The news recently has been dominated by the economic problems plaguing some of the nation's largest corporations. The government, in an attempt to safeguard the economy, has provided huge sums of money to one such corporation called AIG, a leading financial institution.
In the days following the announcement, the public's outcry was heard and acted on by the government. The outcry seemed to begin with the New York State Attorney General Andrew Coumo, who filed suit against 73 executives who received bonuses of $1 million or more. There followed several contradictory stories about the return of the bonus money and who instigated it. Some sources indicated that it was voluntary by the executives themselves, while other articles gave the impression that the money was retrieved by AIG after the CEO was put on the hot seat by the public and government officials.
As more details were slowly were revealed, the ire of the lawmakers who supported the bailout increased. It was feared that the ramifications and outcome of AIG failure could start a domino effect that could ultimately destabilize the economy of not only the United States, but of the entire free world. The lawmakers that had supported the bailout felt betrayed when it was learned that as much as $50 million of the bailout, close to a third of the government's largess, was paid to executives who led the company into this turbulent downturn. As of the second half of the week it was reported that these government supplied "bonuses" were being returned to the company. Now it is a matter for the government to reassess the real financial needs to keep the company afloat.
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