A tidal wave of public anger over bonuses paid to the AIG Financial Products traders in the amount of $165 billion has gotten Congress’s attention. Thursday, the House voted 328 to 93 to get back most of the money by levying a 90 percent tax on it. The measure would apply to employees of any company getting more than $5 billion in federal bailout money. The Senate will address the issue early next week.
In other action, Andrew Cuomo, the New York attorney general, said AIG had turned over the names of employees who received bonuses, in response to a subpoena. He will review the list and assess whether individuals on it might have reason to fear for their safety.
This congressional action makes me feel a little better. However, there are other companies that have already paid enormous bonuses to employees while their corporation was loosing money. One is like Bank of America. As they purchased Merrill Lynch, they paid giant bonuses to employees prior to the closing of the sale. Bank of America said it planned to publish the list of names and the amounts of their bonuses Thursday
Congress had approved the moneys that are to be used to bailout companies in need. However, the Obama administration is responsible for determining the actual amount and they should track where it goes. We can’t go to sleep at the wheel.
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