Replies

[Tim]

AIG cancels planned events amid rebukes for hosting $440,000 function

American International Group Inc. said Thursday that it would cancel most of its planned events after lawmakers castigated the insurer for hosting a $440,000 function at a resort while benefiting from an $85-billion government bailout.

The cancellations include an event that was scheduled for next week at the Ritz-Carlton in Northern California's Half Moon Bay. The gathering that drew the rebukes was held last month at the St. Regis Resort in Dana Point. About 100 independent insurance agents who sell coverage for New York-based AIG attended, spending $23,000 on spa services, among other things.

Read more here -

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-aig1...0,2353290.story

Anyone wonder why we're in the crapper? These clowns almost go under, taxpayers who are losing jobs and homes bail them out - and they're off to a laa-dee-dah spa fxxxing resort??? Obviously nearly going out of business BY THEIR OWN HAND did nothing to change their way of thinking. Jerks. A couple of nice quotes from the article -

"This kind of behavior is an insult to taxpayers," the Montana Democrat wrote in a letter to Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. Baucus asked for a response by Oct. 23.

"I cannot fathom how in the same day -- the very same day -- that AIG asked the government for another $37.8-billion loan, the company would even consider moving forward with plans to host another large conference at another luxury resort," said Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, a Maryland Democrat.

THEN, skipping another chance to learn they're idiots, they want to ADVERTISE EXPENSIVELY about their screw up. A nice repsonse -


"To spend the taxpayer's money on an expensive ad campaign to apologize for how you used taxpayer money leaves you open to further attacks," Sard wrote in an e-mail Wednesday to Ashooh.

It just stuns me to think how stupid people who are supposed to be smart have been.

[Roger Kaputnik]

It is not the hardhat crowd that is making any of the decisions that have ruined the industry. Do you expect workers to say, "No, don't give us those benefits or pay scales, we want to make sure that you have enough money to manage to make sure the industry stays healthy." That is ludicrous.

I do agree that the unions will have to arrive at some agreement with the corps. The fault cannot be laid at the feet of the workers who accepted an offer from mgmt. And it was not the hardhats who decided that SUVs were the way to go, nor did they lobby the gov't to keep CAFE mileage standards low.

As far as class warfare, I paraphrase Warren Buffet: There is a war between the classes, and my class is winning!

[Southsider2k12]

It is not the hardhat crowd that is making any of the decisions that have ruined the industry. Do you expect workers to say, "No, don't give us those benefits or pay scales, we want to make sure that you have enough money to manage to make sure the industry stays healthy." That is ludicrous.

I do agree that the unions will have to arrive at some agreement with the corps. The fault cannot be laid at the feet of the workers who accepted an offer from mgmt. And it was not the hardhats who decided that SUVs were the way to go, nor did they lobby the gov't to keep CAFE mileage standards low.

As far as class warfare, I paraphrase Warren Buffet: There is a war between the classes, and my class is winning!

When the choice is reduction or failure, I expect them to choose reduction. Its not ludicrous, it is common sense. A lesser paying job is always better than no job, especially when your industry is falling apart around you. For labor to not care about the health of their own provider tells a lot about how the auto industry got the point it is in.

It is also silly to characterize these contracts as offers from management. We are talking about tedious negotiation processes, in which the union has the right of strike, which they have used many times over the years. To classify this as only managements doing is just silly. You make it seem as if labor has never pushed for higher wages or bigger benefits. It sounds almost as if you believe that stockholders and management asked labor to take more than they asked for, when it is in fact the opposite.

One of my college professors actually spent time as an economist in labor negotations for some of the steel mills. They sure as heck weren't looking for him to provide figures that were conducive to small wages and benefits, that for sure!