Jail Time.
A life time of it.

as KO has put it repeatedly, at some point, the bailout gets to be about “why daddy went to jail.”

You’re the one smokin’ today, Jane!
and mary, JAIL TIME INDEED, and GET THE DAMNED MONEY BACK!!!
i’m waiting for asset seizures.
and I’m not particularly KNOWN for my patience either.

Maybe Cassano and Madoff could be cellmates at the big house.

That Obama and Congress cannot get a handle on this is going to escalate the crisis in confidence.
They are the executive and legislative branch of our government. How about they legislate some real ROOLZ that work and then execute them? I wouldn’t trust any voluntary concessions. I want it all written out and enforceable.

NYT – the Prez has instructed Geithner to “pursue every single legal avenue” to block bonuses to AIG executives.

These people are seriously delusional. With a straight face they’re able to say that they’ll lose all the “talent” if they don’t pay bonuses. Granted, I’ve not been to the B-School, but my common sense tells me you don’t need to possess a lot of talent to lose $62 Billion in three months.

It is a manifestation of just how stupid and apathetic they think we are. They have no idea of the latent rage that is brewing.

Thanks for this post. I have not really understood why Cassano and Martin Sullivan who ran AIG from 2005-2008 have escaped serious scrutiny let alone criminal investigation. From the little I’ve heard about Cassano he is pretty unapologetic for what he did.

Here is something by William Black from Naked Capitalism I posted a few threads down about how in other ways the government has mishandled its intervention in AIG:

This is the consequence of six things on the Treasury end of things:

(1) the failure to use Chapter 11 bankruptcy/pass-through receivership to deal with deeply insolvent financial institutions

(2) the failure to expose, and to the extent possible, remedy through restatements the massive accounting fraud that AIG was/is engaged in that triggers the bonuses

(3) the failure to bring criminal charges against the control frauds

(4) the failure of Treasury as negotiators — they had all the leverage when they bailed out AIG and could have conditioned the aid on at least the VP tier and above giving up their bonuses

(5) the weakness of Treasury’s current lawyers who, if press reports are accurate, couldn’t think of any way for the U.S. government to take effective action against what it reportedly views as a scandal,

(6) (and I haven’t seen this discussed) why was Treasury blind-sided by this? It confirms that they did not conduct even the most obvious due diligence on AIG’s assets and contingent liabilities

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/

still googling for video, but apparently per a Kos diarist

everyone’s favorite teabagger; Santelli has been on the air …arguing that the bonuses are okay, and talking about contract law, blah blah blah

dear gaia, this is one tin eared appartchik

BTW NPR is announcing that Obama has instructed Geithner to use all means at his disposal to see that the bonus aren’t paid.

Like a sternly worded letter?
I don’t have much faith in Obama and Geithner to do much more than flail their arms to and fro about this.

Now I know what it feels like to be a wingnut because all I keep thinking is waterboarding’s not torture, extraordinary rendition is legal, Gitmo works, etc…

My egalitarian humanism is getting run over by my bitter vindictive righteousness.

President’s remarks on AIG bonuses

As for Cassano’s money, this raises the larger point of why those CEOs and executives who made billions in bad and fraudulent schemes are not being pursued to force them to cough up some of their ill-gotten gains.

“use all means at his disposal”

which is not the same thing as telling him to block it period.

well, this is the same obama who was up on capitol hill while still campaigning to beat the drums for the oversightless bailout.

A sternly worded speech!

AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen Hamsher and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

Sister Hamsher, as a long time FDLer I am here to say that the world has changed and the role of democratic political activism jest got advanced to another level. Instead of simply informing and organizing political organizing, the role of blogs and progressive democrats (lower case) has changed. We now must pressure those we elected to do whatever is necessary to destroy the fascist power structure which has used the institutions of American democracy and law to internationalize itself and threaten everyone on the planet.

We are already organized, now we must use our new found power to pressure the Obama administration and Congress, especially the House of Representatives, to go after the thieves and murderers who have bankrupted our country and threaten to enslave our children and grandchildren.

Obama is not stupid, he can’t rule with a coalition of fascist Blue Dogs and Repubicrats…democracy’s base of power right now is in the House of Representatives if we can save Nancy Pelosi and the progressive majority of Democrats we can force Obama to do what is necessary to save the country and put some real “rule of law” on the fascist criminals who now hold the entire country hostage.

KEEP THE FAITH AND PASS THE AMMUNITOON…NO MORE FUCKIN MR. NICE GUY!!!

Put AIG into retroactive bankruptcy, backdated to our first bailout of them last year. Void all the bonus and consulting contracts. Void the counterparty arrangements. Recover the 100% paid-out claims. Let the fuckers sue. How could they possibly ever find a sympathetic jury in America?

Thanks Jane.

digg is open

Also Christy was talking about some indicators that might show that we were nearing a bottom. I would disagree. Here is something I found at Calculated Risk:

The Federal Reserve reported that industrial production fell 1.4% in February, and output in February was 11.2% below February 2008. The capacity utilization rate for total industry fell to 70.9%, matching the historical low set in December 1982.

Please DIGG This post and share the link for the sign up with all on your email lists. We have to overwhelm the committee with the signatures of pissed off tax payers!

We need a financial institution ruination tax

I LOVE ME SOME un plainJane…
as we say here in the country “shes a ROOSTER”

In August of 2007 the NYT quoted Cassano on credit default swaps as follows:

“It is hard for us, without being flippant, to even see a scenario within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing one dollar in any of those transactions.”

http://www.badidea.co.uk/2008/…..stigation/

i just read both articles and color me underwhelmed.

we’ve been living through and are still living in an extremely dangerous time for democracy in our country.

democracy on the edge.

That is what ive been saying since Sat….whats good for GM and its workers is good for the INSURANCE MAFIA too

Citizen Teddy Partridge:

Great idea but we can’t count on the federal court system to back Obama in anything unless he declares a state of national emergency…the legal system and the courts are completely corrupted and Obama has no cards to play in the game if he plays by the old rules.

In August of 2007 the NYT quoted Cassano on credit default swaps as follows:

“It is hard for us, without being flippant, to even see a scenario within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing one dollar in any of those transactions.”
====================
willingly OBTUSE is my expression for all these HIGHWAYMEN

BTW this is Yves Smith’s (Naked Capitalism) take on Bernanke’s appearance on 60 Minutes:

Too much corn pone personal story, not enough real interview. But I must say, Bernanke is either an astoundingly self contained man or is on the best meds modern science has to offer.

too much work – let’s just raise taxes on “contractually obligated” executive bonuses to a rate of say 99%

MAYBE…the high living execs SHOULD SEE ON TAPE FAMILIES (KIDS TOO,DOGS TOO) THROWN IN THE STREETS

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..75150.html

I also found this quote by Bernanke from his 60 Minutes interview:

we’ll see the recession coming to an end probably this year. We’ll see recovery beginning next year. And it will pick up steam over time.

This is a guy who could not find his ass with both hands.

Citizen greenwarrior:

Democracy is dying and the only thing that will save it is some real populist democracy from the street and from the floor of Congress. Obama has only this moment to choose who he is gunna go to war with…he either goes to war with the fascist bankers and corporate terrorists or he falls in line with ‘em and uses the sham of his office to fight the people who elected him.

How does our “rule of law” look now that the country is bankrupt and starvin’??

the wait is excruciating

meanwhile, back in la-la land for those of you in need of an O/T chuckle:

RNC’s Steele redecorating office

can someone tell me if all those unemployed Onion writers ever found work ?

Do you really think they give a shit about those people with extra bathrooms.

Also at Calculated Risk here are two graphs which show signs that indicate what a recovery would look like and what things look like now.

http://www.calculatedriskblog……-like.html

The take home message: Not good.

Norske has it right again. The culture that produced the debacle is deep
and widespread in the basic institutions of the country. Small d democrats
must keep the public dialog on these issues alive to counter the pushback,
Cheney on CNN giving us the benefit of his views is just a taste of the
revolt of the elites Chris Lasch chronicled years ago. Holder might have
to file on some of his harvard neoliberal pals… not holding my breath.

i betcha these guys ,go to their EXCLUSIVE country clubs,and just LAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH about how easy it was to rob and pillage America in broad daylight,and nobody did one thing about it

agreed 100%. except i think obama’s already made his choice and it doesn’t look pretty to me.

our “rule of law” has long been problematic.

This AIG compensation is a clusterbomb that is exploding before our very eyes, and it is going to take down a lot of people. I can’t imagine a single thing that is going to make people madder. Sure, the talk radio riled people up about shiftless blacks getting their hard-earned tax dollars in food stamps and such, but now ordinary people are on food stamps, and the idea that their hard-earned dollars are going to the likes of Cassano is going to make them angry beyond any anger we’ve seen yet. The Rethugs will not be defending these guys this time out. They are as toxic as the contracts they wrote.

This is going to take down some very big players.

This is a guy who could not find his ass with both hands.

As compared to his predecessor?

Just saying.

From AIG web site:

Since our founding nearly a century ago, the AIG Companies (Collectively “AIG”) have focused on being a leader in corporate social responsibility. As a global financial services organization, we have committed our resources to developing products and services that address the needs of our clients as well as promote a corporate culture that values integrity, diversity, innovation and excellence.

AIG recognizes that its investments in support of our customers, employees and the communities in which we operate are critical to our success. AIG’s ongoing efforts to be an outstanding corporate citizen and promote responsible and sustainable business practices are essential to our long-term business objective of creating value for our shareholders and serving the interests of our clients.

http://ir.aigcorporate.com/pho…..bilityhome

Nice, huh? Could they lay it on any thicker?

I want to see pictures of the bonus earners all over the web. I want to attach faces to the outrageous salaries WE are paying while millions suffer across the country – suffering that is due in part to the recklessness of this company. In my state, California, thousands of teachers are getting pink slips. It’s not right.

Congress and the President had damned well better act to stop this outrage NOW.

no,they are stockpiling CASH,THE WEALTH of the once mighty american worker bee

There’s a perfect storm brewing right now. A public storm, from all sides, is forming around the corrupt BigMoney system in general.

It’s very exciting for me to see how fast it’s happening. We have Repubs calling for nationalization of banks and other big businesses. People from all stripes are calling for MORE government interventions (after just enacting the largest government intervention ever, and that’s adjusted to inflation!), single-payer seems to be more “on the table” than ever, and drug legalization is gaining steam all over the country. CNBC and other BigMedia are losing their control of the dominant narratives (thank you Jon Stewart!) I mean, I’m not sure I’d ever see that in my lifetime, let alone a month into the first term of America’s first melanin-enhanced President with the terrorist-sounding name.

So let’s see now…where have been been witnessing the tactic, to great results, of “give ‘em enough rope to hang themselves,” and where have we been hearing, “change comes from the bottom up” and “now make me do it.” ???

Oh yea, Obama has consistently done these tactics and said these things ever since he’s been on the national stage.

Just saw of clip of leading organic food organizer Michael Pollan on with Bill Moyers. Pollan said he’d make a terrible Sec of Agriculture because 98% of the government agency is filled with BigAg reps. He would just butt heads immediately and not get anything accomplished.

In light of the incredibly flawed system that Obama finds himself, to enact truly fundamental change to the system would it make more sense to come in simply start shooting from the hip, or would sustainable and dramatic change happen from public outcry?

The pendulum has been stopped and is now swinging in the direction of peace and prosperity. The public is getting organized and educated at increasing levels. The storm is brewing. Thanks to Barack for helping making this happen. I’m beginning to think we’ll see single-payer health care after all, and really soon. Not because one person is gonna make it a reality, but because the public will demand it. It’s building right before our eyes, and it’s not happening by accident.

Hello. That this rat-bastard is still taking home millions of our money is inexcusable. I signed your petition, and can’t wait to hear about the response you get from Congress on Wednesday!

Greenspan and Bernanke are in a neck and neck race for worst Chairman of the Fed in our history.

I was wondering what Elliot Spitzer thinks about all this and came across a Forbes article from last week:

Five insurance executives–one from AIG and four from General Re Corp.–were charged in a Hartford federal court with various crimes relating to a supposed scheme to boost AIG’s share price between 2000 and 2001.

From a link in that story to an earlier Forbes article:

On Monday the former chief executive of American International Group sued the struggling insurer for securities fraud, alleging it had mislead him by providing a healthy financial picture. Based on that information, Greenberg claims, he exercised options that allowed him to buy 3.7 million shares early in 2008.

That’s only part of his stake; Greenberg is the largest shareholder in AIG, if you don’t count the U.S. government’s pending 79.9% stake, with about 10.0%, or more than 200.0 million shares….

One interesting issue will be if Greenberg qualifies as a purchaser. He received the shares via Star International, a company that was set up by AIG to reward senior management.

Star International?

The 60 Minutes segment was pure PR bullshit.

The Liddy Letter appears to be extortion. Pay us or we bankrupt your little country” kind of extortion. Or, “we will keep the lousy bastards that got you into this mess, pay them more, and laugh at you for caring, you ignorant little puppy”
where are the US Marshall’s to arrest these people and close the operation? This is RICO, and a variety of other crime statues, not to mention the more obvious threats. Is there no law?

statues, well sort of. statues are old and do nothing much like AIG. Statutes. sorry

Here’s a thought experiment: IF we were bailing out Enron (back in teh day) how would it look any different from AIG today???? We’d bet the criminality is the same or higher, now wouldn’t we. AND it’s being covered up by the bailouts!

Obama had better stfu about fixing this bonus crap in teh future: we’ve been hearing that since the first TARP when they voted in a lovely loophole and then let Paulson use it.

It’s hush money. Hush, bad boys, shhhhhhhh … don’t tell on the fat cats.

Who went to England to get regulations even laxer than they could get in NYC???? And now England is worse off than we are. Interestin’ huh.

I heard a rumour on CNN (Christine R.) that Cuomo has asked for a list of the AIG bonus recipients by the ”close of business today.” She did say it was like BofA so she wasn’t confusing two cases! [I apologize for no links, it’s a technical wasteland here.]

A little OT…

AIG founder:

”Cornelius Vander Starr (October 15, 1892 – December 20, 1968) was an American businessman and OSS operative. He founded the American International Group insurance corporation.

Starr was born in Fort Bragg, California, where his Dutch father was a railroad engineer. He began his first business, selling ice-cream, at the age of nineteen. In 1914, he moved to San Francisco, where he sold auto insurance by day while studying for the California bar exam.

He joined the U.S. army in 1918 but was not sent overseas. Instead, he joined the Pacific Mail Steamship Company as a clerk in Yokohama, Japan. Later that year, he travelled to Shanghai where he worked for several insurance businesses. In 1919, the following year, he founded American International Group, then known as ’American Asiatic Underwriters’. When the Communist Party came to power in China, Starr moved the company headquarters to New York City. AIG was once the world’s largest insurance company, and the sixth-largest company in the United States according to the 2007 Forbes Global 2000 list.”

He’s Ken Starr’s Uncle as well.

Boy that OSS history is quite interesting.

Re: Cassano’s money; he was ‘forced out’ last March with the agreement that he would receive $1 MILLION per month through December. What?? Is he being paid hush money? or to do no more harm?

Also, I’m sure it did not escape your attention that GOLDMAN SACHS was the number one (#1) recipient of payment from AIG’s bail-out money ($12.5 BILLION).

Over and over I’m reminded of Rep. Dennis Kucinich’s question to Kashkari last week: “..I’m sure you’re working hard, but our question to you
Mr. Kashkari, is: Who are you working for?”

This morning CNN reported that AIG’s defense for continuing to pay bonuses was in large part to: “retain high performers who otherwise might jump to competitors.”

Seems to me AIG oughta let go of all those “high performers” who helped to bring it down. Seeing its competitors hire them should greatly improve AIG’s competitive advantage. ;-) or /snark

Excuse me, but wasn’t this guy hired and told to sell the CDSs? He did his job. He didn’t make the decision that AIG should do this. Why blame him?

Who was the CEO who made the decision to sell CDSs? Why has nobody mentioned him and his culpability in all this? Not that it was illegal even then, just stupid.

In August of 2007 the NYT quoted Cassano on credit default swaps as follows:

“It is hard for us, without being flippant, to even see a scenario within any kind of realm of reason that would see us losing one dollar in any of those transactions.”

willingly OBTUSE is my expression for all these HIGHWAYMEN

What’s your proof he’s wrong?

Greenspan and Bernanke are in a neck and neck race for worst Chairman of the Fed in our history.

Greenspan tossed the market in the trash can to prevent Gore from getting elected.

What has Bernanke done to deserve such ire?

Here’s a thought experiment: IF we were bailing out Enron (back in teh day) how would it look any different from AIG today???? We’d bet the criminality is the same or higher, now wouldn’t we.

So, what specifically has AIG done that’s illegal? Nail it down for us!

Seems to me AIG oughta let go of all those “high performers” who helped to bring it down.

Maybe they did? Have they got the same CEO as they did when all this CDS stuff began?

What is the federal reserve? Does anybody know the answer to this question? Well, let me explain what Thomas Jefferson was trying to warn us of! The federal reserve is not an honorable institution, but it is true that they are almost god, in the fact that they own almost everything. The federal reserve in plain language is just a bunch of smart, non scrupulos filthy rich people, families or groups that lend money to the government and get back interest on what they lend. In reality it’s a group of people thoughout our american history that decided that they wanted to be king or god of the world and found a simple way to accomplish this by forcing a system of credit on the economy that little by little would own its soul! Why pay interest on government spending, when all you have to do is get money from taxes or raising taxes if you need it and use that money to finance projects! The financial “institution” wouldn’t like that idea to much because they would loose the interest on every sinlge dollar being spent which is just astronomical! So through a lot of ingenius ways, they have wormed their way into our everyday lives to suck us dry. At this they will have succeeded when the everyday dollar will have been abolished for a system of points or credit that are controlled by banks and their computers… so, what are you going to do about this? Are you going to lay down and die or have you had enough of this “shit”, all these banking institutions that keep raking it in through one scheme or another like this crisis that we’re going through now. Who’s touching all these taxe dollars, take a look and you’ll find that it’s banks and affiliats of banks or insurers that are also banks, that keeps plowing through our ignorance of the situation and keeps raking it in. I’ve had enough of indivdual squabbles, we need to fight back and tear down this financial dictatorship that we are living, we need to listen to what Thomas Jefferson had to say, to do what is good for our children…