President Obama is Angry over AIG Bonuses

President Obama said he is exploring every possible avenue to get bonus money back from AIG.

The bonus money was promised to AIG employees a year ago. If the government let them go bankrupt, then the bonuses would not have to be paid. The government bailed out AIG and now it is upset over how AIG is spending money for contractual obligations. This is some of what President Obama just said:

• There are systemic risks to idea of withholding AIG aid money (for bonuses).
• We have a big mess we have to clean up.
• The buck stops here, we are now responsible for the mess.
• It's OK to be angry, but we need to channel it in a constructive way.

President Obama Gave Bailout Money to the State and Local Governments

Do you think President Obama is angry at government agencies letting employees have double and triple pensions rather than use Social Insecurity like the rest of us?

President Obama Gave Bailout Money to GM

Do you think President Obama is angry at GM for paying a huge price for health care and pensions for retired union workers such that GM has a cost structure that makes it uncompetitive?

President Obama Gave Bailout Money to California

Do you think President Obama is angry at the State of California for hiring workers they can't fire so the workers are not motivated to work hard? We all joke about the DMV and Post Office... where we know the workers won't get fired for poor customer service.

Why not run the government like GE and require all government agencies to fire 5% of their staff every year? One and twenty workers having to find a new job they are better suited for is not a bad thing as not everyone is a good fit to their job. This would lite a fire under the bottom 20% of performers... and go a long way to a more efficient government.

We all know the government is blowing smoke over this AIG thing to cover their own part in the debacle.

From The Real AIG Outrage

"Scott Polakoff, acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, told the Senate Banking Committee this month that, contrary to media myth, AIG's infamous Financial Products unit did not slip through the regulatory cracks. Mr. Polakoff said that the whole of AIG, including this unit, was regulated by his agency and by a "college" of global bureaucrats.

But what about that supposedly rogue AIG operation in London? Wasn't that outside the reach of federal regulators? Mr. Polakoff called it "a false statement" to say that his agency couldn't regulate the London office.

The Washington crowd wants to focus on bonuses because it aims public anger on private actors, not the political class. But our politicians and regulators should direct some of their anger back on themselves -- for kicking off AIG's demise by ousting Mr. Greenberg, for failing to supervise its bets, and then for blowing a mountain of taxpayer cash on their AIG nationalization."

Lets see the government get angry about something it can control rather than over legal contracts already in place.

We're Mad As Hell And We Want To Change Things

An old joke in California is "what is orange and sleeps six?" The answer is "A CAL Trans Work Van." It got so embarrassing they had to change the color scheme of the vans!

Why does it seem every job paid for by tax payer dollars has four people standing around, one working and one supervising? It would be far more efficient to fire the four standing around and their supervisor, give the guy (or gal) working a raise and make him (or her) the supervisor in charge of his (or her) own work.

CAL Trans is the California Department of Transportation. My dental hygienist told me she had to stop her plumber husband from stopping their car to get out and yell "get to work" at the "workers" working on El Camino Real in Santa Clara last week. Her husband owns his own business. She said the hardest part of his job is finding workers who will work while unsupervised. I suggested he do what the cable companies do, pay by the job rather than the hour. If he needs a ditch dug, then he should put it out to bid and take the lowest bidder who has referrals from others who have paid him to dig ditches. Why can't we do the same with public works projects?

Why can't we do the same, or something similar, with all public jobs? Why is it once you are hired for a desk job in Government it is nearly impossible to get fired? Who will work hard if you know your job does not depend on being better than the person in the next desk like it does in the private sector when times are tough and layoffs are made?

This blog has the goal to explore government waste at the city, county, state and national level. Contact us if you want to participate by writing articles. Lets get heard!