The AIG bonus issue is a complete red herring. One thing that makes me angry, and another actually frightens me. The anger comes at the self righteous indignation of the very politicians who are most responsible for the mess. When will Obama give back the money he got from AIG?
The fear? How can the government of a major democracy that likes to pride itself as the leader of the free world possibly be so stupid as to think that passing a retroactive law could be a good idea? It's one of the most fundamental rules of any free and properly run country that its government must never never never pass a law that makes an action that was legal when it was performed retroactively illegal. If passing a 90% penalty tax in retrospect isn't a case of tyranny, then it's the next best thing. When you've had the next best thing to tyranny, what do you suppose the next step could be?
Yes, it's foolish in the extreme, and wrong in so many ways it's hard to know where to start.
They need good people to dig AIG out of the hole it's in. The people they had a are now quitting, and it's pretty unlikely that anyone else will sign up for the job after this debacle. Even worse, having ripped off the people who signed up for this job, what will they do with the next company they nationalise? No one with an ounce of ability will touch another job like this.
Obama has destroyed the ability of the US government to make credible promises, either about treatment or pay.
Comment by Dr. Strangelove — March 25, 2009 @ 9:07 am