AIG Bonuses: Another Diversion

The $168 million of taxpayer money that is being used on bonuses for the AIG execs may be worth some outrage but, in contrast to all the other billions and trillions of possibly wasted taxpayer money, it is just a "gnat" in the grand scheme of things.

Right now, there is widespread outrage, from both the right and the left, over the AIG bonus thing. Where was that same outrage when billions of wasted dollars were uncovered in the first TARP bailout? Where was the outrage over nearly $10 Billion (not millions of dollars) that were being spent for pork projects in the recent $410 billion spending bill? And, why not the same outrage over Obama's $3.7 trillion dollar budget proposal or his $800 billion not-so -stimulus, Stimulus Program? Neither of which is hardly targeted to recover this economy!

With AIG, we are literally crying over a couple of grains of rice that have fallen off a wheelbarrow full of rice that is destined to be dumped over a cliff. We have completely lost our focus. For the Obama Administration, the AIG bonuses debacle is just what they wanted. It focuses America's anger on AIG and takes the heat off of them for all of their own wasteful spending. Believe me, this is a political diversion that is both intentional and welcomed.

This whole thing with the AIG bonuses reminds me of an "Everybody Loves Raymond" episode where Raymond's brother, Robert, has fallen on some hard times and is only eating bologna at every meal in order to get by. Raymond and his wife, Debra, decide to give him $1000 as a loan. However, because Robert doesn't want to be indebted, he refuses the money. Then, Ray and Debra, still feeling sorry for Robert, just decide to give him the "thousand", outright, as a gift. As the story proceeds, Robert decides to use the money for a vacation in Las Vegas instead of using that money to improve his lifestyle. As a result, Raymond and Debra get angry and want the "gift" back. However, Robert says "no" to returning the money and reminds them that it was given as a "gift" and not as a loan and without any strings attached. The story ends with Robert still going to Vegas but now, with Raymond as a travel partner. Sound familiar?

The problem with all these monies that are being spent by our Federal Government, specifically by Obama and by our Democratic Congress, is that we are sending money, out the door, with absolutely no strings attached and with little thought behind it. Therefore, you wind up with all the corporate Roberts of our world going to Las Vegas on the taxpayer's dime. Then, after the fact, we start asking for the money back or we start trying to attach the strings on how that money will be spent. This is just ridiculous and, surprisingly, it takes the plot of a decade-old situation comedy to remind us of that fact.

Right now, the Obama Administration is just starting to write the rules on how the stimulus program monies will be spent and we and the recipient states are just now starting to find out about rules. However, some of that stimulus money has actually gone out the door without those rules in place. There's an age-old adage that says "haste makes waste." Believe me, the AIG bonus waste will look like child's play as compared to all the other waste that we will ultimately see when the stimulus money has all been spent and after Obama's trillion dollar budget money goes flying out the door. Waste is just commonplace in Government programs. For many years, the Medicaid/Medicare program waste has been running at a rate of about 14% per year and no effective means of abating it have ever been instituted. What makes us think that the Stimulus Program or Obama's fat budget will be any different?

This article from the Washington Post "Anger Over Firm Depletes Obama's Political Capital" seems to say it all about the outrage. But, in addition, it seems to show that a lot of that anger may now be aimed at Obama and the Democrats.