by Daniel G. O'Leary

Created on: March 20, 2009   Last Updated: April 26, 2010

The Question; "Should A.I.G. executives be forced to return bonuses paid with federal bailout money?" The short answer; Absolutely yes, without any second thoughts. No question about it, the Federal Government should do absolutely everything necessary to "legally recover ANY bailout bonus money paid to the Executives of the Financial Products Unit.

The Financial Products Unit is a Connecticut-based subsidiary of A.I.G. It is "the very unit that caused so much of A.I.G.'s financial trouble" (as stated by a man who should know in testimony before House hearing, A.I.G. Chief Executive Edward Liddy).

Let me help you get a clearer picture; the Financial Products Unit lost money, was not profitable, and a major cause for A.I.G. to seek assistance from the Federal Government to stay afloat. Millions of Americans lost money they invested, retirement accounts vaporized, and our ailing economy was tittering on "the brink" of collapse. So, the old A.I.G. Executives requested help from "We the People" through our Federal Government. Our elected and appointed officials convinced us, "We the People", that it was in our Nation's best interest to stimulate the tittering economy by bailing out A.I.G. (as well as other companies), with taxpayer dollars. Weeks went by, campaign speeches went by, hearings went by, and eventually the bailout money was approved. A.I.G. was supposed to use the money to make itself stronger, more solvent, to act responsibly. There were stories being reported about; A.I.G. employees using some of the money to take "business trips", Executive decisions to pay "retention bonuses" to top executives supposedly to retain the best and brightest to heal the company. Contracts were actually drawn up and signed by the parties involved authorizing the bonuses to be paid from the bailout money, with the knowledge of our government (at that time).

Lets get this straight, "contracts were signed authorizing the payment of millions of taxpayer's dollars to be paid as retention bonuses to the very group of incompetent idiots that destroyed the company in question for the purpose of retaining the brightest minds available to correct the problems". If they were the brightest minds available, they should NOT have been retained. They definitely did not deserve to be rewarded for continuing their employment beyond their paycheck (and even that should have been lowered). The only retention bonus should have been a second chance at employment with the understanding that they

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