I can’t believe I'm writing this. But, the words sanctity, AIG, and Insurance Company, are being used in the same sentence.
It’s hard to stomach, when you hear People say, well we didn’t want to stand in the way of these contracts. Or, these contracts were written before the company was bailed out. Or, even more ridiculous: "legally, our hands are tied."
Contracts, in America, are, only as good as the ability to enforce their provisions. And, since this nation began writing and breaking treaties with it’s first inhabitants, power, not sanctity, has always been a contract's driving force.
AIG is an insurance company. And, Insurance companies make their profits getting you and me to sign contracts.
And then, when it’s time to pay up, relying on all kinds of technical/legalized jargon, to justify not paying. They don’t make their money, honoring the Sanctity of contracts. In fact, any contract Attorney, worth his/her Law license, is laughing at us!
And while they’re trying to justify why a bailed out company, owned by the taxpayers is paying bonuses; AIG is probably in court, right now, litigating some form of contract dispute. In fact, AIG probably has a whole division of lawyers, who work every day, to write contracts, expressly, with the intent of breaking them, when it benefits the company.
Anyone remember Katrina? Remember thinking you had "Flood Insurance," only to have your losses, declared, "Wind Damage!" We don’t remember the possibly millions of other cases where contractually agreed to insurance coverage, was denied, never paid, or, underpaid. Oh, the Sanctity!
Anyone remember Nataline Sarkisyan? Anyone remember the immoral and avaricious Insurance company who denied her coverage? We don’t remember the thousands, like her, who died and/or suffered great illness, with contracts. Or, those who died having one of the most sacred contracts, patient/doctor, shredded, literally, to death.
What about just the mundane, everyday contract? Anyone remember taking your car in for service, thinking it was "under contract," just of find out it wasn’t?
I bet you jumped up and down and demanded that the mechanic honor your contractual version, and you just got in your car, and drove off without paying? Oh, then yeah, you went back and demanded they pay your car note, to maturity! LOL!
Or, you can ask any employee who’s had to go out on strike to enforce contract provisions, about the Sanctity of contracts. Yeah, we’re a "nation of laws," alright, as long as you have the power to enforce your contract. Power’s always been the only, real, sanctity.
AIG failed! The "Free Markets," failed! Wall Street, failed. Capitalism created great wealth for a few, and great poverty and misery for the People. And that’s what they want to restore? There’s no sanctity, in that.
When your reason for existence collapses, and you come hat in hand to the goivernment, you don’t get a bonus! You don’t get to continue business as usual.
Endless bailouts of companies "Too Big To Fail!" can be prevented. Firstly, the logical, don't let corporations, get too big fail. Then when corporations need government support, intervention, and taxpayer money, they don't get to just take the money and go back to doing the same things they did before they were bailed out - that whole notion is madness.
These companies need to submit a public plan, just like the Auto Companies. There needs to be a specific plan that itemizes how the company reached the precipice, and how that plan will alleviate the problem.
Specificity and/or public acknowledgment about how your company got into this mess - or, no bailout. The plan should be applied for, justified, and when public assistance is granted, it must be strictly monitored, for compliance.
If a scientist on the brink of great discovery and service to the nation applies to the government to continue his/her research, there are rules. That scientist is gonna be assigned at minimum a Contract Monitor. They are going to have to submit budgets, quarterly reports, accept site visits. All geared to make the research successful.
These corporations are in the same boat, except, they have failed. Company priorities should be changed to meet the challenge. A scope of work to restore the company must be strictly adhered, to. Observable, quantifiable, and measurable goals and objectives should be put in place to return the company to solvency.
Any government employee has an agreed upon salary. Any government contractor, has an agreed upon salary structure for their employees.
And being owned 81% by the taxpayer, AIG is a government contractor and must be treated as such. There’s no mystery, there’s no shame, and it’s not Socialism. It’s, while you’re paid by the government, you work under its auspices.
By all the squawking, you’d think AIG Executives were Union Employees, whose salaries are collectively bargained? No, these are the same employees and companies who argue, that management and "the market" should always prevail in terms of job security and employee compensation.
These are the companies who lobby other insolvent companies, Congress, and anyone who will listen, that Workers must be fired, salaries reduced, and/or terminated, as a means of returning the company to health.
These are the same corporations and Executives, that when they take over an ailing company, they fire Workers, at will. But, when it comes to their own personal jobs? All of a sudden they adopt the Japanese model, or something, and claim their company, and their jobs, are guaranteed?
Nope, your company’s bonus was that it got bailed out! No more bonuses. Every dime of assistance should be prioritized. Every dime should be targeted.
Can you imagine a foreclosed homeowner going to the government and saying: umm, that vacation I was planning to take, that new car I was planning to buy, that huge party I throw every month, oh, and, the remodeling? Well, thank you very much, just include all that in my loan modification.
I mean, come on, this is absurd. Until these bailouts have some teeth, and prevent failed giant companies from doing as they please, our government is literally letting big Corporations, and their Executives, get away with robbery, and allowing them to do the same things that caused them to need taxpayer money.
Those bonuses, and all bonuses given to employees, whose companies accepted public funding, should give them back. Senator Dodd was correct. A retroactive claw back provision for misbegotten bonuses, is only right.
It’s not punitive. It’s not unconstitutional. There’s no Bill of Attainder! There’s simply, going after taxpayer money, that never should have been expended to bonuses, trips to grand hotels, subsidizing private sporting ventures with corporate naming rights, and/or office remodeling What do any of those things have to do with returning the taxpayer’s investment, and/or returning the company to profitability?
This stuff needs to stop, now. I could go on, but hopefully one thing is clear, corporations and corporate fat-cats, need to be treated like every other entity and/or individual receiving government assistance, or under government contract.
Meanwhile:
Management at American International Group Inc.'s financial products unit has asked employees to let the unit know by 5 p.m. on Monday if they plan to return all or part of the controversial bonuses they received under a retention program, according to a person familiar with the matter. Source
Let's all hope these employees do the right thing, and give the money back. Peace-Out!