The Ethical Optimist

Like many American taxpayers I’m absolutely outraged by AIG’s blatant disregard for public opinion and ethical behavior.  When talk of bailouts first started, my biggest concern was accountability.  Like many ethical mishaps, speed was a factor.  When we rush to get things done, without necessary contemplation, mistakes happen.

Okay, I can understand a few mistakes with round one…but after the backlash following the corporate jet purchase and other TARP mishaps, you’d think someone should have been paying a bit more attention.

I’ve seen a few people jump to the defense of Ed Liddy…the fact that he wasn’t at the helm when these contracts were written, that he was chosen by the government and that he came out of retirement for a salary of $1.  Well, I guess we’re getting what we paid for, eh?  Sorry, he may not have been responsible for the contracts, but he was steering the ship when the payouts were made.  He needs to be taken behind the woodshed for a heart-to-heart chat.

One question I have in the midst of all this, however, is where are the PR people for AIG?  Did they have a voice?  The fact that this company has made one major FUBAR move after the other leads me to believe that senior management has viewed the discpiline as tactical rather than strategic, and that these folks were marginalized … to say the least.

Someone needs to hire a PR pitbull that can do some enivronmental scanning and have a desk real close to Mr. Ed to avoid more of these rookie moves.

Another thing that gets my goat (now I’m starting to sound like Andy Rooney) is this whole bonus entitlement issue.  I always viewed a bonus as “something extra” (so does my dictionary by the way)…in return for exceptional performance.  It’s a privilege, not a right.  The folks on Wall Street have a different definition and should start calling it something closer to the truth, like deferred compensation.  That’s really all it is at this point, semantics.

That’s why people are so mad.  To most folks, the term bonus means you did something worthy of an extra check.  These guys literally tanked these companies, shaved my elderly parent’s retirement accounts in half, and are being rewarded.  In the case of AIG, these were “retention payments” for guys who aren’t even there anymore.  And why would you want to retain the people that sent your books into the crapper in the first place?  Beats the heck out of me.

Unfortunately, we are a nation of entitlement…which is why we’re in this fine mess to begin with.  I have a 17 year old who’s living, breathing proof of it.  We’ve given the baby too much candy for far too long, and it is going to be much harder, and take much longer, to break Americans of their bad habits and see the light.