On the recordFebruary 4, 2010
Madam Speaker, I rise today to express my disappointment and dismay with AIG's decision to pay $100 million in bonuses to executives. These are not just any employees but those from the financial products division, the same group that created the flimsy derivatives that caused such a catastrophe for our economy in late 2008. With taxpayer dollars allowing to keep AIG afloat and ordinary Americans facing 10 percent unemployment, I don't know who would have thought this announcement would be well-received by the American people. It may be that these bonuses were legally obligated before the AIG crash, but I'm sure that all the brainpower that created AIG's complicated financial products can figure out a way, as the American people would, to simply say ``no.'' ____________________
