“We have the ability. I know that I am telling people we are allowed to,” he said. “What I don’t know is if people (employees) are willing to. A lot of them feel hurt, embarrassed, a lot of people have lived in fear because of what I call lynch mobs with pitchforks.”
Benmosche was referring to severe criticism of the bonuses paid to some AIG staff at the financial products unit at the center of its meltdown. The verbal assaults by politicians and in the media led to several demonstrations, including a bus tour of employee homes near the unit’s Wilton, Connecticut headquarters, and threats to others.
“People think it is funny but it is not when it is your children,” he continued, his voice rising in anger. “It is not when you come home and you find people in front of your home and you had to sneak your children out in the middle of the night so that they are not attacked in a country called America.”
“It was wrong. I think that when you do that, when you incite that kind of feeling in people, it makes it difficult to come to work the next day and say ‘I’m going to work hard.'”
*sniff*
Aw, did Mr. Man have a hard day at the office? He needs to be kicked in the balls.
I guess many of us will never understand the wealthy. I just read a story where the founder of McAfee security went from having a net worth of 100 million to only 4 million today. He claimed to really be roughing it.
Having to cut many costs to save money. Must be rough I thought sarcastically. I myself have gone from a net worth of maybe a few 10 thousands to less then nothing. Now maybe he should try that!
I really think the horse rustler’s were watching the stable as it were when Wall Street was bailed out. How much tax payer money loaned to these clowns went to bonuses and parties we will probably never know. But one things is for sure, they had plenty of help from our government and on both sides of the isle in Congress!
I guess what he/they are really experiencing, is a culture shock.
He went from a culture of public adulation of the wealthy to public disgust.
I guess that’s what happens when you betray the public’s trust.
The trust they betrayed was, everyone can succeed with out gaming the system if they work hard.
Not only do they not work hard, but they game the system and trash America and it’s citizens wealth at the same time.
And they actually believe they should be praised for that??
Luclily I was born with nothing and I still have most of it left……..LOL
Obviously I can’t spell either….I need a bailout to go back to school……..Ha
I have no sympathy for the slime bags. they are lower than the scum on a worms belly….
I’m up for camping at his place, who’s with me! Other “activities” can be discuss while we’re there ^_-
“It was wrong. I think that when you do that, when you incite that kind of feeling in people, it makes it difficult to come to work the next day and say ‘I’m going to work hard.’”
Unless they don’t take the blame for inciting that kind of feeling in people and say that it wasn’t their actions but those darn proletarians that did the bad thing and therefore clear your conscious of any wrong doing while simultaneously painting yourself as a victim.
His staff are under attack, so he feels that it is his duty, to defend them.
If family’s and kids are at risk and why else would you have “bus tours” of family homes. Then more than just AIG (scum buckets that they are) bare the fault for causing un-required turmoil.
Instead of publicly complaining, Mr. Benmosche would be better off silently considering himself lucky they were totally ineffective “lynch mobs with pitchforks”…
…this time.
The CEO can go ‘F’ himself. Pardon my French.
When you take money from the government, you become their bitch.
Some people don’t like government bitches.
Moral of the story? Stop being a bitch.
# 8 jccalhoun,
Long winded but well said.
You would think, as smart as they claim to be, they would realize they caused this, not the media, not the government, not the poor, not the common folk who over extended them-selfs…
If I have a million dollars that I offer as a loan, complete with contracts, repayment schedules and such, then; I loan it to someone I know can’t pay it back, whose fault is it??
@noname
Both sides. The person requesting the loan shouldn’t have taken it, and the person making the loan shouldn’t have made it.
Perhaps we ought to have an angry mob for those that weren’t responsible either. That said, AIG and the like are still in the spotlight because of the fact that they are being backed by the US Government to “recuperate”.
I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard an apology in there for the millions who had nothing to do with this fiasco that are now unemployed as a result. Surely they have children as well.
AIG needs to be raided and aborted like those prawn shacks in District 9.
Everyone now…! “We didn’t start the fire!”
That b*tch can whine! Damn, life is so unfair. Boo hoo.
I think what he MEANT TO SAY was “how can you go to work and do a good job if you aren’t 100% certain that you’ll get a whopping bonus, in addition to your outlandishly high pay.”
# 20 pedro,
Excellent!!!!
The Gov should now sell it’s stocks in AIG and use the profits to pay for health care and War!!!!!
I think Ted Kennedy would have loved that.
#6 they are lower than the scum on a worms belly….
..hee,hee, well said.
# 22 electrohead,
How low are they?
Benmosche and his cohorts should be in jail.
# 14 noname said,
“If I have a million dollars that I offer as a loan, complete with contracts, repayment schedules and such, then; I loan it to someone I know can’t pay it back, whose fault is it??”
Barney Frank?
Sure. He is right. But I have no sympathy for him. They got themselves into this situation. But that doesn’t make people threatening his family NOR invading his privacy / trespassing right either.
Still, just move the family to that second home. I’m sure their tears will dry before before my bank account does. But not much more since you’ll gladly take money that could have helped my family. Sometimes it’s hard to balance the weight of different wrongs but sometimes it’s not so hard.
#14, noname,
I understand where you are on this and don’t disagree. Just to highlight AIG’s problem though.
AIG is an insurance company. When loans are made, prudent lenders buy insurance in case the borrower does default. AIG insured many of those loans. AIG did not make any loans.
When all the derivatives and truly toxic loans were going around, AIG saw them as highly profitable. When these loans started failing, AIG was now on the hook to pay the lenders the default insurance. Only there were so many failures and they came so quickly AIG could not pay all the claims. AIG had more claims than money.
It was AIG’s failure to pay these defaults that put pressure on the lenders, mostly big banks like Citi, BoA, Morgan Stanley, Merril Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Lyman Brothers, and others heavily involved.
I think AIG has received over $200 billion in bailout funds to pay off the insurance claims. The bonuses that raised all the fuss a little while ago were to the division that is winding up all the claims for the defaults. Apparently they are the only people on earth who can figure out the details.
I think you know the rest of the story.
#27, gm,
I’m not so sure about that. Benmosche started at CEO a couple of weeks ago and still has yet to show up at the office. He is on vacation in his Croatian wine villa.
But as someone else said. What about all those who lost their homes because of the financial mess AIG was a full part of? Don’t they count?
Well, the point of the matter is, if they can’t reimburse the insured loans, they sure as hell don’t need to be passing out bonuses left and right, bailout be damned. I’m surely not condoning curbside riots or violence by any measure, but something needs to be done to help pull their heads out of their backsides. Protesters need to stop fanning the flames with their hostile tactics and making these people look like the victims.
If he would only fall on his sword, and give self-immolation a try, I’d forgive this CEO. As it is though, he and his chums look kind of like mafia thugs.
Aux armes, citoyens,
Formez vos bataillons,
Marchons, marchons !
Qu’un sang impur
Abreuve nos sillons !
Ok.
WHO here thinks $100,000 per year is GOOOOD MONEY??
To these folks that amount is being POOR.
To these folks, the Wash person in the bathroom MAKES MORE MONEY then that.
To these folks, WASHING a car is a waste of water, so they BUY a new car.
To these folks, it is better to have a House in Every City then to spend a NITE in a Hotel 6.
To these folks, IF it dont require my VISA to pay for the meal, then Why am I sitting here.
Pocket change to these folks, is a $100 tip for a meal.
To these folks, Washing clothes is a waste of time, when you can wear a NEW one every day, at $600-3000 per suit.