WTF Are They Thinking?

Insurance giant AIG--which has received $170 billion in bailout money from American taxpayers--is about to pay out $165 million in bonuses to its executives.

Suddenly my previous suggestion about cutting off the balls of those responsible for getting us into this mess doesn't seem that outrageous, does it?

I understand the argument that we can't afford to let AIG fail and that its collapse would drag down not only our own banking system, but those of other nations as well. But paying out over a hundred million dollars in bonuses is just plain inexcusable. That's like giving the crew of the Titanic a bonus for at least getting partway across the Atlantic.

The Obama administration says that there is nothing it can legally do to block this particular payout. AIG is contractually obligated to issue these payments and would otherwise face lawsuits.

That may well be the case, but it goes to the very heart of what got us into this mess in the first place: The attitude among business leaders that its okay to get rich yourself while telling everyone else to go fuck themselves.

Regardless of what the letter of the law may say, this is wrong on so many different levels that it defies any possible rational justification.

The truly laughable part is that the chairman of AIG is trying to justify the payouts. His argument? It's the only way the company can retain talented staff. Is this guy on drugs, or what? What "talented staff?" These incompetent idiots have led the world to the brink of economic ruin. In what possible sense are they talented? Calling them talented is like calling Dustin Hoffman's character in Rain Man talented because he could count the number of matchsticks on the floor.

Actually, that comparison may be an insult to Raymond. He probably would have done a better job than the people running AIG now.

So fine. Issue the payouts. But let's post the name of every single recipient of these bonuses, as well as their home addresses and phone numbers, on a website for everyone to see. We can even call it OffWithTheirBalls.com. If they're being funded by the rest of us, then it's only fair that we should be able to see where our tax dollars are going.

I just purchased that web address. Anyone in a position to follow through with my suggestion should contact me. You can have the address for $15.

Another Bush Legacy

Just in case you haven't already climbed out on a ledge and jumped, here's some more depressing news about the mortgage crisis.

As of the fourth quarter of 2008, a mind-blowing 48% of people who have one of those sub-prime adjustable rate mortgage were either behind or in foreclosure. Overall, 12% of Americans with a mortgage of any kind were at least one month behind or in foreclosure.

So who's to blame for the mortgage crisis? There are those who blame the homeowners who bit off more than they could chew. But that's hardly fair. If that were really the case, then what's the role of the bankers and lenders who issued the questionable loans in the first place? Wasn't it their job to evaluate the borrowers and determine whether they were financially capable of handling a loan of several hundred thousand dollars?

And things aren't about to get better any time soon. While the crisis started in fast growing states like Florida, California, and Nevada, it has now spread to other states. That's probably not surprising, with more and more people losing their jobs.

Meanwhile, there is increasing talk of nationalizing the nation's banks. With so many of them in danger of becoming insolvent, it may be the only way to save them. Republican critics, of course, are accusing Obama and the Democrats of leading the nation down the road to socialism.

I personally don't know what the answers are to our critical predicament. But I can look around and see that the world around us is turning into a giant putrid pile of steaming shit surrounded by a virtually impenetrable cloud of flies.

And how did we get to this pathetic state? Well, it was pure unbridled capitalism fed by corporate greed and unhindered by government regulation. So for Republicans to to sit there and defend the very system they helped foster is mind-boggling in its absurdity.

When You Gotta Go.... Don't

Is this what the world is coming to?

Ryanair, a European carrier, is considering charging passengers who want to take a leak or dump on its planes.

Fine. But in exchange, it would be only fair that airlines begin refunding ticket prices anytime an airplane fails to reach an actual runway while landing.

Here We Go Again

Two weeks ago I called for Obama's impeachment because his press conference was preempting several of my favorite TV shows. In what is shaping up to be a disturbing pattern, he's doing it again tonight when he delivers a nationally televised speech to Congress.

So much for this week's installments of The Mentalist and Fringe.

It almost makes me sick to say this, but I miss George W. Bush. At least when he was in office, he never gave a crap about the wishes of the American people. He never felt the urge to explain himself. I guess that's why he called himself The Decider. It just goes to show that sometimes there are advantages to living under a dictatorship.

Obama's speech tonight will focus on the economy and the recently passed stimulus package. The rescue plan has come under serious fire from Republicans. Among other things, they're critical of the massive deficits it's going to cause.

WOW!!!! Talk about your deathbed conversions! When Bill Clinton left office, the Federal budget was showing a surplus of $230 billion. Bush wasted no time getting rid of that, and the last several years of his presidency ended up showing record deficits. Where were the Republicans in Congress when Bush was practically pissing red ink over everything he touched!?!? For Republicans to suddenly find religion on this issue is like a serial killer finding Jesus just as he's being strapped into the electric chair.

I don't know if Obama's plan will get us out of this financial mess or not. But it's clear as day that the GOP has no right to sit there and snipe. It was their own inept leadership that led us down this path to economic ruin. Let big business be big business was the Republican mantra for years. Free them from the constraints of overly zealous government controls and big business will lead us into a time of eternal prosperity. Even that financial guru Alan Greenspan once said that business leaders will act in their own best interest.

Right. Now look where the philosophy of deregulation has gotten us. You would think the accounting shenanigans of Enron and Worldcom earlier this decade would have served as a wake-up call, but no. Of course not. And certainly not with the Republican politicians who were the primary recipients of political donations from big business.

And now these very same Republicans want to offer their own solutions? Give me a break. That's like Captain Joseph Hazelwood of the Exxon Valdez offering to teach a course in navigation.

And yes, I do love my metaphors.

Too Bad We Don't have Life Jackets