Comments on: Obama’s Second Verse: Same As The First

By: imdw

imdw — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 03:40:08 +0000

“Rasmussen & Schoen are using Rasmussen’s numbers, though presumably Schoen doesn’t disagree. CNN’s averaged polling shows that Obama has dropped to where others have been at this point (within MoE), so many polls show a negative trend for Obama.”

By: daleyrocks

daleyrocks — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:43:07 +0000

“Last time I checked, however, honouring legal contractual obligations hasn’t stopped being a legal requirement even when said obligations may have become massively tone-deaf from a PR perspective …”

What I heard on news radio today was that Ed Liddy, the current CEO of AIG, claims that virtually all the bonuses stem from contractural obligations. Not honoring the contracts would just invite litigation.

Speaking of contracts and rights, did AIG stockholders vote on the plan for the government to dilute the fuck out of them through these rescues? Usually NYSE companies require shareholder votes for so much dilution unless they’re relying on a bylaw or stock exchange exemption. Just askin’.

By: MarkJ

MarkJ — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:42:09 +0000

Li’l Davie Plouffe had better use his alleged database while he still can. By this time next year, most of those 10m donors will be too busy trying to evade the IRS, looking for new jobs, or filling out unemployment forms.

By: Mike K

Mike K — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:06:14 +0000

There was some discussion of the AIG bonuses this morning and one opinion that made sense to me was that AIG decided that the feds were going to rescue them and they have dared them to do anything else. A bankruptcy judge would have something to say about bonuses. Also, George Will pointed out that Obama and Geithner are showing great respect for contracts a month before they plan to legalize cram-down legislation to cancel mortgage contracts.

By: Dmac

Dmac — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:35:00 +0000

AIG needs to pay those bonuses in order to retain quality, competent people to run the business well.

Yes, the same people who ran the company into the ground, along with the economy.

For whatever reasons, we have moved, in the past couple of years, to a place where it is much more important to fix the blame rather than to fix the problem

If a company agrees to use taxpayer funds to abdicate their colossal failures, and then keeps rewarding said failures, then I don’t agree with your premise. I think Paulson should’ve told Bush that AIG had to fail, and fail ASAP, so that the bottom could be reached quickly, and then the bad assets could subsequently be re – allocated. I didn’t believe the distinction between AIG being a “utilitarian” company that could not be allowed to go bankrupt – just as I don’t believe that GM is too big to fail. My mortgage is currently with Citicorp, and I could care less if they go bankrupt and have to sell off their wildly divergent and unweildy business interests – bad business decisions must be allowed to be judged by the marketplace, not the government. A command – and – control economy does not work – you’re going to see why when the Chinese economy finally has a less than zero percent growth rate, and massive unrest will erupt across the country.

By: Alasdair

Alasdair — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:20:14 +0000

aoibhneas – in healthily prosperous times, yes, AIG *did* need to pay bonuses to keep the most competent stafff they could find if they wanted to be more certain of retaining their services … I would bet small amounts of pocket change that some of those might even have been contractually agreed-upon as part of the hiring of some of the recipients … agreed-upon during more prosperous times yet possibly without an ‘escape clause’ for times such as these into which we are currently falling …

Are the bonuses “tone-deaf” from a PR perspective ? Yup …

Last time I checked, however, honouring legal contractual obligations hasn’t stopped being a legal requirement even when said obligations may have become massively tone-deaf from a PR perspective …

(On an un-related note: ecstasy or joy ???)

By: Alasdair

Alasdair — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 20:08:58 +0000

Dmac – I have to wonder if AIG was/is being tone-deaf, or if the AIG high-ups have resigned themselves to the demise of AIG due to the highly-public sentencing before the trial had even started ?

The way things have gone for AIG, they basically could not do anything right … tell someone that often enough and loud enough, and you place them in a position where it no longer matters if they screw up, they are going to be repeatedly told that they did so … and *that* leads predictably and precisely to people living “up” to what people keep telling them they will do …

For whatever reasons, we have moved, in the past couple of years, to a place where it is much more important to fix the blame rather than to fix the problem … and that is compounded by the tendencies of far too many to believe perceptions rather than facts …

As I said to a colleague a quarter century ago, when she tried to tell me that “Perceptions are more important than facts”, while that *can* be a true statement, when that statement is true, then prejudices reign … and if we don’t want to support a society where prejudices rule us, then we have to fight against those who believe that “Perceptions are more important than facts” …

Prejudices have their place and usefulness in Life … personally, I don’t stand in front of 18-wheelers on freeways that are heading towards me at 55 mph … actually, I try not to stand on freeways if I can avoid it … and that isn’t because I have tried it and thus can know from experience that it is a Bad Thing … I freely and proudly admit I am prejudiced against such a behaviour …

A prejudice stops being useful, and becomes a liability, when facts are no longer able to overcome said prejudice …

In the way back when, I had a prejudice that raw fish tasted bad … I hadn’t eaten any raw fish at that time – it was simply a prejudice … then, more recently, I had the chance to try some excellent sashimi in a reputable restaurant – and the fact of how good that sashimi was as a sensory experience caused me to re-evaluate and reject the former prejudice …

I still don’t stand on freeways when I can avoid doing so, and I will continue in that prejudice until I have fact-based reasons to re-evaluate it …

By: aoibhneas

aoibhneas — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:56:07 +0000

AIG needs to pay those bonuses in order to retain quality, competent people to run the business well. What a crock.

Didn’t one of those brokerage banks getting bail out money use it for big bonuses in the millions for their London-based people?

But we have to admit Urkel is not tone deaf- now there is talk of bail-outs for small business owners. Who will end up paying for all this largesse? How many want their health benefits taxed, as is now the word coming from O’s team? Wondering just when stagflation will rear its ugly Jimmy Carteresque head?

How much will Walmart raise prices to pay for union demands, either agree to through a passed card check or an”impartial” federal mediator?

By: Dmac

Dmac — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:49:26 +0000

He’s desperate to pass his enormous budget and TARP II as quickly as possible, but this is not going to work. Many members of his own party are resisiting any additional pork – laden expenditures because they’ve already heard from their constituents that enough is enough. Hearing about AIG’s incredible tone – deaf announcement of million – dollar bonuses from taxpayer monies is just the tip of the iceberg at this point – and yes, Paulson deserves an equal share of the blame for that fiasco.

By: rrpjr

rrpjr — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 19:32:49 +0000

So we had the strategy of lies and slander to get elected; now the strategy of lies and slander to both obscure and advance the lies; soon the strategy of lies and slander about the lies and slander to get re-elected.

Hope and change.