dagblog - Comments for "AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage"

"That's to avoid a

eds — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 01:39:55 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

"That's to avoid a bill-of-attainder challenge."

I think it fails, but don't quote me on that. It is clearly punitive in both intent and effect, plus it probably has loopholes big enough to funnel $50B through it. It's a stupid reactionary idea designed to satisfy fake outrage in the blogosphere and MSM. It should be left to die a quiet death.

Yes! Catharsis doesn't have

eds — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 00:10:42 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

Yes! Catharsis doesn't have to be purely entropic shedding of old habits!!

Shoulda been- “Why does that

Don Key — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:38:23 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

Shoulda been- “Why does that seem to be off the table?” (and I didn’t see where you’ve already addressed some of this). Still, we should clawback the whole Paulson TARP and start over.

Like I said, this clawback

Don Key — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 23:20:58 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

Like I said, this clawback was a one-off, lancing a boil that threatened to infect the White House's entire economic agenda.

Yes, but the boil may be malignant. Maybe we're cutting off our nose to spite our face. (Too many bloody metaphors?). The agenda, the on-the-fly bailout program, is being ignored or I should say codified by appeasement with this take-back. Questions like: why, when we originally got an 80% stake in AIG (days from collapse) for $80 billion, is the whole corporation not in receivership after another $100 billion?

In the past, prison and school systems and the S & L industry have been taken over by government to some degree for a limited period of time to right abuses, restructure and restore oversight. Why does that not seem to be off the table? Questions about the rightness of the overall program are diverted by papering over the real anger at the system by so much focus on righting what is relatively minor but admittedly a travesty.

As I understand it, the

acanuck — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:42:58 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

As I understand it, the clawback bill doesn't single out AIG, but applies to any company getting bailout funds. That's to avoid a bill-of-attainder challenge.
The 90% tax kicks in only when total income exceeds $250,000 -- which I think is a bit too punitive. On the other hand, it only applies to the bonus part of income. So the guy who was to get $6.4 million still collects an extra $640,000.
It's not as draconian as some imply.
You're right, of course, that beefing up financial regulations is way more important, but the AIG issue had to be defused. As it is, the friction between Dodd and Treasury over who's to blame could hinder future legislation.

By radical, I mean getting to

acanuck — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:20:14 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

By radical, I mean getting to the root of the problem. That's a good thing.

I don't see this as a

☠enghis — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:12:00 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

I don't see this as a necessary action. No one's going to take to the streets or throw Obama out of office or even balk at more reform. They're just going to be angry. So turn the anger into productive reform instead of throwing heads to the crowd--see my comment to havethought below.

Yes, the mob wants action

☠enghis — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 22:03:38 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

Yes, the mob wants action now, the subject of my own post on the topic. Congrats to Congress for having the cojones to stand up to them.

Congress doesn't have to focus on AIG. They could pass a bill that beefs up the SEC or that promised tax increase on the rich or raise the minimum wage. AIG is the most politically expedient and least productive target of legislation.

Regulation is not a "radical

cube3u — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:47:35 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

Regulation is not a "radical solution" unless you are a "free marketer". Are you?

Genghis, maybe because they

havethoughtwilltravel — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 21:46:16 +0000

In reply to AIG bonus clawback: I'm outraged by the outrage over the outrage

Genghis, maybe because they feel the mob mentality will not stop to consider the complexities of the situation. They want action now. Tough crowd!

If you want to move on to the bigger picture and get your budget passed, what are your options? Especially if you want the populace back on board as quickly as possible, as well as focused?

Since it seems these were not bonuses in the true sense, I too question the legality of the tax issue, or the possible blow back down the road, but I'm not a legal expert. This will be one for the experts to battle out. Should be interesting. The mob mentality in me finds a 90% tax on these guys hilarious. I hope I can continue to laugh, in the future.