AIG--What more is there to say?

As Gordon Gecho represents the beginning of the "Greed is Good" credo of Wall Street during the 1980's, AIG and it's unrelenting grasp on the bonuses it is paying out for "retention of talent" hopefully represents the end of an era on Wall Street.

Not that I expect bonuses to become a thing of the past. Nor do I expect Wall Street firms to change their ways too dramatically. But finally, there seems to be a sense of balance in the universe, and that companies and people who can systematically bankrupt an industry do NOT get to continue to behave as if nothing happened, and walk away with taxpayer funded bonuses, simply because "that's the way it's always been done", or "we have a binding contract".

It is rare to find an issue that has so united Democrats and Republicans, rich and poor, majority and minority, men and women, as this one. The hubris, the gall, the sheer nerve of people to think that AIG should pay a PENNY of bonus with taxpayer money, after losing $60 BILLION last quarter, and passing out over $100 Billion in cash to the very same businesses that are also receiving TARP (read TAXPAYER) funds, just makes you wonder whether there is anyone over there on Pine Street with a grasp on reality.

And this is coming from a blogger who actually has supported the notion of TARP, and saving these institutions because the alternative is worse. After watching this behavior, how can anyone think that nationalization or Chapter 11 might NOT be a preferable alternative to shoveling more billions to this management crew?

As my only defense of Ed Liddy (who seems to be more and more related to g. Gordon Liddy these days...), he did not CREATE this mess. Fine. Well done. But it will be your face that ends up on the dart boards across America as the face of greed. And you have only yourself to blame on this.

Like anything else, it isn't AIG alone that represents the greed of Wall Street. John Thain and Ken Lewis took some of the brunt of the attention, but have quickly retreated into the background, as Thain agreed to pay back his office furnishings, and the enormity of the AIG shenanigans have dwarfed the Merrill Lynch bonus debacle.

But, much like Steve Bartman may not be responsible for the Cubs missing the 2003 World Series, or Bill Buckner isn't solely responsible for the Red Sox collapse in the 1986 World Series, at this point, it just doesn't matter. And it's starting to get hideous. AIG is going to be excoriated by the public until it does the only right thing it can. Make an agreement not to pay out the bonuses, and begin to eat some humble pie.