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AIG On Its Face: Furor Grows Against All Things AIG
By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 20, 2009
Modified Mar 20, 2009
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By
Jen Chung
Published Mar 20, 2009
Modified Mar 20, 2009
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Everyone is mad as hell at AIG and they're not going to take it anymore! From President Obama and NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo railing against AIG and its executive compensation to the House passing a bill to tax 90% of all bonuses from financial firms receiving bailout funds, the anger has also spread to the Connecticut suburbs where many AIG executives live.
One executive, James Haas, was dubbed "Jackpot Jimmy" by the Post on Wednesday. Haas told the Post reporter outside his Fairfield, CT home, "I wish I could give you a whole story, but I'm ordered not to. You'll hear from my lawyer." Now Haas tells the NY Times, with near tears in his eyes, "You have to understand, here are kids involved, there have been death threats. ... I didn’t have anything to do with those credit problems. I told [AIG CEO Edward] Liddy I would rescind my retention contract.” Haas asked the Times to leave his neighbors alone, but one came up to the Times and said, "It makes me absolutely sick. It’s despicable. It’s disgusting what these people have done. They should be forced to give every cent back."
Another AIG executive who spoke with the Times explained the bonus payments were long-promised to many employees, including executive assistants and others worry about being targeted by the public. The Times adds, "The Connecticut Working Families party, which has support from organized labor, is planning a bus tour of A.I.G. executives’ homes on Saturday, with a stop at the company’s Wilton office." And Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) is facing fallout from his role in adding a loophole to the stimulus bill that preserved the bonuses; he told reporters, "I regret deeply that this matter has become confused." No kidding!
The 90%-tax-on-bailout-bonuses bill is heading to the Senate; House Ways and Mean Committee chair Rep. Charles Rangel said, "These people are getting away with murder. They’re getting paid for the destruction they’ve caused to our communities.” And related: AIG is suing the government for over $300 million in "tax payments, some related to deals that were conducted through offshore tax havens," according to the Times.
Tagged
AIG
bailout
clusterfuck
executive compensation
furor
outrage
wall street
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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