AIG Chairman Liddy Says Americans Need To "Chill" About Bonuses

AIG Chairman Edward Liddy, acknowledging that AIG would have gone bust without the $170 billion federal bailout, is saying that is now ancient history and we must look forward. AIG is moving ahead with plans to pay its executives from AIG Financial Products $165 million in bonuses even though this is the very division that created enormous losses by selling credit default swaps.

Chairman Liddy said, "My number one priority is keeping my top executives happy and I'll be damned if I'm going to pull the rug out from under them now. These particular individuals were already kind of bummed out about all of the negative press. Okay, so they were directly responsible for the largest quarterly loss in U.S. history of $61.7 billion. But can you imagine their morale if they have to cancel a vacation trip to Fiji or not accept delivery of a brand-new, shiny Ferrari? It would be devastating."

He added, "All of these Americans whining about these bonuses need to remember that I have encouraged my executives to go out and spend this taxpayer bailout money on exotic vacations, expensive cars, and elegant jewelry. This type of spending will create a mini-stimulus for the economy and I think most taxpayers will be more understanding once they see where their money is going. Also, my executives will be more relaxed and happy and therefore less likely to make those bad decisions again. Americans just need to relax and chill."