Would you complain if AIG’s bonuses were called something else???

When employees are hired, they expect to receive a certain salary.

Bonuses, if they are contractually written into the terms of employment, are almost like a sort of salary. They have to get paid.

On the other hand, if AIG is issuing bonuses outside of these contractual arrangements, then I believe there should be some greater scrutiny of this. Ultimately though, they might still need to be paid.

The question is: How important are the people receiving these bonuses to the restoration of the health of the company?

Frankly, the company will lose even more taxpayer money if all the best staff leave. And if the government intervenes, it won’t stop at just AIG. The best staff (AKA the most mobile) will start leaving any firm that has received government money for fear that their compensation will be affected.

(Almost) Nobody good is going to stay at AIG out of goodwill. That’s a fact of life.