This is completely insane. I am not hearing this, am I? In an economy that is sinking like a .......

[Stinky The Clown]

..... stone with a lead anchor attached to it, AIG is going to be paying massive 'retention bonuses" to keep their "talent" from leaving?????? The Republicans gave these motherfuckers a blank check that they have used for seemingly NOTHING but the financial betterment of a very few employees.

Meanwhile, the unions are being asked to give give give, retirees are facing a cut off of the safety net they endured, 30, 40, more years of grief and agony for, and even their 90 year old widows are about to be cut off.

The same Congress that gave and gave for AIG is now holding to the fire the feet of little guys under the guise of being tough on three CEO Bozos?

This is FUCKING INSANE.

Yeah, Nardelli belongs in jail on hard labor. So what? This ain't hurting him. He got his big fat nestegg back when he bled Home Depot.

But back to AIG. RETENTION BONUSES????? Who in hell would quit a haffa million bux a year job in THIS economy? And why the fuck are RETAINING these people? Cuz they did so well before the bailout?

Make these motherfuckers eat cat food with the rest of us.

But if you're a schlub autoworker or autoworker retiree, your grocery of choice is soon to be Petco.

Mother

Fucker.

[lonestarnot]

1. Yep catfood for twistmas.

[The Wizard]

69. Cat food:

The Republicans "final solution" to Social Security.

[rfranklin]

72. Fancy Feast is only for special occasions...

At more than $5.00 per pound, few can afford to eat that way every day.

[Warpy]

74. The trick is to mix a can of Fancy Feast

with a couple of pounds of potatoes, cooking method optional.

If you must eat meat, learning how to stretch it is imperative.

Fishy cat food has the advantage of being very high in essential oils. It has the disadvantage of tasting like shit.

I prefer beans.

[bobd0]

87. And don't forget their final solution to health care

Don't get sick. If you do, die.

[Demeter]

2. Well, the Announcement is a Week Old.

I haven't had time to track any follow-up, but if you visit the Weekend Economists thread between FRiday night and Sunday, we might have more info for you.

[crispini]

3. AIG can go fuck themselves.

That's all I have to say.

[bagrman]

59. Oh no can't do that , they insure big banks, if they go under....

Then the big banks go under, and the big banks own the FED. So then the FED loans us money to loan or give to AIG so they don't go under. So they can do what they want cause hey didn't Hanky Panky work for AIG. It's a daisy chain and we get to pay the interest.

Latr

[sendero]

4. I agree...

.. congress should step up and say "you will freeze ALL SALARIES or you will not get another red cent".

Put a stop to this bullshit, enough is enough.

[LiberalFighter]

49. Maybe what needs to be done is determine whether any near relatives

are employed by AIG? Spouses, children, kin, parents.

[Obamanaut]

76. Sorta like near relatives (or even themselves) having ties to

Detroit?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/03/cbsnews_investigates/main4646424.shtml

<snip>
Take Sen. Carl Levin, who received $438,304 from the automotive industry. And in the House, Rep. Joe Knollenberg received $879,327. Rep. John Dingell got nearly a million from the industry. All have enjoyed generous support from the auto industry over their careers, with GM and Ford as their two top contributors. All support a bailout.

<snip>
Dingell's wife Debbie once worked as a lobbyist for GM.

<snip>
Dingell's current financial disclosure filed in May lists GM stock worth up to $350,000, options worth up to $1 million more, and a GM pension fund. In 2000, among the Dingells' GM assets were stock options worth up to $5 million.
<snip>

[annabanana]

5. "keep their 'talent'"??

With talent like that, who needs fuck-ups?

[machI]

65. The economy is accelerating down the skids

And they are paying a bonus to keep these clowns that ran the company into the ground.

The 'talent' at AIG has no where else to go for a job, and they sure don't need a bonus.

[pscot]

6. Great rant!

Concise, compelling and absolutely seething with rage.Happy to kick and recommend.
:kick:

[elehhhhna]

7. uh, if anyone wants to hire away AIG's management "team", let 'em.

I call bullshit. WHO would HIRE THEM?!!!

Enroners couldn't even GET interviews after the wheels fell off that party train.

[panader0]

8. K&R

[JohnWxy]

9. I hate to make you feel worse but... some of the senators who were the toughest on the big-3 today

are from Tennessee and Alabama. THese two states get significant grants, loans and underwritten insurance from the federal government (and I believe Alabama got foreign car manufacturerrs to build a plant in their state by offering billions in state tax relief.)

I guess if the Federal government is helping your state with grants and loans you can better afford tax breaks for the new employers. But pullease, let's not call that bailout!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4588514

you can express you displeasure with the double standard by going to www.congress.org and emailing Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate BAnking Committee.


here is some more on today's grilling of the big-3.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/04/news/companies/senate_hearing/?postversion=2008120413


Several members of the committee, particularly Republicans, challenged the assertions of the auto executives, however.

"I've read the plans and re-read the plans," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. "I still believe there are many things that will be difficult to work out without chapter 11 ."

[Stinky The Clown]

14. Yeah ... Shelby and Corker. Fuck them and the horses they rode in on.

I posted two mini rants earlier, one for each one of these fucks.

[SharonAnn]

42. VW is building a new plant near Chattanooga, Corker's home.

Of course these guys are the "gimme, gimme, gimme" type of Republicans. Are there any other kinds thse days?

Remember, Tennessee and Alabama are "client" states. That means they receive more from federal tax revenue than they pay into it.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

10. Not Fancy Feast; that has actual meat in it. They get the cheap Wal-Mart brand.

[TreasonousBastard]

11. I guess it wouldn't help to mention that...

AIG has several very well-performing units and their people might be looking for greener pastures without the publicity.

What's the problem with keeping people who are performing?

[Stinky The Clown]

16. You forgot the sarcasm smilie thingie, right?

Cuz that's plain stupid.

Let them leave. Where the fuck they gunna go?

Lehman Brothers?

WaMu?

Gimme a fucking break. No one is leaving jobs these days. In case you haven't heard, there is a GLUT of talent on the market.

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Marsh&McLennan, Lloyd's, Zurich...

or any number of other large insurance operations.

Apparently you don't realize AIG is the largest and pretty much the best run insurer in the world and and there are lots of other insurance companies around the world looking for their talent.

(Never let reality get in the way of a good rant)

[Lucky Luciano]

56. Glad to see that someone here has a clue.

The rants are not thought out properly. Shockingly enough, it is a very small number of employees that fucked things up so bad. The top talent will always have opportunities elsewhere...of course it is much easier to get another job while still having a job - much bigger negotiating leverage. That is a big difference between talented AIG employees and unemployed talent out there.

[tosh]

64. My thoughts exactly. nt

[hughee99]

85. The company has some great workers

who really know their job and have been of great value to the company for years. Those workers aren't responsible for the current situation, it's a few people at the top that F'd everything up. Many of these workers will be critical to the future success of the company and could be very costly to replace with someone else who can do the job as well.

Oh wait, we're talking about AIG and NOT the big three automakers?

Well then, all their workers suck and each is individually responsible for the mess that they're in. Those that still have jobs there are lucky to have them, and are being overpaid as it is.

:sarcasm:

In other words, I agree with you. People of value should be retained, the problem is when those making the decisions on the value of employees are not putting what's best for the company first.

[alfredo]

12. On all things considered they said that labor accounts for 10% of costs.

That's all. The reich wing anti union assholes try to make people think it is the worker's fault.

[redstate_democrat]

13. retention bonuses = hush money

[Greyhound]

27. I see that you do know how it works. They will always take care of their own.

Fuck us though.

[jimshoes]

41. That sounds about right

Grrrrr...:mad:

[BrklynLiberal]

15. Could not agree more!!!!!! Pitchforks and torches are getting to look better and better.

[JJ]

61. Tar and Feathers

One tradition we need to bring back to America.

[pitchforksandtorches]

82. Yep

stock up on them now.

[AnotherMother4Peace]

17. AIG took over 21st Century Insurance, so they are now my insurance co. & I'm dumping them asap.

I certainly don't want to do business with a company that does business like this. I was very happy with 21st Century but I'm dumping AIG. I wonder how many of their other clients are doing the same thing.

[rucognizant]

68. I dumped them 1 1/2 years ago

Terrible customer service.
They wouldn't nsure my house because it was too old..they set up this awful deadline to pay the auto insurance
6 days between the arival of my SS c income & their deadline to go across the USA. If it was late there was Hell to pay a month of cunning calls cancellation threats.......very time consuming.
NO I wouldn't pay online....RESIST CORPS effrrts to do that. It serves them & places us in jeopardy!
DIsh TV SAVED MY DEBIT CARD # for 15 months.....& when I couldn't pay them $42.00 for 1 1/2 weeks until my next SS income, they used it to go into my bank account ( On DEC 22 ) and remove $200. ( that I didn't have) to cover the cost of their 'precious" electronic equip. WHAT A MESS! SO now I oay double for Direct TV because I won't deal with Dish. But at least they put you on pause for free; Dish charged $10.00 per month!
Then this spring someone hacked into our local market computers and stole our card #s. I was about to go on a trip, and saved from withdrawing my entire $800. in cash to travel with, by the very last minute arrival of my new debit ATM card!
Don't let them sell you on the "it's so easy" propaganda! It's NOT

[KG]

18. Thank Gawd It Passed!

because if where would the status quo be without idiot defenders amongst those it works to screw over?

[rvablue]

20. Kick for shared outrage...can't say more than that b/c

I have no words.

We are being robbed and our elected leaders stand by and let it happen.

[dglow]

50. Letting it Happen

I fear it is more insidious than just "allowing" this train wreck to happen. For the longest time I've been trying to figure out why the Dems have done nothing since 2004 to fix the Republican owned corrupt electronic voting machine process. Yesterday, while watching the Auto Loan Hearings, it dawned on me, as senator after senator took aim at Larry, Moe and Curly. The Dems are in on it with the Repugs. They are all reaping rewards for raping America with their Wall Street,insurance company and foreign automaker pimps. Knowing that the American people will surely get wise sooner or later and declare war on all encumbents. Fixed voting machines are the ace in the hole to keep these treasonous scumbags in place, sucking the last once of blood from the carcas of a once proud nation.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

21. This is the big boys looking out for one another as they always do

When I'm about to travel, I look in on a website called Flyer Talk, which is mostly populated by the types who fly 100,000 miles a year on business and ALWAYS get upgraded, although it can be a great source of detailed travel advice.

Anyway, a flight attendant from Northwest went on the board to vent about having to give-give-give all the time as successive management teams wrecked the company and walked off with huge bonuses.

Well, you should have seen the pile-on from these rich jerks. It was all, "Oh, so you'd rather destroy the company than give up 40% of your pay, you ungrateful wretch, you" or "If you don't like the pay, get another job" or "You unionized personnel are the reason Northwest is in trouble" or "You old hags should quit and let some fresh young enthusiastic girls take over."

A couple of us normal people posed questions such as what these executives had done to deserve their huge bonuses, since it was the flight attendants and pilots and mechanics, etc. who did most of the real work.

But then the Big Boys piled on us, calling us "the types of socialists who are ruining the country."

I tell you, greed is an ugly thing.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

22. Greed, I believe, is morally neutral. The problem lies elsewhere.

Namely, in getting a kick out of the misery of the weaker. Aka "poor-hating." I sometimes call that "punishism" too, although both terms are not general enough. People who suffer from that mental perversion sometimes go against their rational greed's best interests in order to get the perverted pleasure of seeing some "inferiors" stomped on.

The deterioration of the global economy due to the constant fucking up of middle- and lower-class consumers is a textbook example of this. The War on Drugs is another. The death penalty is yet another. There are many others.

[offog]

43. Right on!

I dig your points about "poor-hating" and "punishism". It's like the companies who'd rather spend tons of money on legal costs, fines, and settlements than follow labor, health and safety laws. Or employers who'd rather deal with lost productivity and legal costs than tell their guys not to sexually harass the female employees. Anything to show the "unwashed" who's boss.

[tclambert]

51. Traditionally, greed is one of the seven deadly sins. You haven't been watching your

Morgan Freeman movies.

[BreweryYardRat]

23. Tar and feathers for these greedy slimeballs, anyone?

Run 'em out of the country on a rail...

[leftofthedial]

24. yawn. it's time for a revolution.

yawn. torches and -yawn- pitchforks.

[SammyWinstonJack]

78. .

:evilgrin:

[femrap]

25. Father fucking Fancy Feast

is NOT cheap!!!! I suggest the 99 cent menu at Wendy's....esp. the Double Stack.

[pipi_k]

75. Even Wendy's is too good for them...

I propose sending them to China and forcing them to live on nothing but melamine tainted baby formula.

[progressoid]

26. Republicans??? Gee, seems to me, DEMOCRATS had a pretty big role in this too...

[depakid]

30. The role (and the Democrats) we should be looking at are the ones who help to create this mess

as opposed to actions attempting to get the world out of it.

[Lifetimedem]

28. We are retired GM

I do not know how we will live without my husbands pension check, or how we will die without our insurance ..


The elite have never cared about blue collar workers . Previous "recessions" never touched them...now they are in some financial peril so they bail out businesses that they think will help them and their friends..and once again it is labor be damned..

I have to be honest I am scared..

[D-Lee]

31. Scared is right

I just don't get the hatred, and the lack of caring about retirees and active workers. I don't get Michael Moore's comments either, especially given that he is from Flint and knows the devastation.

I'm hoping there IS an auto bailout.

[Lifetimedem]

39. Because he lives in Mich

Does not mean he understands production .



I wish the Barrack would say something on this publicly and shame them all into caring just a little

[vssmith]

29. Republicans see this as their chance to put the finishing touches on Unions

They want to finish what Reagan started when he fired the Air Traffic Controllers.

[nichomachus]

32. Have you priced cat food lately?

I can get real meat (supposedly) from Costco cheaper than you can get Fancy Feast from Petco. Fancy Feast is $3 a pound.

[Land Shark]

35. yes, you got to run the numbers. Seriously. And not assume costco=cheaper either. nt

[Laelth]

33. k&r for righteous indignation! n/t

:dem:

-Laelth

[Scriptor Ignotus]

34. nobody quits without something better lined up

which is what happens when you're an experienced and talented financial manager. You get recruited for more money elsewhere. From AIG's perspective this is a shrewd move. From our perspective, well, your OP says it pretty well.

[JimWis]

36. I feel your anger too. Great rant.

[MasonJar]

37. They had better hope that they never need money again. I'll be marching in

Congress if those cheaters get one more dime.

[Lucky Luciano]

57. No you won´t.

[Vinca]

38. Retention bonuses? For people who fucked up in the first place?

This is insane. We should all apply to Paulsen for a bailout.

[offog]

46. Good point, Vinca!

"Retention bonuses? For people who fucked up in the first place?"
:puke: Ya ever notice that the conservative business community likes to think that it attracts the best and brightest, the cream of the crop, and then they end up these rewarding these incompetents?

[Lucky Luciano]

58. Most of them are quite competent...

it was only a small number of people who fucked everything up. There are plenty of talented people who have kicked ass the whole time while watching the ship go down because of other assholes.

[earth mom]

40. Great Rant! Here's Mine: We should all be getting all French on their a$$e$!!!

Why blows my mind is that people on DU are convinced that everything will be fine in January-expecting the status quo to take care of everything for them because they're so "special" just because they a donated money & hours to the dem campaign. :eyes:

Jeezus! Get a clue people-THE POWERS THAT BE DO NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU.

They have played you for votes and for money you worked your ass off to get and couldn't afford to give!

They have SCREWED all of us every which way they possibly could & they are laughing their asses off all the way to the bank!!!


Here's' the Cold Hard Reality: NO politician is going to look out for you or for any of us. NONE, ZERO, ZIP, NADA.

It is the same fucking shit, different fucking day.

And BTW, cat food is too good for most of us.

EAT SHIT AND DIE YA MO FOS!!!


:rant:

[quakerboy]

44. You can still afford Fancy Feast? Elitist.

[sarcasmo]

45. Bailout for those that shower before work. Nothing for those that shower after work.

Time for the pitchforks and burning brooms, like when the towns folk chase Homer.

[katty]

47. yes, that 'talent' that greatly participated/assisted in collapse

yup, let's keep those pranksters and give them taxpayer $.

[BeatleBoot]

48. Quite Common for Companies in or about to go into Bankruptcy.

I lived it.


This isn't good at all.


The economy is more fucked up than anyone really realizes.


But give it time for everyone else to "catch up"

[Po_d Mainiac]

55. BB

Some of have a pretty good idea how bad it's going get.....The
only question is which city implodes first

K&R:banghead: 

[Blutodog]

52. Madame Defarge

Fuckers!! Where is madame Defarge when we need her?

[nc4bo]

53. Accountibility and oversight? WHAT accountability, WHAT oversight?!!

I'm so glad IT passed :sarcasm:

[OwnedByFerrets]

54. K and R

[lib2DaBone]

60. No.. you are not insane.... there are just too many people who are part of the Matrix...

..Take the Blue pill.. you go back to sleep. You watch NBC News and Fox, and you you become part of the Matrix. You go to a Mega Church and you believe what they tell you is the truth.

Take the Red pill.. and you become aware.. you see the corruption and the complete absurdity of our current society. You see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

[antimatter98]

62. We have Congress to thank for this travesty.

The Congress has proven once and for all that it's an incompetent body of idiots.

They hand over $700 bn to Paulson---NO STRINGS---and he hands it out like Christmas
to his banking, WS and insurance buddies.

Then, when the Big 3 arrive, Congress gets all interested in 'a business plan' and
chides the CEO's for arriving in their jets. But the banks? "Welcome to Congress
and here's the cash boys!"

This Congress has been completely incompetent----favoring banking and WS over
blue collar and manufacturing.

Friday night, Barney Frank was on Rachel Maddow--he's so fat he could barely
sit in the chair, and so inarticulate that it sounded like the speech of an 8 year old.

Unless we get Congress reformed, and fast, we are done for as a nation.

[sendero]

71. They're not incompetent...

... they are bought and paid for.

Until we have election finance reform, real reform, corporations will have the best government money can buy.

[killbotfactory]

63. If we treat workers decently we will turn into COMMUNISTS

As a decent hard working American you are duty bound to hate other working class people and rejoice when they get screwed over through no fault of their own.

[ProfessorGAC]

66. Talent? Talent? What?

If the people inside the company were really the type of talent they needed, they wouldn't be in this position.

It is appallingly obvious that they don't know what talent is, what they need it for, and where to find what they do need.

A half million dollars to retain people who weren't good enough to prevent this collapse is stupendously idiotic.
The Professor

[rucognizant]

67. Fancy Feast?

WHo can afford THAT? Nine lives & Friskies is cheaper!
Although my grocery offered, buy on get one free coupons for Sheba cat food ( $1.00 a can?) so I tried it for my little Queen Bee......Looks, smells, good enough to eat just spoon it on to a lettuce leaf and you'd pay $10.00 for a chicken salad platter, in a midtown deli!

[spanone]

70. aig didn't have to beg for their money like the car companies are....friends of bu$h*

[Enthusiast]

73. "This is FUCKING INSANE"

You got that right!

Why do the people of this country hate union workers? I guess they have no idea what it was like before organized labor. I hear people say "Unions have outlived their usefulness." Yeah, just wait until there are NO unions. The stupid believe (for some reason) that these huge corporations are a benevolent organization just wanting to help working people. How fucking ignorant!

[madrchsod]

77. "but that`s alright ma i`m only bleeding..."

i wonder if the guys who run the auto companies figured out they have about as much respect as the common folk. i wonder if they finally feel what it`s like to get fuck`d over.

[defendandprotect]

79. This will go on as long as we have no leverage over them --

Capitalism has to be re-regulated --

Unregulated capitalism is merely organized crime --

[Gamey]

80. M F'er is correct....

....Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

[Le Taz Hot]

81. There was no oversight, remember?

There was SUCH an emergency that they were going to write in the rules later. Some stewardship of OUR money, heh?

And what do you mean "Republicans?" You DO know that President-elect Change and most Democrats voted for this, right?

[Overseas]

83. Kick Kick Kick !! What billionaire was it that was honest enough to say

"Yes there is class warfare going on and we're winning?"

[dysfunctional press]

84. pssst...fancy feast is more expensive than steak.

why would anyone buy groceries at petco...?
petfood is more expensive per ounce than human food.

[ihavenobias]

86. Kick n/t

[bobd0]

88. BTW, the Republicans are doing the same thing with their buddies in the auto industry

while they screw auto workers and retirees (and along with them, the rest of us).

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/business/06chrysler.html?_r=1&ref=business

Chrysler's Friends in High Places

By LOUISE STORY
Published: December 5, 2008

In early November, as America's automakers grasped for a lifeline from Washington, the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., placed a call to his predecessor, John W. Snow. The topic: Chrysler L.L.C.

Chrysler is the smallest of the Big Three automakers, but it stands apart from its peers in another crucial respect. While General Motors and the Ford Motor Company are public corporations, Chrysler is controlled by one of the world’s richest and most secretive private investment companies.

That investment company is Mr. Snow's employer, Cerberus Capital Management, which has used its wealth and deep connections in Washington to shape the debate over the foundering automakers to its advantage.

In recent weeks, Mr. Snow has personally lobbied Mr. Paulson and others for a federal rescue that would salvage Cerberus's investments in Detroit. Cerberus has also deployed a corps of lobbyists and former government officials to secure a bailout and protect its interests.

Whether its efforts will work is unclear. But if they fail Cerberus and its partners could lose their daring bets on Detroit. Without a bailout Cerberus could lose about $2 billion and suffer a stinging blow to its reputation. With one it might eventually profit from its troubled deals.

Last year, Cerberus and about 100 co-investors bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler for $7.4 billion from the German car maker Daimler. It also bought a controlling stake in GMAC, the finance arm of General Motors. Since then Chrysler has eliminated more than 30,000 jobs and struggled to keep itself afloat while its sales have plummeted. Cerberus is pressing to have Chrysler merge with G.M., but G.M. has said a tie-up is off the table. Chrysler is asking the government for $7 billion to get through the next few months.

Cerberus, named after the mythical three-headed dog that guards the gates of Hades, has a fierce reputation on Wall Street. Many bankers and investors are reluctant to talk openly about the company, which is renowned, even feared, for its hard-nosed deal-making.

But Cerberus is also pursuing its interests aggressively in Washington, where some lawmakers have questioned why the government should assist the privately owned Chrysler. In addition to Mr. Snow, the firm's chairman, Cerberus's Washington hands include Dan Quayle, the former vice president, and Billy J. Cooper, who has worked as partner at the lobbying firm Patton Boggs.

The firm has also hired Arnold I. Havens, a former general counsel of the Treasury Department; John B. Breaux, a former senator from Louisiana; David Hobbs, former assistant to President Bush for legislative affairs; and Christopher A. Smith, former chief of staff in the Treasury. So far this year, Cerberus has spent nearly $2 million on lobbying, while Chrysler has spent $5 million, according to Senate records. Ford has spent more than $5 million and G.M. $10 million.

More at http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/06/business/06chrysler.html?_r=1&ref=business">LINK.

[valerief]

89. Why does Corporate America hate Americans? nt