aren't the western nations going after these criminals. they keep saying "THESE PRODUCTS WERE SO COMPLEX NOBODY UNDERSTOOD THEM" ...B.S...it was one big ponzi scheme and it took me no time at all after a little research into credit default swaps, to realize that. complex my *ss, these guys are common thugs, but dressed in 2000 dollar suits.

[edit on 25-3-2009 by jimmyx]

My official tender of resignation would have been far more blunt, yet simple and direct to the point.

How can I best express it?



A doggy poop bag and a note attached saying: "Please clean up your own mess. Thank you".

Originally posted by jimmyx

Originally posted by aLiiEn
Yes for the last year, they got $1.
That's because for the last 11 years, they earned millions in bonuses, knowing full well what Joe Cassano was doing.
And knowing full well what the end result would be, and who it would detrimentally affect.
But no, they didn't think to try and expose it.
They didn't think to leave the company then, while the cash was flowing.
They just lapped up the millions they were paid while it lasted.
Oh what a poor man spending 14 hours a day away from his family, for only $1.
They are happy at home in there million dollar mansion.
While millions of family's live on the streets.

i agree, everybody in finance knew what was going on..and you know why...remember back a few years ago when that "trader" in hong kong lost a sh*tload of money for that british bank and it was all over the news. and it included the info that he was active in trading derivitives??? everybody knew at that time how friggin' dangerous it was, i think that guy lost billions. right then and there the western nations should have shut those financial products down, but did they? NO!! because all the rest of the wealthy were making piles of money, and the regulators looked the other way. this whole thing is a dog and pony show put out by wall street, trying to say that they didn't know these derivitive products could crash the whole financial system of the western world.

For God's sake, just STOP IT!

I didn't see any investors dumping their 401K's and mutual funds either! Just stop all this BS moaning and groaning... it's OVER... get over it! It wasn't illegal although it should have been and people were making money... YOU INCLUDED!

This is NOT about AIG. Yes, they did risky things... just like ALL investors do risky things when they're making money. I'm not taking up for AIG... I'm just sick of all the Bi***ing!

This IS about the government and media deflecting our attention from other things... PAY ATTENTION AND QUIT BI***ING!!!

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
For God's sake, just STOP IT!

I didn't see any investors dumping their 401K's and mutual funds either! Just stop all this BS moaning and groaning... it's OVER... get over it! It wasn't illegal although it should have been and people were making money... YOU INCLUDED!

This is NOT about AIG. Yes, they did risky things... just like ALL investors do risky things when they're making money. I'm not taking up for AIG... I'm just sick of all the Bi***ing!

This IS about the government and media deflecting our attention from other things... PAY ATTENTION AND QUIT BI***ING!!!

STOP TELLING PEOPLE WHAT TO DO!!
And stop using caps and !!! and abusing people and telling them to believe in God!
It was illegal.
Very illegal.
Corrupt and illegal.
Stop trying to defend the criminals who did this.
Go and read what Cassano and Morgan and the other corrupt politicians did.
And get your facts straight.
Everyone knows what they did, and there is nowhere to hide.

Originally posted by aLiiEn

Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
For God's sake, just STOP IT!

I didn't see any investors dumping their 401K's and mutual funds either! Just stop all this BS moaning and groaning... it's OVER... get over it! It wasn't illegal although it should have been and people were making money... YOU INCLUDED!

This is NOT about AIG. Yes, they did risky things... just like ALL investors do risky things when they're making money. I'm not taking up for AIG... I'm just sick of all the Bi***ing!

This IS about the government and media deflecting our attention from other things... PAY ATTENTION AND QUIT BI***ING!!!

STOP TELLING PEOPLE WHAT TO DO!!
And stop using caps and !!! and abusing people and telling them to believe in God!
It was illegal.
Very illegal.
Corrupt and illegal.
Stop trying to defend the criminals who did this.
Go and read what Cassano and Morgan and the other corrupt politicians did.
And get your facts straight.
Everyone knows what they did, and there is nowhere to hide.

How old are you? 13? How was that abuse and, lol, I didn't say that you should believe in God. I don't tell people what they should believe. I'm just tired of all the wealth envy today and yes, you are envious and it's obvious by your post. People like you are the reason that Obama finds it to his advantage politically to take from the wealthy and give to the non-achievers. Don't try to tell me not to emphasize my posts at least I can write complete paragraphs.

I have done my research and I know what Cassano did. You tell me what laws they broke. Quote sources, any sources at all. Shouldn't be hard if it was "very illegal". Nothing these people did was illegal. Immoral to the extent they did it maybe.

[edit on 25/3/2009 by Iamonlyhuman]

I'm waiting to feel sorry for this person....

.....

.....nope, not gonna happen

Millions of people work their asses off everyday for barely over minimum wage just to make ends meet, and those are the lucky ones; lucky enough to have a job.

While a few people make (made) hundreds of millions off the hard earned investments of those people; those lucky enough to even be able to invest any of their money, or have insurance.

Now its all coming to an end and how nice that these people can just quit their job (while millions are laid off without a choice) and run off with the millions they made and spend it with their poor deprived families...

Nope, not one microscopic bit of sympathy at all for these people.

If the government would have just stayed out of it and let capitalism run it's course, we wouldn't even be talking about AIG right now! But because of the generosity of our government officials (not the public), this guy at least still has a job to quit from.

I hate to say it to this guy (well, I really don't) but tough crap! Guess what... There are millions of people who had 'promised' raises & bonuses taken away, or lost their jobs entirely, or who lost their retirement, because of what AIG has done to our economy.

So welcome to the real world sir. The thing you and the rest of the people like you ("upper" "class" / wealthy) don't understand is that beside the obscene amount of money you have made, you really are nobody special... Except that you actually have the gall to look for sympathy while you live off your millions for a few months until another corrupt financial business picks you up.

Mister, cry me a river & grab a spot in the back soup line like the rest of us!

Originally posted by Anjin
I highly doubt that everyone that worked for AIG received million is bonuses

I agree, most people who work for AIG probably receive a paycheck every week or two just like most people do.

But the guy who wrote this letter was an "executive vice president of the American International Group’s financial products unit"!

I'm sure he's one of them that was in line for a couple million dollar bonus!

[edit on 3/25/2009 by Keyhole]

I read this letter in entirety and have the following comments.

1. If the guys perpetrating the credit default swap mess at AIG really did keep other divisions in the dark, and this guy thought he was "taking one for the team" by taking a $1 salary, putting in hard work and waiting on a paycheck he really thought was coming, I'm sorry that he got shorted.

2. It sounds like he quit more over the anger of being misled by management than by not getting paid. I'd be pissed too, if management said "work hard we'll sort this out and you'll get paid" and then sided with politicians who wanted the money back.

3. If the payout was deferred salary, it should have been stated publicly as such and the hot button term "bonus" should have only been used where someone was getting pay in excess of their normal salary.

4. On the other hand, if he agreed to take no pay in order to help the company weather tough times, well, then guess what - it's still "suck it up time". A taxpayer bailout isn't the same thing as a "return to profitability", and if he really is a team player then get back on the team and keep working, until the company really is profitable.

www.rollingstone.com...

Someone's lying.

We should have let AIG sink like the pile of ... that it is.

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman

PAY ATTENTION AND QUIT BI***ING!!!

I would say he was paying attention, paying attention and contributing to the threads content productively. I would also say his opinion is his to have and he can post whatever he wants just so long as it does not violate T&C. However comments like yours are pretty borderline in both civility and decorum. Who are you to tell him what he can and cannot say on a forum about the topic he is discussing?

How was that abuse

Well just the way you posted that part I just quoted you saying, pretty obvious, all caps and a very rude comment. Lets just assume we could say he was "complaining", how are you any better when your basically complaining about him complaining?

People like you are the reason that Obama finds it to his advantage politically to take from the wealthy and give to the non-achievers.

Non-Achievers? Please explain that term as the way it sounds here is you are inferring a stereo type. The bigger the divide between Upper class and Lower class the more upset people will become and there are a lot more in the latter bracket then the former so you have to understand that if we are indeed about equality steps should be taken to actively reduce the divide between these classes. Also, there isn't even a middle class anymore, thats how bad the situation has deteriorated yet you sit there demanding people to just take it? That would be the mentality that led us into this mess in the first place.

Don't try to tell me not to emphasize my posts at least I can write complete paragraphs.

Perhaps you can, does that make the comments you make which come off as rude any more acceptable? In fact the statement above makes you sound more like a 13 year old than the person you originally insulted with that very same line. So what if you can write a paragraph properly? What good does it do you to write something correctly if its contents are so insulting no one will see any merit in it?

I have done my research and I know what Cassano did. You tell me what laws they broke. Quote sources, any sources at all. Shouldn't be hard if it was "very illegal". Nothing these people did was illegal. Immoral to the extent they did it maybe.

So your saying that giving millions of tax dollars to people whom did not deserve it for any reason, just because they had it to spend is ok? Legally or not, that is wrong when you have families out on the streets that donations or contributions in the millions to noble causes could easily help instead of handing it to greedy employees whom are already financially well off. Where is your moral compass? The only reason it isn't illegal is because lawyers and lobbyists and all sorts of beaurocratic greedy fiends make it so they can cut and run with tax dollars that we all worked hard for and were promised would be spent to help our country regain stability. He doesn't need a source. Common sense is his source.

I must apologize for my cynicism. I know I should give this guy the benefit of the doubt and all but...,

From the few CEO's and Execs that I have personally dealt with, the joke is about how taking a $1 salary drops your tax-bracket ---- nudge- nudge-wink-wink.

These guys play these games all the time, they always have. If the average tax-payer had a tenth of the shelters and financial vehicles to hide their income like these guys do, we could all take 1$ salaries too.

Like someone said earlier .... not gonna feel sorry for him.... nope... just not happening.