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March 19th, 2009
06:00 AM ET
What's on Tap – Thursday March 19, 2009
Marching along the Road to Rescue… It’s day four of CNN’s special coverage.
The responses have been great and overwhelming. You’re helping us help you. And the verdict is in: You don’t like AIG!
Here’s the lineup of guests helping us make sense of the meltdown today:
- Bill Adair, Founder of Politifact.com. Some AIG fact or fiction today. Does Congress keep bailing out AIG because it’s insured by AIG?? We find out if there's any truth to that internet rumor.
- Former Federal Prosecutor Paul Callan on the latest face of greed and corruption – Bernie Madoff’s alleged “rubber stamp boy.”
- Our own Candy Crowley is dropping by. No one knows the beltway better. With some of the AIG outrage being redirected at Congress and the White House, does the president have the political capital to pass a three-trillion dollar budget and even MORE bank bailouts?
- Plus – the “Fed” is doing something major. It’s throwing another $1,000,000,000,000 right at the heart of the problem. It could make your home payments more sustainable, even more affordable, but are we mortgaging the future for that?
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I'm writing about this AIG mess that highlights the Wall Street greed that we have been brainwashed into thinking is how it should be. I recall when UAL (United Airlines parent company) filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy a few years ago. As you know Chapter 11 is for restructuring the company, as compared with Chapter 7, which is for going under. One thing that was done in the UAL restructuring was to cancel the retirement plan for their retirees. The judge allowed it, which in essence was the breaking of an employment contract with thousands of people. I think this is a great idea for any company that wants to receive recovery funds from our tax dollars. We give them two choices: in order to receive recovery funds from our tax dollars, either all execs agree voluntarily to give up their excess salaries, “bonuses for failure” and any other greedy shenanigans they have in place, or the company must file Ch. 11 BR. This way we can be certain that we can prevent their greedy practices, irrespective of what their contracts say. Clearly if Ch. 11 restructuring allows for UAL to get out paying hundreds of thousands of hard working people at UAL their retirement entitlements, I see no reason why a BR judge couldn't negate these greedy contracts. In fact, if AIG execs won’t give back the bonus money they already received voluntarily, then as 80% shareholders in the company, I say we call for a shareholder vote to force a Ch 11 restructuring bankruptcy and clean out the whole greedy mess for them. That might even bring the bottom line from red to black in one swoop.
A.I.G : AIG has been bad boys before a mere five years ago the NY State Atty. General padlocked their financial products office. Over this the AIG Ceo Hank Greenberg went into exile. AIG was fined $1.6 billion dollars. AIG was "Cooking The Books" in order to attract investors. What ever they do is hardly new "News. Was this fine ever paid or are the taxpayers going to pay this also.
"Barney Frank and others would follow suit and start taking responsibilities for dropping the ball, that would be good."
Barney Frank is possibly the biggest idiot in this mess.
Kudos to Chris Dodd? The only reason he admitted to it is because after his faulty statement yesterday, he went home thought about it and realized it was going to come out in the open. Yeah Kudos Mr. Dodd. He claims he was forced by treasury officials to make the changes. He couldn't remember that yesterday? He forgot about being strongarmed over millions of dollars? Here is a question for you CNN; When are we Americans going to put down our Blackberries and Ipods and cellphones and crap...everything else that distracts us and puts us to sleep, and march our butts down to D.C and either demand change or remove the whole lot of these crooks claining to be our Congress?
As infuriating as the Aig mess is, if anyone remembers, this came out back in February. Even though Chris Doddd initially "forgot" on Tuesday that he was involved in the amendment permitting bonus's prior to 2/9/09( as I remember cringing and knew then that he was involved).Why didn't this get as much attention then... as it is now?
I imagine the people on the hill were hoping that AIG would not take too much advantage of this amendment by dishing out millions...but remember the old saying..give an inch, they will take a yard!..But again why didn't this get the attention last month.???
But a kudos to Chris Dodd, at least he finally owned up to it(somewhat)...now if Barney Frank and others would follow suit and start taking responsibilities for dropping the ball, that would be good.
Here's another great suggestion-have congress and the senate cut their salaries 10 % unitil we clear the recessionary period...see how quick things get better then. How many ten of 'trillions' were pumped into those buildings in Washington in the form of taxes-during the real estate boom everyone is crying about, it really makes the bailout look like a tear drop. Our representatives spent money like it was not their own, I would not say drunken sailors, because even they have a better sense of responsibility.
I see breaking news this morning Chris Dodd responsible, well keep digging CNN some of your heros that you proped up during elections might have some dirt on them. Look back to the administration that actually revoked the regulation that opened up the bility of savings and loans instuition to be bought up by wall street and merged commercial lending with residential creating the toxic soup we are drinking today. And if Mr. Dodd is going to sit on the panel that investigates all these finacial crisis and declare foul what a great cover to protect you own stink, same with Mr. Frank who almost villified any opponet who spoke out against Fannie or Freddie. As for our President, who keeps stating this problem I inherited, well the job of running the country is the one you accepted quit pointing back start being accountable stand by your word, and move the country forward without forgetting your title commander in chief responsible first for the defense of this Nation and the men and women in uniform, which are essentially neglectd coming home from service under the comittee that you were once chair of, but were too busy campaigning to address the issues at hand. Saying were proud of our troops is not the same as acting on their behalf, if one can not bring health care to the one percent who served coming home I don't believe that this country can be served under the same performance. God bless this nation, and all freedom lovers everywhere, for we need every prayer to stop the bickering and begin productivity with this new administrations magic show.
The whole outrage displayed by Congress yesterday is a joke. You can't offer a dog a bone and then scold him when he takes it. The clause allowing bonuses is right there in plain 7th grade level english.
Ohhhh.....but nobody read it, thats right. These idiots in Congress yesterday with their fake outrage all signed this document.
Suggesting suicide and shrugging their shoulders when concern for human life is expressed? What? Are we really going to let Congress set up a class war? These idiots?
Listen, I don't agree with bonuses being funded by taxpayers anymore than the next guy, but the real problem here is shotty legislation that nobody read, and a bunch of fat cat politicians directing anger towards emplyess for for their (congress) own stupidity.
I have been watching your reporting this morning and you have missed a very important point regarding the AIG bonus mess. The Congress and President passed the legislation that legitimized the bonuses paid to the AIG executives. We are angry at the wrong people. We should be angry with Congress and the President. They passed the legislation and then lied about it. The "outrage" they are currently expressing will last until the next election when they need campaign money from the AIG's of this world. The US Government has more of a credibility problem than anybody on Wall Street. We thought we elected someone who would make changes – obviously another lie. They make Madoff look like an amateur!
Recommended book to read:
"A Demon of Our Own Design: Markets, Hedge Funds, and the Perils of Financial Innovation" by Richard Bookstaber. – 2007
Then there is:
"The Economic Time Bomb" by Harry Browne (written in 1989)
I cannot believe that I just saw a reporter recommend to a person she knew nothing about that he voluntarily stop paying on his mortgage to apply so that he could somehow get help in refinancing. That is completely irresponsible and that reporter needs to apologize and stop giving advice like that to peopleshe knows nothing about.
Your 'truth-O-Meter" was very enlighening. I had no idea that the tax payers were responsible for the elected officials upkeep. I want to withdraw my tax dollars immediately. Isn't this paying them for a job well done? Well I think they are doing nothing for me so I want them fired!
my aid counselor say I make way to much but for an SSD error they are deducting almost 300 dollars a month of my benefit and I am in dire straists
can get no help here in Salina Kansas and am the brink of becoming homeless
even though my house is paid for but medications and travel to KC Med Center are almost prohibative How can I receive any benefit from stimulus I did not qualify for last years
Is amFix all about Business, Politics and Economy? Because that is all I see on it now. You can only listen to people whine about those subjects for so long. What happened to the rest of the news?
and please for all that is holy, stop freaking being so nice to the people you interview that is supposed to be on hot plate. Rake their butts across the hot coals! You owe it to the American people to ask the hard questions and not worry about hurting their feelings.
good morning Kirin and John I am 60 yrs old and on total disability and am scheduled for an additional surgery in a couple of months I can not care for my self but my disability is way above the poverty level and still recieve no aid the aid available is way more than I can afford
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of politics. To me one thing stands out from all this corporate greed, scandalous behavior, and outright fraud, especially when I see congressional hearings filled with windbagging. The burning question is how do we prevent this kind of thing in the future? And why couldn't we prevent this bonus fiasco before it blew up like this? Why is it that the public only seem to care now? Just because we're essentially all paying for it everyone wants to be a watchdog now?? The media, the government, the public, the whole lot of us who are supposed to be responsible Americans are only being vigilant now about all this because the American taxpayer has to fork over a portion of their weekly salary now to fix it all. We all need American Morning to help give us a wake up call and teach us to look beyond just what we're paying for and think about what we might end up paying for on top of all this if we don't learns some stern lessons from this economic disaster.
Here's the definition of what a "bonus" is from Dictionary.com:
"a sum of money granted or given to an employee, a returned soldier, etc., in addition to regular pay, usually in appreciation for work done, length of service, accumulated favors, etc."
So a bonus is usually given in appreciation for the work done, but what's to appreciate from the work done by AIG? Nothing. There was no work done, they just plummeted the corporation to the depths of bankruptcy, which called for a bailout last year before the entire country needed a bailout this year.
A bonus is supposed to be a reward. AIG tried rewriting that notion and finally they've been caught. Was it too late though? We'll have to wait and see.
I actually believe the righteous indignation of Congress on the millions in bonuses is a smoke screen to avoid the billions that AIG directed overseas and the billions that Congress forced AIG to give to companies that already recieved stimulus.
Ed