Comments on: Why the GOP Should Take the Lead Against the AIG Bonus Babies http://flapsblog.com/2009/03/16/why-the-gop-should-take-the-lead-against-the-aig-bonus-babies-2/ Flap's Comments on Politics, the Dental World and Much More Fri, 10 Feb 2012 07:59:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Sal http://flapsblog.com/2009/03/16/why-the-gop-should-take-the-lead-against-the-aig-bonus-babies-2/#comment-143479 Sal Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:20:59 +0000 http://flapsblog.com/2009/03/16/why-the-gop-should-take-the-lead-against-the-aig-bonus-babies-2/#comment-143479 Kristol is wrong. The GOP should NOT be coming out against this. Many of these bonuses are part of salaries that people in the low and mid-level ranks count on based on their own sales figures. So, if a mid-level manager at AIG does what he is supposed to do and meets his sales targets, and was promised a bonus a year ago if he met those sales targets, why should he not get a bonus? The bailout money which was given to AIG (and shouldn't have been, in my view) was given with <b><i>no</i></b> strings attached. Why is it fair to suddenly attach strings to money already received? True Free Market Conservatives should speak out against the bailout, not against AIG. AIG is simply operating as a normal company, they applied for money and were given it, instead of letting the company fail. True free market Conservatives would point out that this is why bailout money should not have been given, not that the bonuses of the rank-and-file should be rescinded ex post facto. Kristol is wrong. The GOP should NOT be coming out against this. Many of these bonuses are part of salaries that people in the low and mid-level ranks count on based on their own sales figures. So, if a mid-level manager at AIG does what he is supposed to do and meets his sales targets, and was promised a bonus a year ago if he met those sales targets, why should he not get a bonus?

The bailout money which was given to AIG (and shouldn’t have been, in my view) was given with no strings attached. Why is it fair to suddenly attach strings to money already received? True Free Market Conservatives should speak out against the bailout, not against AIG. AIG is simply operating as a normal company, they applied for money and were given it, instead of letting the company fail. True free market Conservatives would point out that this is why bailout money should not have been given, not that the bonuses of the rank-and-file should be rescinded ex post facto.

]]>