Outraged Americans Want AIG Bonus Money Recovered

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Three in four Americans (76%) want the government to take actions to block or recover the bonuses insurance giant AIG paid its executives after receiving federal bailout funds.



The results are based on a one-night Gallup Poll conducted March 17, 2009, after reports that AIG, the recipient of about $170 billion in federal aid, recently paid its executives $165 million in bonuses. AIG contends it had to pay the money because of existing contracts that were in place before the company received bailout funds. On Capitol Hill Wednesday, members of the House Financial Services committee said they were determined to get the money back, demanding from Chairman and CEO Edward Liddy the names of the bonus recipients.

Answering questions from lawmakers, Liddy acknowledged that doling out the bonus money was "distasteful." Reports about the AIG bonuses have dominated the news cycle this week, with lawmakers and journalists chiming in about taxpayer "outrage." In the Tuesday night Gallup Poll, 59% of Americans said they were personally "outraged" by the bonuses. One in four (26%) said they were "bothered" and just 1 in 10 (11%) said they were not that bothered.



All in all, when the responses to the two questions are combined, the results show that a majority of 55% of Americans are outraged and want the bonuses blocked or recovered, while another 21% are not outraged but still want the bonuses blocked.

Views Cut Clear Across Party Lines

Americans' frustration with AIG and their desire for government action are apparent across party lines. Majorities of Democrats, independents, and Republicans say they are outraged and, separately, say they want the government to take action. These views are most prevalent among Democrats, but the differences across partisan groups are much smaller than is the case on many policy and social issues.



Implications

The fact that a majority of Americans, including Republicans and Democrats, are "outraged" about the AIG bonuses and want the government to take action to get the money back provides a strong mandate for lawmakers trying to resolve the issue. While Congress weighs the legal options available, including a bill that would impose a 70% tax on "excessive" compensation paid to employees of bailed-out companies, they can do so knowing the American people are eager for them to do something. While the episode no doubt puts a stain on Bush and Obama administration efforts to stabilize the economy by propping up struggling companies, the Gallup Poll shows that in this situation, Americans would likely welcome bipartisan action to help remedy the frustration many of them currently feel.

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will actually put unemployed and underemployed workers in the U.S. back to work.

I don't give a tinkers damn whether the fortunes of wealthy families protected by laws passed for the corporate good are preserved or not -- as long as the general Welfare of unemployed and underemployed We the People are provided for as required by OUR Constitution:

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

I think this goes beyond this and don't worry about President Obama and his ratings because "he has this". Anyone who saw how well received he was by taking blame for this would know what exactly I'm talking about.