They Mean Firings, Not Suicides... Unlike Senator?

The rhetoric surrounding the financial travails of American International Group -- better known to, and reviled by, the public as AIG -- has reached a fever pitch. In addition to one US lawmaker's suggestion that certain AIG executives commit hari-kari, on Tuesday the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) called for the "immediate termination of every executive... who accepts a bonus payment" from the embattled company.

"Gross incompetence is but one of the grounds to void those contracts," said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. "These executives destroyed their company. They triggered a global economic meltdown. They misappropriated taxpayer monies. Their gross incompetence is irrefutable. But another ground for firing them exists."

As ANN reported earlier this month, AIG -- which insures a number of aircraft owners, and is the parent company of International Lease Finance Corp. -- reported a record $61.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2008. The US government promptly responded by issuing $30 billion in new Troubled Asset Relief Program funds to bolster the hemorrhaging company... the fourth time in six months the federal government has done so, on the argument the insurance company is 'too big to fail.'

Stories of gross incompetence and likely financial improprieties have swirled around AIG -- and, to be fair, most other money-losing US corporations -- for the better part of six months. On Monday, news surfaced AIG would pay out some $165 million in now-taxpayer-supported bonuses to several executives, despite overwhelming evidence most if not all those employees did little to deserve them.

"If they accept those bonuses, they should be arrested and arraigned," Buffenbarger said of those workers. "What they did over the last four years was criminal. Just like Bernie Madoff, they constructed a global ponzi scheme meant to defraud investors and then hide their illegal actions from investigators. Those bonuses are little more than a blatant attempt to buy the silence of executives who planned, executed and were exceedingly well-compensated for the trillion-dollar scam know as credit default swaps."

The plan to pay senior executives at AIG millions in taxpayer funded bonuses comes just weeks after lawmakers demanded steep cuts in compensation for US autoworkers as a condition for any financial assistance for struggling auto companies. "The double standards at work here are outrageous," declared Buffenbarger.

The Machinists also took strong issue with the claim by AIG Chairman Edward Liddy and others who claim there are lawful and binding contracts requiring the obscene payouts.

"These contracts are neither legal nor binding. Look beyond the bonuses and ask 'why would anyone pay for incompetence of this magnitude?'" suggested Buffenbarger. "The answer is obvious: Only by buying their executives' silence can AIG ever hope to avoid criminal prosecution for fraud, conspiracy and suborning perjury.

"Everyone is innocent until proven guilty. Even corporations like AIG and their executives deserve a presumption of innocence," Buffenbarger cautioned. "But they do not deserve to have their criminal defense costs paid by the taxpayers. And if they will not return the bonuses paid and refuse the bonuses proffered, they are, in effect, admitting their guilt and furthering their conspiracy. That is also grounds for immediate termination."

Even Buffenbarger's strong language seems tame compared to a statement Monday by Iowa Senator Charles Grassley... who helpfully suggested the AIG executives in question should "resign or go commit suicide." Grassley has since attempted to step back from his remarks.

FMI: www.goiam.org, www.aig.com