| Font Size |
"This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed. Under these circumstances, it's hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less USD 165 million in extra pay," Obama said on Monday.
"I mean, how do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?"
Obama has directed the Treasury Department to look into ways and means to stop payment of such bonuses.
"In the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the US Treasury. I've asked (Treasury) Secretary (Timothy) Geithner to use that leverage and pursue every single legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole," he said.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said: "This isn't just outrageous and doesn't just sort of violate your sense of commonsense, but it offends our values."
Any person who is subject to these bonuses would have to and should think long and hard about whether, given the performance of the company, this is either warranted or appropriate, Gibbs observed.
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
|
|
The Govt is not to blame.They had public wellbeing in its agenda while bailing these greedy companies out.Now the Govt should introduce draconian measures to see that its good intentions are not sabotaged.It should be a lesson to the Banks and other financial institutions who may take a similar path.
First the Govt. support these greedy people by bailing them out of trouble, now the Govt. question them, when they want the greed money in form of bonuses? What sort of logic the Govt. have? Who asked the Govt. to bail them out in the first place? Systemic failure (if they are not bailed out) is the fear they created. That was all nonsense, actually they wanted their greed money back and once they get it ,they will quite the job!
Those who are contemplating on bonuses even as the U.S. economy is reeling under an unprecedented meltdown,-need to be prosecuted and punished with heavy penalties,-even if necessary through Executive Orders,-wherein Laws do not help,-so as to send a strong message to all those who are at destroying the U.S./Global economies.