Jake DeSantis: A Defense of AIG Bonuses

As a VP of AIG I think that you should be better at maths. You are not working for $1.

Your taxpayer bonus would be better spent helping homless people or the unemployed in Detroit.

If you are looking for a new job I heard about an administrator job in Cincinatti for $20,000 without a bonus but you will have to stand in line to submit your application.

John of CA 12:13PM March 25, 2009

Awesome response. You summed up my feelings on the subject nicely.

I'd just like to add..

"None of us should be cheated of our payments any more than a plumber should be cheated after he has fixed the pipes but a careless electrician causes a fire that burns down the house."

If the plumber or electrician destroyed the house he was working on, you better believe he wouldn't be getting paid a single cent.

See ya, Jake DeSantis. Don't let the door hit you on your way out.. or do let it hit you, I really couldn't care either way as long as you're gone.

Mikee of UT 12:05PM March 25, 2009

Rob, you obviously have no clue! Nor can you read very well...I think the gentleman stated that he had turned down a several job offers out of duty to AIG. Rob, at least you have managed your compensation expectations!

Lance of TX 11:58AM March 25, 2009

Dear Mr. DeSantis,

As a taxpayer, and a defacto part owner of your failed employer, I would like to take this opportunity to gladly accept your resignation.

You, and those like you, apparently are oblivious to the fact that your employer is crumbling, and is presently only propped up by the U.S. Government. Had the Government permitted AIG to become insolvent, you would have certainly been facing a substantial likelihood of having the bonus contract nullified by a bankruptcy judge. And, you likely would have been looking elsewhere for employment anyway while the failing company reorganized.

In other words, you only had the opportunity to continue in your present position because of the American taxpayers--the same ones that you so roundly criticize in your resignation letter.

While you claim to have some sympathy for those in need, you clearly don't understand them. If you did, you would grasp why your receipt of a nearly $750,000 "bonus" from what has essentially become a ward of the federal government is so offensive to taxpayers in a country where the median family income is approximately $48,000. If "guilt" is an insufficient motivator to return the grossly unwarranted bonus, perhaps you should give shame a try.

Like you, I was raised by a schoolteacher and a blue collar worker. Like you, I worked hard and got through schools on scholarships. Like you, I have put in more than my share of 10/12/14 hour (and more) work days. Unlike you, I would never dream of taking an almost $750,000 bonus from taxpayer dollars, when that money could be used to help the unemployed, the homeless, or the hungry. Finally, unlike you, I would never be so pretentious to claim to be betrayed or victimized by the legitimate public outrage over this situation.

Please clean out your desk. Security will take your key, and will show you to the door.

Sincerely,

The Management.

Rob of IA 11:43AM March 25, 2009