While I sit at my desk working my 40-hour week at one of the largest website design & marketing companies in the country wondering if I’m going to have enough money in my checking account to fill my gas tank next week, I find myself growing more and more angry toward the acceptance of the actions of major corporations, financial institutions and their executives. I wish I could just dismiss AIG’s recent $440,000 retreat as an isolated incident, but the fact of the matter is – it isn’t isolated. It’s the audacity that really gets to me…what a shameless, corrupt and unethical group of people.
Enormous corporate expenditure is standard operating procedure for big business and it has been for the past several decades. This is simply the first time it has been funded directly by the American people in the form of a massive bailout supposedly appropriated by Congress to prevent the collapse of the entire American economic system. BREAKING NEWS: in this ass-backwards, up-is-really-down, you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me nation we live in, the FED just handed AIG an ADDITIONAL $37.8 BILLION dollars. WHAT??? Wait a minute…that can’t be…oh…yep…look at that…it’s true. We have officially crossed the line and ventured into “WE ARE A NATION OF COMPLETE AND UTTER IMBECILES”. Where’s my goddamn bailout?
The difference this time is that they’re now relying on taxpayer dollars to pull them out of the hole, yet clearly refuse to make even a single common sense decision regarding controlling the company’s expenditures. The real question isn’t how this happened. I wish I could say I were surprised. I’m not. How the hell do you think things got this far in the first place? It’s not as if these corporate executives didn’t KNOW this was going to happen – they just didn’t care. The question at hand is why on earth are the same individuals responsible for the debacle that is AIG still sitting in their plush corner offices?
I would consider running one of America’s major financial institutions into the ground and playing an enormous role in potentially plunging the country into the next Great Depression as grounds for immediate termination of the entire executive team. Wouldn’t you agree? Unfortunately, that’s the not the way this country operates. The government and corporations have forgotten the meaning of the words “accountability” and “consequences”. We no longer live in “America”. We live in “Corporate America”.
The difference? In “America” the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, despicable people are held accountable for their actions and citizens actually have some sort of recourse. In “Corporate America” big business takes precedence over absolutely anything & everything else and no one is held accountable for even the most egregious negligence and disastrously poor decision-making…at least not if you’re a corporate executive or one of the politicians bought off by them. “Corporate America” is a nation of massive corporate deregulation. How are all of you supporters of deregulation and smaller government enjoying the ride so far?
When you hear the adage “the rich get richer, while the poor get poorer…”, it’s not just anecdotal commentary. It is fact. And the reason it is a fact is due in large part to a complete lack of accountability and responsibility on the part of the executives pulling the strings of these enormous financial institutions and corporations. The idea that any one of AIG’s executives felt it appropriate to take a nearly half-million dollar vacation for its execs and company representatives less than two weeks after being given an $85 BILLION dollar bailout is indicative of the greed, corruption, lack of integrity and complete & utter disregard for the negative impact that their actions have on the lives of 95% of Americans.
While the company representatives that enjoyed their week of fun in the sun may not have been fully aware of the impending disaster when this retreat was booked months ago, AIG’s big-wigs most certainly did. Frankly, I hold each and every individual that felt it appropriate to attend the function responsible. How could anyone possibly, in good conscience, venture off to a resort, enjoy free food, drinks and spa treatments knowing the company you work for was just yanked from the brink of bankruptcy by the federal government using taxpayer dollars. That is indicative not only of the company’s leadership philosophy, but of the lack of morals and ethics of every individual in attendance.
Finding a single corrupt person, or even a handful of corrupt people among a group of many is to be expected – but to find an entire executive team that doesn’t have a single ethical, rational or responsible individual among them…that’s downright reprehensible. Did it never dawn on anyone in a leadership position to say, “You know…perhaps this isn’t the best idea and/or use of resources…”. The scariest thing of all? If you think it’s only AIG, you’re in for quite a wake up call! Executives of major corporations and gigantic financial institutions just don’t care about people.
They will shamelessly take the money from this economic bailout plan and run. All they care about is money. It’s not even about making money for the company anymore. It’s about spending as much as possible before anyone realizes there really isn’t any money there…it’s got to look good on paper just long enough for them to “get theirs” and “get out”. They talk a good game. They shoot their commercials and spout their mission statements, but where the rubber meets the road the ONLY thing corporate executives truly care about are the dollars going into their pockets and the pockets of their corrupt associates.
They fill the gas tanks of their $100,000 company cars with premium gasoline using company credit cards, drive home to their multi-million dollar gated estates and slide into bed each night between a set of thousand dollar, 1500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. Why? Because we allow them to. Why shouldn’t they? Ethics? Morals? A basic sense of right and wrong? They clearly possess none of these virtues. Even when caught and/or fired, they’re given hundreds of thousands, if not millions when they vacate their executive positions.
Aside from the bad karma and short-lived negative media attention, there are truly no tangible consequences for running a corporation or financial institution into the ground, costing stockholders, and in this case taxpayers, billions. Let me get this straight…if I don’t pay my taxes, I could be thrown in jail. However, those primarily responsible for the downfall of the economy are given a virtual blank check? I’m confused…something isn’t right here.
They clearly lack the moral conviction and common sense to police their own actions, or even identify simple “right” from “wrong”. Not only should the entire executive staff of AIG be fired – which frankly should have been a condition of bailing out them out in the first place – each and every one of them should face felony criminal charges and copious amounts of jail time. If you think AIG will be the only company guilty of such transgressions, you’re delusional.
Treating executives and company representatives to pricey retreats, 5-star meals and weekend getaways on corporate jets is common practice in the world of big business. Why? Because every cent they spend is written off as a “business expense” come tax time, thereby avoiding having to pay taxes on that revenue. It’s standard operating procedure. It’s something that our government has encouraged by providing as many loopholes in the corporate tax code as there are provisions for what is taxable. In reality, not only did AIG take a $440,000 vacation on taxpayer dollars, they likely would have written it off as a “business-related expenditure”. Who knows…maybe they still will. What do they have to lose at this point? It’s pretty clear that those holding leadership positions within large corporations face no consequences for ANYTHING these days.
If anyone needs and deserves a vacation, it’s the American people. Where’s my bailout? When should I expect to be able to drive a company into the ground and watch my bank account grow as a result of my unbelievable and complete incompetence? Not only is this outrageous and literally sickening, it’s an indication of things to come. What happened to Richard Fuld of Lehman Brothers recently should happen to every corporate executive that had a hand in this disaster…and we should all get a free shot. Now there are some tangible consequences…
Comments
Excellent blog! I can not express my anger torwards these guys enough.
Skurrys last blog post..AIG thanks you for the spa treatment
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“The difference this time is that they’ve spent taxpayer dollars, rather than their own revenues.” — wrong … look up “Congressional Delegation” a.k.a CODEL, a.k.a Junket.
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
I’m aware of what both a “CODEL” and a “junket” are. However, this was a retreat by a group of executives of a publicly-owned entity funded directly with tax dollars appropriated to prevent its complete collapse…and by extension plunging the nation past a recession and directly into a depression.
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I like to think of myself as a glass half full kind of person but I don’t think behavior like this will change anytime soon Alysson.
It’s ugly and it’s unfair but it’s the way things are. Who knows, perhaps karma will pay them a visit someday.
chiropractics last blog post..Political Results Appearing in Keyphrase Search Results
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
I am a strong believer in Karma…unfortunately Karma is rarely quick to balance the scale. The real problem is that we simply accept that “it’s the way things are…”.
Good thing our forefathers didn’t feel that way. We’d all be speaking with British accents today and “The Boston Tea Party” would be a group of middle-aged women that meet weekly for tea & crumpets!
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You just summarized what a LOT of people are feeling quite well. Bookmarked..
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Kudos! My sentiments exactly and I could not have said it better if I had penned it myself! Now maybe we will be a lot more thoughtful of who we put in office! Eight years ago, we have a budget surplus, now we are trillions of dollars in debt and sinking faster and deeper every day… We’ve lost thousands of patriotic, innocent lives in a war that waged on lies! Greed, dishonesty, fraud and theft have been the names of the game for the last eight years!
Let’s change the game! Vote Obama ‘08!
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Caleb Dell Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
First off, why did you feel it necessary to take something that was outrageous across the board and try to make it into a reason to vote for ‘that one’? Got something against everyone being outraged together?
Now, just FYI, 8 years ago we did not have a budget surplus. We were on our way to a budget surplus had Bush stayed with Clinton’s budget, but that wasn’t going to happen. No President ever sticks with a former President’s budget. Technically we never actually reached the point to where we had the surplus.
The War that you obviously disagree with was not founded on lies and if you would research it rather than just listening to the TV and taking their word for it, you’d know that. And last time I checked, we still have a volunteer military.
Greed, dishonesty, fraud and theft have been the names of the political game for a couple of hundred years. So please step down from your self-righteous soapbox. Your boy ain’t any better.
Now, please save your propaganda for a political discussion and leave us to be outraged at everyone in Washington D.C. right now.
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Where’s my bailout?
This is exactly what I want to know. I know half a dozen people who have lost their jobs this year, some of them more than once. All of them are either still unemployed or grossly underemployed, because the job market is crap. One has lost his home, another is on the verge of foreclosure. I don’t see the gov’t bailing them out, but AIG execs who have screwed up royally get to go on vacation, and countless others get golden parachutes to cushion their fall from glory. WTF?
Excellent rant.
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That’s just the thing. It’s okay somehow because it’s the ‘way things are done’. It must change. It will change, and it is a sober thought to consider the fact that historically humans don’t change based on insight and ethical considerations. Humans change in response to pain.
Interesting to consider that we will eventually reach the geological limits to this farce. The debt based economy of the United States can only stay alive while growing. There is no consideration for making it work as it gets smaller. However, the resource demands will not support it forever.
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Thanks to all who have taken the time to comment. I’m pleased to find that my sentiments are striking a chord and perhaps giving your frustrations, and my own, a voice.
Spread the word! Please feel free to share this with anyone you feel would appreciate it via any medium you see fit – be it Facebook, Digg, StumbleUpon, Twitter or any other social media or news outlet of your choice.
The more people band together, united with the singular purpose of forcing our leaders to take action against those responsible for such reprehensible acts, the more likely it is that something will ACTUALLY be done to prevent it from happening again!
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By AL on October 9th, 2008 at 2:34 pm e
This should surprise no one really, but I find myself surprised by their brazen disregard for what the taxpayers think. Knowing the level of corruption in the House and Senate this only fits the accepted pattern of abuse of power and public funds, but it’s almost as if they were celebrating getting a 87 billion dollar handout from the government.
Any future bailouts should automatically include a change of leadership. All executives and CEOs should be fired and investigated. Any suspicious “bonuses” should be paid back in full.
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I COMPLETELY agree with you, Al. AIG execs are now claiming that the retreat, as well as the next upcoming outing at the Ritz-Carlton (http://cli.gs/5ere99) were both planned well in advance of the bailout. WHO CARES?
It’s called CANCEL it or let your wealthy executives pay for their own facials, manicures and meals. Gee…wish I could afford a facial and a manicure right now. Or even pay less than $60 to fill my gas tank, for that matter. Corporate expense accounts and company cars must come in really handy in times like these.
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AL Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
So what if they did plan the get away before the bailout? The company was still going bankrupt. Is there truly no government agency that works to prevent such corruption? Are corporate executives and CEOs really free to do whatever they want as long as they hide it from the investors? As for the gas, that is yet another thing we have to thank good old Reganomics for. If we had been working on alternative energy 20 years ago or 30 years ago, we would not be reliant on a dwindling source of fossil fuel. But that is the government for you,do whats good for your political career and ignore any future reprocussions.
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
I couldn’t agree more. And I believe the majority of Americans would agree. Those who don’t are either A) guilty of such transgressions themselves, or B) would be guilty of such if they had the opportunity to do so. To defend such actions is as “acceptable” or “standard operating procedure” is morally repugnant.
Eric Werner Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
My sentiments – how amazed are we to find that AIG is able to find a few talking heads to put a spin on this story.
And do we love the way they are completely unabashed to state these facts as though it were perfectly sound business practices that got them into this mess in the first place?
I part with you tho, Aly, on ‘Those who don’t agree’ – which I find to be one of the most amazing phenomenons. I don’t think that it is because they are not moral people. I think that they are very suggestible and that the tone of the argument appeals to them somehow. Who knows.
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Something else that bugs me is that people seem to think that the market is down on account of some kind of nebulous emotional factor. And that some good confidence and stimulus will turn everything around.
Those stocks are down because the value isn’t there.
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Absolutely right, Eric. This is primarily about deceptive business practices and predatory lending…not some ambiguous loss of confidence in the market by investors.
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Eric Werner Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I don’t even understand the supposed reason for the rush to bail these companies out, but I’m told by certain people who are in the know thanks to Fox News that the economy gets all sad when companies fail and the only thing that will make the economy happy again is for the Federal Reserve to create some money out of thin air and give it to some company who’s value has been grossly overinflated by magic crayon record keeping.
No problem except for that devalues the money that I currently have in the bank after years of living below my means.
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
I like it…”magic crayon record keeping”. 
You’re right. It’s move this number to this column and this number to this one, knowing that no one takes the time to really dive into the numbers and figure out it’s all been manipulated. And without proper oversight and accountability, no one ever does…
I think if the Government is going to bail these companies out, then the Government should set the executives pay, decide who stays and who goes, and have access to all information as to why it is necessary to bail them out in the first place. When the Government has to help them out, that means they no longer have any right to their perks or bonuses. And we need more oversight on corporations, they should not be allowed to police themselves.
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I think the current economic circumstance is proof enough that they’re clearly not capable of policing themselves or making sound financial decisions.
Some people want to write this off now as a “but they had this planned months ago…”. And? If they don’t have the business sense to have been able to forecast this disaster months ago and realize the massive implications, they have no business having executive positions to begin with.
I’ve been a party to corporate budget & revenue forecasting and mid-year re-forecasting on many occasions. It’s not hard to dive into the numbers and anticipate with a fair amount of accuracy what’s going to happen in the coming months. They knew. They just didn’t (and clearly still don’t) care.
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Lots of things to agree with here. Especially the part about Fuld treatment being standard issue for these folks.
However I do have to disagree with you on one part. The small government remark is remarkably inaccurate. Those of us who want smaller government did not want this bailout. If the federal government would have stayed out of this and let these guys take their lumps I really doubt there would have been $440,000 retreat.
This bailout is another bad idea from Washington and I personally think that the only reason it’s happening is because the corporate lobbyists that have been padding the pockets of congress for years finally called in their favors. That’s my $.02 worth, anyway.
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SEOAly Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
I was wholeheartedly against the bailout, too…obviously. However, I think greater oversight and accountability would have helped to prevent an economic disaster of such enormous proportions, or at the very least helped to mitigate the damage.
Lack of oversight is what allowed it to get to the “Well, now we have no choice but to do something…” point. I don’t believe my remark is so much inaccurate as a simple difference of opinion.
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Jeremy Weiss Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
> I don’t believe my remark is so much
> inaccurate as a simple difference of opinion.
Agreed.
Sorry, I keep forgetting not every knows that I’m always right… yet. 
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By David W. on October 9th, 2008 at 5:19 pm e
What the F***? Typical CONSERVATIVE CORPORATE CORRUPTION! I hope AIG falls down so far that they end up homeless, hungry, and DESTITUTE! There are so MANY GOOD Americans who ARE these things BECAUSE of corporate SLUGS like AIG. Burn in hell? That would be TOO good for these scum!
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Wow. What a bunch of uninformed hype.
This “executive retreat” was an incentive given to be one of their top insurance sellers and didn’t go to the big-wigs. These are the people who are responsible for that $38B loan not being $50B or $100B. They are bringing much-needed cash to AIG without asking the government for it.
Anybody who has ever been around salespeople know that they are hypercompetitive — they LIVE on boondoggles like this. Sure, it cost the company $400K. But, that probably paid for itself ten times over from all the additional sales those people got.
Sure, these sort of things are tax deductions, but the company still has to pay 2/3ds of the cost. And, if the Company doesn’t make a profit in a year (like, say AIG), then there’s nothing to deduct FROM.
Would you at least admit that AIG probably knows more about its business than you do, and that maybe, just maybe, this was a decision that actually improve AIG’s business?
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AL Reply:October 9th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Ok, so simply paying them more money wouldn’t have been enough, they had to squander $440000 on something like this? And the fact that AIG needed to be bailed out would kind of suggest that maybe they don’t know how to run their company. And I still think they should do some house cleaning in the top level of management.
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SEOAly Reply:October 10th, 2008 at 11:06 am
First of all, this junket may have been primarily attended by the company’s top representatives, but the decision to provide them with such perquisites was made by company executives. The decision itself flies in the face of common sense and reason considering that the company is on the brink of total collapse. Regardless of when or why the excursion was planned, it is a testament to the lack of common sense, reason and fiscal responsibility required by the leadership of any company.
AIG clearly DOESN’T know enough about how to run the company or they never would have been in this position to begin with. The idea that spending $440,000 on a vacation when the company is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy is ludicrous. It is unacceptable behavior and acceptance of it as legitimate is indicative of the ignorant attitude that allowed this crisis to occur in the first place.
It is the questionable, unethical business practices and manipulation of the companies financial statements by company executives that led AIG to this point and required the federal government to intervene to the tune of more than $100 BILLION dollars. And now you expect the nation to “trust their judgment” to pull them out of this massive tailspin? Defending their actions is as reprehensible as the actions themselves.
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AL Reply:October 10th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
You also have wonder if they really are middle class salespeople if they really would have wanted to go on this retreat or if they would have rather had a modest bonus instead. I know that’s what I would have preferred if I were in their place.
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SEOAly Reply:October 10th, 2008 at 1:31 pm
In this economic climate, I’d venture that say there is a certain amount of accuracy in that statement. Especially considering it is also their tax dollars that are being invested to pull AIG and others from the brink of total collapse.
daryl Reply:October 17th, 2008 at 12:04 am
“Wow. What a bunch of uninformed hype.” That comment alone gives one the indication that you yourself are an AIG shill.
“Would you at least admit that AIG probably knows more about its business than you do, and that maybe, just maybe, this was a decision that actually improve AIG’s business?” – Wow…are you serious?
I would absolutely not admit that unless I was an AIG shill/executive myself. Let this drama play out and watch them scurry back to their estates with MY money/America’s money.
“Anybody who has ever been around salespeople know that they are hypercompetitive — they LIVE on boondoggles like this. Sure, it cost the company $400K. But, that probably paid for itself ten times over from all the additional sales those people got.”
That’s supposed to be an excuse for a breakdown of ethics of epic proportions.
Your defense of these people and companies like them makes one question the integrity of your character as a human being. You exemplify the all-important, self-serving and impaired people who have run wall street into the ditch and your ego’s appetite is a black hole that will never be satisfied….harsh words for one with a conscience or nothing but platitudes from the servants?….I know your choice Master Chris…shall I bring the car around sir?
No, they clearly have no shame…and they’re also aware that we’re at their mercy and they can pretty much do whatever they please, as they’ve grown so enormous that the company cannot be permitted to fail without bringing the global economy to a screeching halt. Hooray for deregulation, eh?? Idiocy…complete and utter idiocy…
Apparently it is much worse than anyone knew, with new evidence that the company gave away over $1billion in bonuses last year alone. Have these people no shame?