AIG employees have received death threats since the company handed out "retention" awards to the tune of $165 million in its financial products division this week.
At AIG Financial Products in Connecticut, armed guards are in evidence outside the building. Some employees have resigned - others have refused to turn up for work.
A company-wide memo warns employees to take special precautions "due to a growing sense of public attention fueled by increased media scrutiny."
Employees have reportedly been told not to wear apparel with the company insignia. They have also been told to remove identity badges when they leave work and report strangers if they believe they are being followed. They are being encouraged to travel in pairs at night and to park in well-lit areas.
While threats can't be condoned, the negative attention is understandable. Americans are losing their homes and their jobs. Meanwhile they have been treated to the outrageous spectacle of AIG executive bonuses - rewards for people who contributed to the conditions that precipitated the economic meltdown.
These hefty pay-outs are what big earners hooked on high risk/high yield investment crack have come to expect as their rightful due. If and when the economic rollercoaster gets back to the top of the rise, the pressure toward big time speculation could well lead to similar scenarios playing themselves out again.
If the Obama administration had nationalized the financial sector these problems could have been eliminated (good argument for nationalization here). Instead the administration chose to leave toxic financial sector culture pretty much as is.
Short of that type of sweeping measure, the administration should go after executive bonuses by introducing legislation that ensures that high end incentives written into contracts are outlawed, along with other much-needed regulation to prevent further abuses.
A company-wide memo warns employees to take special precautions "due to a growing sense of public attention fueled by increased media scrutiny."
Employees have reportedly been told not to wear apparel with the company insignia. They have also been told to remove identity badges when they leave work and report strangers if they believe they are being followed. They are being encouraged to travel in pairs at night and to park in well-lit areas.
While threats can't be condoned, the negative attention is understandable. Americans are losing their homes and their jobs. Meanwhile they have been treated to the outrageous spectacle of AIG executive bonuses - rewards for people who contributed to the conditions that precipitated the economic meltdown.
These hefty pay-outs are what big earners hooked on high risk/high yield investment crack have come to expect as their rightful due. If and when the economic rollercoaster gets back to the top of the rise, the pressure toward big time speculation could well lead to similar scenarios playing themselves out again.
If the Obama administration had nationalized the financial sector these problems could have been eliminated (good argument for nationalization here). Instead the administration chose to leave toxic financial sector culture pretty much as is.
Short of that type of sweeping measure, the administration should go after executive bonuses by introducing legislation that ensures that high end incentives written into contracts are outlawed, along with other much-needed regulation to prevent further abuses.
