First, for balance:
Now that the American public seems to have channeled all its rage about the financial collapse into AIG (hey, at least it's a more worthy victim than Jim Cramer)
Oh? The link provided to another Slate feature implies otherwise:
This morning, everyone is talking about Jon Stewart's smackdown of CNBC talking head Jim Cramer. Stewart has been appropriately critical of Cramer and CNBC of late for peddling bum advice to the little guy while lobbing softballs at visiting CEOs.
Corporations are in place to make money for their stockholders, not for the public interest, though the government that incorporates them can (and should) ensure that they do some of both. But, the press is there (in theory) for our benefit, not to "lob softballs" at the people they cover. That is, be enablers to much of the trouble that arose from government and business in the last decade.
Anyway, the Today's Papers coverage of this issue suggests the papers basically were on the side of AIG as to the contracts. If so, one might want to go to various blogs, including Glenn Greenwald, Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, et. al. that provide the other side -- that the contracts are not so sacred, that is, if we actually want to try to go another way. But, that might be the problem, like giving all this money out without proper strings and oversight in the first place.
ANDREW ROSS SORKIN's piece is far from convincing either. Apparently, much like the Bush Administration crowd, AIG f-ed up, but only the people who f-ed up can save it. A sort of blackmail sets in, where we have to pay people whose actions required a gigantic influx of public funds, including bonuses covering the time where they did things to cause said necessity. Late in the article, this reminder pops up "If A.I.G. had spiraled into bankruptcy, its employees would have had to get in line with other unsecured creditors."
When a poor schlb f-es up, s/he tends not to get a bonus, especially when they have to be bailed out by the government. AIG is special, apparently. The PTB play by different rules. Well, nothing new there.
-j
