So much going on this week, so little time to blog about it all.

I wanted to make a few comments about the recent AIG bonus debacle though. First off, Geithner has already said that he will likely deduct the $165 million that AIG paid out in bonuses from the next installment of $30 billion that they plan to send to AIG.

Really? Another $30 billion huh? Shouldn't that be the real story here? That and the fact that some $58 billion of what we already gave them went to bail out other countries, and tens of billions more went to other U.S. banks?

And where is the outrage over bonuses at Fannie Mae?


Washington - if you don't want to reward the folks who have driven companies into the ground, how about letting them go bankrupt? Chapter 11 would allow them to reorganize. We shouldn't have the government bailing out private enterprises. No one is "too big to fail."

So back to my original point, if they're going to deduct the amount spent on bonuses from the next installment, then that essentially recoups the money and makes the whole bonus thing a non-issue in which Washington can quit talking about making taxes targeted to individuals and call off the mobs.

Seriously, whatever your opinion on the bonuses, these people are getting death threats and that is just wrong. Barney Frank continued to insist on getting a list of names. Senator Grassley suggested the executives "resign or commit suicide." And yet, the administration continues to fan the flames of anger at AIG, while skirting around their own culpability (Geithner knew about the bonuses well before this, Dodd put into the stimulus a clause protecting such bonuses, and both Dodd and Obama received significant campaign contributions from AIG, not to mention a number of other politicians.

Maybe they should pay those contributions back, you know, for the taxpayer.

Maybe Congress should give back the automatic pay raise they got this year. Where is the outrage over that? Who would argue that Congress has done an outstanding job deserving of a raise? Many deserving Americans aren't getting raises (or worse losing their jobs) due to the economy, but we can afford to pay Congress more every year no matter what?

WE the people are their bosses, and WE should determine whether they have EARNED a raise or not. It should have to be voted on by the people, not happen automatically because they decided they can't even be bothered to have a vote on it themselves.

Posted on Thursday, March 19, 2009