In view of what's happening with AIG in the U.S., what is the best way to monitor how taxpayers' money is used in bailing out big companies?

Wednesday 18th March, 08:12 AM JST

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Disillusioned at 10:32 AM JST - 19th March

If taxpayers money is used to bail out companies the money should be invested as freehold shares and all tax payers should receive a portfolio and the dividends (if any).
TokyoHustla at 10:35 AM JST - 19th March

The best, brightest and hardest working members of America's workforce deserve our bonuses. We should be demanding more.
tkoind2 at 10:43 AM JST - 19th March

Tokyohustla. In this time of crisis, no company at risk should be giving any bonuses at all. And those taking tax dollars should be prevented from any bonus or retention payouts.

A for bonuses for the hardest working. I see the janitor in my building working his butt off every day. He's polite, positive and takes great care to do his job. He's clearly over retirment age but still at work. I'm one of a very few people here who say hello to him and ask him how he is. The "best" people here don't have time for janitors I guess.

If he didn't do his job every day the place would be an unbelievable mess. Especially the rooms and desks of the "best" people here.

Companies live an die on the work of everyone from the guy taking care of the trash to the CEO taking care of the business. Take away the janitor or the IT guy or receptionist and the CEO cannot achieve anything. Take away the CEO and the others are no longer important.

Just because you are the "star" of the show does not mean it is only about you. The people who make everything else possible are also the best and brightest in their roles. And they are all working hard. Some for very little compensation.

We all deserve a bonus in good times. We all deserve respect and value all the time. Our society puts too much emphasis on the stars while forgetting the countless many who make that stardom possible.

It is time that workers came first!
TokyoHustla at 11:40 AM JST - 19th March

tkoind2 - thanks for your feedback. My opinions stand, and stand strong.
tkoind2 at 11:54 AM JST - 19th March

Stand all you want. And demand all you want. If your company is sliding to a point where you need to come begging for tax dollars you sure as hell better not be paying out bonus payments. Choose one or the other my friend.

As for best and brightest. Who defines who qualifies as the best and brightest? I think you are being very self important defining yourselves as such. Does driving up imaginary values on etherial products make you the best? Does the obvious lack of foresight credit default swaps and derivatives indicate make the brightest? Does the over valuation of the markets make you so deserving? And does the run of frightened panic you have been on for months now make you so admirable?

These so called best and brightest are the source of this problem. You are the greedy dirtbags that created these products that many of us have been warning were dangerous. You are the ones responsibile for making the labor of average workers into a tradable commodity with your globalization plans that pretend to be extending prosperity when it is just clearly taking advantage of cheaper labor and undermining worker security.

You want what you deserve mate? This group deserves prison time. Prison for the greed that blinded you to the apparent dangers and risks. Prison for the corruption your companies encouraged by buying your way out of regulation. And Prison for the disregard and lack of care you show, EVEN NOW, for working people who do most the hard labor at your companies.

You are lucky I don't run the country you live in, there would be walls and blindfolds waiting for the most guilty.

From where I stand the best people in our society are the ordinary workers who get up and go to work every day for less than deserving wages. My heroes are the working parents who struggle to build their communities and raise families. My brightest are the people who give back something to the world. These are the teachers, the cop, the social worker and the volunteers out there.

The deserving are the normal people who are consumers to keep your economy going. They are the workers who make it work. And they are the ones paying the money that is bailing your shameful lot out.

This best and brightest you talk about are a collection of self important arrogant opportunists who have lost their humanity to greed. You want what 's coming to you. Be careful what you ask for.
LFRAgain at 08:57 PM JST - 19th March

"Let's stop punishing success. How are they going to award AIG money and then not let them pay their best performing employees?"

Where is the success in running a billion dollar company to the edge of financial ruin? Judge Judy, of all people made an astute observation on Larry King's show recently.

" . . . the excuse given for paying out these bonuses were that they were contracts and you can't void those contracts without consequences. And I think it's sort of interesting that you can't void contracts because these people were engaged in actions that were irresponsible, reckless and caused substantial damage. How can they void the contracts of police officers and firemen and other civil servants who they're forcing to take furlough days despite the fact they have contracts?"

It seems that when it comes to the economic meltdown, the only people who seem to not be suffering in the least are the very ones who us smiling into it.
TokyoHustla at 01:55 AM JST - 20th March

Where is the success in running a billion dollar company to the edge of financial ruin?

The blame lies with the Clinton administration, not the best and brightest. Those who tied the hands of the money makers will be blamed by history.
LFRAgain at 11:52 AM JST - 20th March

"The blame lies with the Clinton administration . . ."

Horse puckey. The Clinton Administration didn't tell these companies to treat debt as buyable and tradable assets. And the Bush Administration didn't take any steps to prevent the meltdown during the course of his 8-year tenure, despite repeated warnings from Alan Greenspan and Treasury. Why not? Because his party's strongest supporters, namely corporations, were making virtual money hand over fist.
Sarge at 12:02 PM JST - 20th March

A better question is, how can taxpayers keep their money from going to bail out these companies in the first place?
bamboohat at 01:33 PM JST - 20th March

A better question is, how can taxpayers keep their money from going to bail out these companies in the first place?

A better question would be how can taxpayers keep their money in the fist place. People are angry at AIG for having what Obama described as "entitlement attitude." But what of the entitlement of the government passing trillion dollar bills, assuming the taxpayer would happily cough up the dough? Who's got the entitlement attitude?

AIG is a smart business. they saw the government was giving out money, and figured a way to maximize their profit. Don't get mad at them for convincing the government fools (who incidentally knew about the bonsues when the wrote the bill for the bailout, the specifically included the language in the law) whose best idea to solve a problem is throw more taxmpayer money at it.
TokyoHustla at 03:35 PM JST - 20th March

bamboohat,

AIG is a smart business. they saw the government was giving out money, and figured a way to maximize their profit.

Yes sir. 100% dead on. And don't forget that these democrat politicians now expressing fake outrage received hundreds of thousands of dollars from AIG in campaign funds. They owe their jobs to the firm.
onewrldoneppl at 09:26 PM JST - 20th March

Q: "In view of what's happening with AIG in the U.S., what is the best way to monitor how taxpayers' money is used in bailing out big companies?"

A: at gunpoint. chain them to their desks and keep AK-47s pointed their temples until they solve the economic crisis they caused. if they don't fix the problem, put them to pasture and pull the next bean counter out of the belly of the ship. work them all to the bone until, the job is done. the life of one man is not worth more than those of the millions they have put in harms way.
Brunobear at 09:55 PM JST - 20th March

Two of Australia's four major banks were insolvent in 1991 and all the State banks had already collapsed. Australia was facing becoming an economic basket case. The Government sought help and were given advice that a simple change in monetary policy (interest rates) would turn the economy around. They did it and it worked. Today Australia is the most prosperous country in the World and its four major banks rank in the top ten strongest in the world. Australia has no public (Federal Gov't)debt and an unsubsidised diverse economy. The American debacle goes back to bad monetary and fiscal policy for four decades. It can be turned around quickly but not under the current stewardship in the US. They don't know how to throw their net to the other side of the boat. Turn it around and you won't have to bail companies out. Companies always fail when the financial management of the country has failed first.
Good_Jorb at 11:18 PM JST - 20th March

Temporary nationalization of the failing banks, take-over toxic assets, sell the healthy parts of the banks back to the private market. An idea that it picking up steam amogst Economists (Alan Greenspan, Joseph Stiglitz, Thomas Hoenig and so on)

Those who tied the hands of the money makers will be blamed by history.

So the millions of Americans who made no attempts to manage the finances with any sort of common sense, will escape the blame that they deserve.
TokyoHustla at 04:09 AM JST - 21st March

Australia has no public (Federal Gov't)debt and an unsubsidised diverse economy.

Because Australia does not fund an empire. The American debt is a direct product of funding an overseas empire. Since the election of Kennedy, and including the election of Obama, the American public has made it clear that they are in favor of funding an overseas empire while being the world's police state.

I think Brunobear is right - the issue with US banks is nothing that some interest rate changes shouldn't take care of. The problem is that the best and the brightest at the banks have our hands tied by a US government that insists on maintaining a military empire. The focus of wasteful spending should be on defense spending. It far dwarfs any bonuses handed out with taxpayer money.