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Reviewing AIG's Obligations On Bonus Payments

The Obama administration is angry over American International Group's decision to use taxpayer money to pay $165 million in bonuses to employees in its financial products division. That's the same division that designed exotic derivatives partly responsible for AIG's financial collapse, with dire repercussions for the global economy.

The company claimed it was legally obligated to make the payments and would otherwise face lawsuits. Still, the administration says it will pursue every legal option to block the payments.

Host Steve Inskeep talks to Steven Thel, a professor with Fordham Law School in New York, about the payments.

Responsibility of economic fall Down G W Bush

If you believe in the Efficient Market Hypothesis than Bush shouldn’t be blamed for the economic crisis of 2008. Obama’s victory was expected (at an increasing likelihood) since he overtook Hilary in February (2008). Therefore, the market simply responded to this new and worrying information. Once Obama’s presidency became a certainty (in September after the Palin fiasco) investors and business had no choice but to change their behaviour. This fear of higher taxes and unionism lead us to our current poor economic state.

Job one is to win the war, job–the economic war, job two is to win the economic war, and job three. And you can’t expect people to unite behind you if you’re trying to jam a whole bunch of things down their throat. So I would–I would absolutely say for the–for the interim, till we get this one solved, I would not be pushing a lot of things that are–you know are contentious, and I also–I also would do no finger-pointing whatsoever. I would–you know, I would not say, you know, `George’–`the previous administration got us into this.’ Forget it. I mean, you know, the Navy made a mistake at Pearl Harbor and had too many ships there. But the idea that we’d spend our time after that, you know, pointing fingers at the Navy, we needed the Navy. So I would–I would–I would–no finger-pointing, no vengeance, none of that stuff. Just look forward.