Dear A.I.G., I Quit!

reply to post by mybigunit


I agree with just about everything you are saying. I know the bonuses aren't right..it's wrong..definitely wrong.

But it was under contract...to violate it is against the Constitution. They could have had this written in the bill to stop the bonuses so AIG would have to agree to it to get the money..instead they didn't read it or didn't care..or for all we know..did it on PURPOSE...just to cause this anger of people and hide the fact that we are now buying our own treasuries...which was completely overshadowed at the time and still is.

That's the worst thing about this...besides it being unconstitutional...it's overshadowing so many other things that i think are far important. The media won't stop covering it yet there are tons of things they won't even touch.

I'm not a guy who think's this whole fiasco was on accident..you may not so we may differ there.

With everything that is happening i don't know how in the world people can think this is going to work. It seems like calculated destruction of the economy to me.

reply to post by David9176


Unfortunately I fear nothing is going to change (the fed, irs, income taxes, ect.) without an all out revolt, or worse civil war. I am mad at the government and system that allowed these things to happen and the fed and the irs. More so that so many people seem totally oblivious to the injustices perpetrated by said people. (more the people around me, most here on ATS understand).

But just staying OT here...in regards to this exec. I am mad at him, but more mad at the fact that he had to know what was going on there. I'm sure he didn't get the job he had because he was some blind idiot right out of college and told to sit in front of a desk. In my book he is right up there with the people that laughed off the likes of Peter Schiff and Ron Paul. It was all good for them as long as they were make'n the bucks, to hell with the rest of the country.

This is how I see it: We're all flying on a 747, its headed right for a mountain. But instead of pulling some G's and getting out of the way (making a few people uncomfortable and vomit, maybe a few bumped heads). The pilots decided the take a collection from every ones pockets! They split it with the people in First Class, because they could see what was coming. But not the poor people sitting in the back of the plane. Well the pilots bailed, but the people in First Class wanted to suck up a few more bucks. Now those First Class people have bailed; 'Hey, I wasn't the pilot, it wasn't MY fault', they say. Now the people in the back of the plane are broke, but instead of someone trying to fly the plane, they are all saying 'its okay, the people in charge will take care of us!'. They can't see the mountain they are about to fly into! The few that went and looked and are trying to warn the others are laughed at, 'your crazy man, the plane is flying straight and smooth, there's nothing wrong, sit down!'.

Well..crude analogy, but that kind of sums up how I feel. This executive was one of the first class people. He profited off of everyone else, and now he is going to bail with his money and live the good life. Oh and he WILL be living the good life, no doubt about that. So yeah, no sympathy, none at all.

Sorry for the wall'o'text

[edit on 3/25/2009 by toepick]

reply to post by toepick


I think the analogy was good, I agree with your opinion on what it will take to get us in the right direction and I am dissapointed in how apathetic our people are. I also feel that because of what a civil war would do or just enough violent protests in the right places, mob minds will start popping up in the most tumultuous of situations, those being where protests are getting out of hand and becoming violent. I feel like mob minds are another reason the law enforcement trying to oppress the mass public on the orders of their superiors will crack down harder. Individually we are all capable of logic and reason but when mobs are in full swing its like instinctual nature starts ripping into the resolve people have to get their message across. The only ones I feel in the prepped n' ready categorie are those whom have stockpiled lawfully owned fire arms, water, food, and maybe a garden with a good amount of veggies, and people with water filters...Because if it comes to a revolution, we the people will be on our own for a while....

reply to post by David9176


It wasnt an accident this was done for one reason and that is consolidation of power. This is what you call corporatism or a Mussolini style fascism which is an alliance of government and business which in this case is the banking industry. No disagreements there just like the depression didnt "just happen" lots of good businesses were forced under and bought for pennies on the dollar just like we are seeing now. People need to start saying no though. I would of had more respect for places like AIG who would of said instead Id rather go into chapter 11 and sort out my own issues and run the business how I want than take your welfare money and have you control me. As far as the constitution I totally agree. I think we pretty much agree on this issue I think I just emphasize a little more blame on people for taking the bait than the government for throwing the bait out there.....

Originally posted by mybigunit
It wasnt an accident this was done for one reason and that is consolidation of power. This is what you call corporatism or a Mussolini style fascism which is an alliance of government and business which in this case is the banking industry......

Fortunately it is in the nature of Capitalism and/or corporations to try and dominate their area of involvement... grow too large to maintain and then collapse.

So no... a big brother style of permanent domination will not happen.

That doesn't mean they don't try.

AIG did exactly what it was supposed to do.

Now the public does its part right on cue.

reply to post by mybigunit

I think we pretty much agree on this issue I think I just emphasize a little more blame on people for taking the bait than the government for throwing the bait out there.....

Actually...i'm with you on blame for people...i have been beat up for it a few times...like here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...
www.abovetopsecret.com...

There is blame to go everywhere..i know that...people need to own up for t heir mistakes and take their lumps.

We need to stop the enablers though.
We need to stop the continued theft of the AMerican public by our government and the federal reserve.

Unfortunately, many Americans are idiots..or don't pay attention to what is going on. I never used to pay attention...and sometimes i wish i never started to because the things i've seen and read are so maddening.

It's just sad to see this happening. I just would like the anger to be focused on the enablers...not the ones who took advantage of it.

reply to post by Blaine91555


That's nonsense... AIG was an insurance company... if it had stayed just an insurance company and stayed out of the whole derivatives market none of this would be happening.

I saw this reuters piece and it seems to fall in line with this thread, it discusses more employees leaving the troubled AIG FP unit in Conn.

link

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - Several more employees are leaving the controversial financial products unit that brought American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) to its knees last year, according to a person with knowledge of developments there.

The resignations are in addition to the "handful" of senior AIG Financial Products executives who have already given notice, said the person, who could not quantify the total number of departures. (See related story [ID:nN23305936])

To date, AIG said the situation at the financial products unit remains "manageable," despite the departures. But if too many employees quit, Chief Executive Edward Liddy has warned it could be disastrous for AIG and, ultimately, for U.S. taxpayers who are the insurer's majority owners.

But maybe if some of the people that took advantage are strung up, with their head on a pike and put in front of the houses of those that are the 'enablers', it will send a strong message! Otherwise, what do they have to fear?

just say'n

reply to post by toepick


Yeah, poor guy, he probably has millions stuffed in banks all over the world from the gigantic bonuses he got for 14 years but that letter is supposed to make him a righteous dude. It's not that easy. He says keep this year's bonus, NOW that the world knows they are a bunch of financial rapists; not too far above that Madoff character but he thinks HE is different. Thou doth protest much.

In order to understand this you have to understand AIG. Think of this company as a very large company that has control of 100's of companies. The financial products divisions was just one of these companies. They operate separetly from most other AIG divisions. I dont feel sorry for this guy, he probably made plenty of money prior to this. I think everyone is forgetting one person in this fiasco, Hank Greenberg, the original CEO of AIG. He left a few years before the SHTF! Look into his background, you'll find he was a CIA operative amongst other things.
AIG is nothing more than a cover for the FED now, laundering money and creating a diversion. As the news focuses on the bonuses the Obama admin is busy trying to grab power over all financial firms, creating trillions of dollars out of thin air and trying to limit pay.

The truly scary thing about the people quitting AIG is that they will now go out into the world, and screw up other companies. They will take their filth, and pollute the rest of the business world.

reply to post by grover


Bravo Jake DeSantis! It's about time somebody comes out of that company and speaks up! Maybe after this we'll see more people jump ship and if anything, give evidence leading to possible criminal charges against those who have orchestrated this mess.

I hate to break it to the folks who are outraged that these guys make a ton of money and think that now with this crisis, they will, as someone said, have a hard time getting a job at McDonalds. This gent will take a six month break and then land a 7 figure job. Why? Because that is the value the market places on the thing he does for a living. Sorry about that.

These guys make a lot of money. That is the way that it is and frankly, that is the way the market prices the work they do. The market for quarterbacks is pretty small, hence the folks who can play the position make a lot of dough. If you think any joe can do this kind of work or can even be remotely trained to do this work, you are naive to say the least.

I am sorry for the folks who think that anyone can do these jobs. They can't. Do the CEOs deserve $50M? No. Does a guy who can make a serious return on a commodities portfolio deserve a couple of $million? Yes he/she does.

Now that may upset the folks who are interested in living in a society that drives for an equal outcome for everyone and perhaps we are heading in that direction now. Until we get there, folks who can make a lot of money for other folks will always get paid a ton of money. If you think that the governments of the socialist heavens that some aspire us to be are running their own investment pools, get real. Dudes in NYC and London who make several $million/year are running the cash for the socialists so that they have the money to continue build their workers paradise (and their estates).

Again, another dissapointment. If you think that the plans of the administration are going to curb this kind of pay scale, you are right and wrong. The folks who are average will work for the firms that are very large and the firms who do business with the government (aka manage portfolios of toxic assets). The government will have some say in how much they make. The smart folks will blow that scene off and work for small shops or foreign firms and make MORE money than the did before this blow-up. Thats fantastic. When we are in a jam and need the best and brightest to get us out of this jam, the best and brightest are being driven from the very jobs where they could help the country.

Good for them.

You know, I don't hear anything about the middle class gent who pulled his money out of his 401K in 2007 that was heavily invested in CDOs, derivitives, synthetic instruments and the like that got a 15% return on his dough for 10 years, and took his cash out of the market. He certainly benefited from the greed on the street.

DeSantis seems to be looking for a way to distance himself from this entire mess which was predetermined for decades he realized that he was not gonna get a piece of the pie for loyally serving his masters so like any corporate rat he's jumping ship and hoping to escape unnoticed back into Wall Street.

Originally posted by Karlhungis
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.

Barings A.K.A Nick Leeson, comes to mind

But even then senior management knew what he was doing.
He might as well have taken half the companies money down to the
Casino and put it all Black. Trading is exactly like gambling, except
in trading your gambling with hundred of millions.

I agree that the bonuses were contracted. And to mess with them means that Government has the "authority" to dictate which contracts are to be/or not to be, honored.

The bonuses were a drop in the bucket, anyway.

Has anyone read the recent headlines that Goldman Sachs (among others)is ready to "return" the monies the recieved through TARP? I wonder if there will be an interest charge.

Fiat currency can't sustain itself.

[edit on 25-3-2009 by cryingindian]

Originally posted by cryingindian
I agree that the bonuses were contracted. And to mess with them means that Government has the "authority" do dictate what contracts are do be/or not to be honored.

The bonuses were a drop in the bucket, anyway.

Has anyone read the recent headlines that Goldman Sachs (among others)is ready to "return" the monies the recieved through TARP? I wonder if there will be an interest charge.

Fiat currency can't sustain itself.

Especially when the Government caters to greed, and not the "silent MAJORITY."

reply to post by cryingindian


No that's not true. If AIG had gone into bankruptcy those contracts would have been the first thing on the table... so no they were not sacrosanct.

Besides management is always arm twisting labor into renegotiating their contracts all the time... whats good for the goose is good for the gander.