Opinion Forum

Feeling the Pain

March 25th, 2009

I feel wiped out. And it’s not from the flu. It’s from the financial news. Several people I know lost their families’ life savings that were invested with Wall Street wizard Bernie Madoff. My bank, which has been on a buying spree of failing financial firms, was insured by AIG. Not long ago, the president […]

Articles written by Jan Barry
Tags: AIG, economy, Social Security
Categories: Economics, Politics | Comments (14) | Home

More on AIG

March 24th, 2009

The Rank Hypocrisy Continues Unabated Wow. I watched the 60 Minutes interview with President Obama regarding the AIG bonuses that came as such a surprise to the Administration and to Congress. The prevarication and obfuscation continues. The President lays this entire mess at the feet of Wall Street, completely ignoring the laws and regulations that the financial industry has […]

Articles written by Brian Bagent
Tags: AIG, economy, Obama
Categories: Economics, Politics | Comments (4) | Home

Contracts and Bonuses

March 19th, 2009

Contracts are the glue that holds our economy together and, in a broader sense, our society. If we ever get to the point where we can’t rely on the validity, predictability, and legality of contracts, everything else will deteriorate. Think about it–contracts aren’t just legal agreements among businesses, labor arrangements between businesses and unions, and compensation agreements between […]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: AIG, Congress, economy, Law, Obama
Categories: Economics, Politics | Comments (4) | Home

Blowing Smoke on Bonuses

March 17th, 2009

There’s an interesting article in The New York Times on the AIG bonuses that have generated so much righteous indignation. President Obama is outraged, Senator Chris Dodd is threatening to tax the people receiving those bonuses at a 90 percent rate, Representative Barney Frank is mumbling something unintelligible, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo wants to subpoena AIG’s records, […]

Articles written by Tom Carter
Tags: AIG, economy, Obama
Categories: Economics, Politics | Comments (16) | Home