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Dear A.I.G., I Quit

nytimes.com

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Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#21

Post by bilbo0s »

bcostlow wrote: post #6

Sorry Jake, but I don't feel sorry for you. Well, maybe a little, if your claims about being tarred unfairly with the CDS debacle are true. But stop whining. All over the USA, people who work hard, who get great reviews from bosses, customers and peers, who were promised bonuses and profit sharing, are seeing instead slashed pay and benefits. That is, if they are lucky, and not getting RIFed. Your company is in the c…

EXACTLY!!!

Commodities and equities were leveraged as well at AIG. Leveraging that the CDS business provided capital to finance. It's all connected. I think this guy is choosing facts to put himself and his team in the best light. There are probably a lot of people over there dressing down the CDS guys for being incredibly irresponsible, and the CDS guys were, I'm not trying to deny that. That said, the other business lines were more than willing to leverage off of that irresponsibility when the bets were going the right way.

I think it is time for ALL of us to admit our complicity in the current disaster. Wall Street was incredibly irresponsible. Regulators didn't regulate. And WE the American people, bought a lot of stuff we could not afford, and didn't save nearly as much as we should. Consider this, do you work for a company that exists solely due to the presence of investment capital? If so, do you feel a burning need to leave your position and go to work for a company that actually sells real things, to real people or companies, for real money?

I am not denigrating anyone here. My only point is that the sooner everyone owns up to their part, the sooner we can do what we need to move on. We should stop trying to hang it all on Bush, or regulators, or bankers, or Republican Congressmen like Phil Gramm, or Democratic Congressmen like Chris Dodd. Or on the guy down the hall, as the guy in the article is trying to do. They all played a role, but it was a team effort.

We all contributed to this crisis. Now it is true that some contributed more than others. But for a guy who works at AIGFP to claim to be blameless, is fanciful if counter productive at best, and potentially divisive in the style of Marie Antoinette at worst. Probably somewhere in between like most of these things.

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#22

Post by quizbiz »

kqr2 wrote: post #18

I wonder what his salary was during the boom years. My guess it was probably in the millions. He may not have been directly involved in selling credit default swaps, but profit from that division probably helped pay his salary.

Let's not throw around speculation but analyze it for what it is. It's just some insight into his perspective and his current situation. He is forfeiting it all. The real problem I see is that this demonstrates that there is no way AIG can recover if the people that can bring it back together all leave.

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#23

Post by ankhmoop »

endtime wrote: post #7
ankhmoop wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find myself unable to identify with -- or muster any empathy whatsoever -- for an individual who received $742,006.40 (post-tax) and can readily afford to donate it to charity without concern for his family's well-being despite the current economic climate.

Why? Has he done anything immoral or inhumane? Or do you simply resent the successful?

His reaction to life's failings -- not his position of success -- demonstrates a remarkably ill-developed sense of decorum and tact in light of his financial position, the failure of AIG, and subsequent taxpayer bail-out.

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#24

Post by smallpaul »

bcostlow wrote: post #6

Sorry Jake, but I don't feel sorry for you. Well, maybe a little, if your claims about being tarred unfairly with the CDS debacle are true. But stop whining. All over the USA, people who work hard, who get great reviews from bosses, customers and peers, who were promised bonuses and profit sharing, are seeing instead slashed pay and benefits. That is, if they are lucky, and not getting RIFed. Your company is in the c…

> But stop whining. All over the USA, people who work hard, who get great reviews from bosses, customers and peers, who were promised bonuses and profit sharing, are seeing instead slashed pay and benefits. That is, if they are lucky, and not getting RIFed.

Most of them are not the subject of congressional investigations. > If you worked anywhere besides the financial industry at a company in AIG's shape, you wouldn't be getting a bonus, not because of politics, but because there wouldn't be any money to pay one.

No, but he'd get a salary. Which he did not at AIG (according to his account).

> People in your line of work compensated themselves as if they were founders and early investors in F500 companies, while holding positions that would barely command six figure salaries in other industries.

Yes, that's more or less what he said in the article.

> I'm sure most readers here on HN would like to be in the position to write a 750k check to charity in the face of a depression.

Yes, that's more or less what he said in the article.

> That $100 million a year in equity and commodity trading? How much of that was on the back of the tech and housing bubble, and exploding oil prices? Sans the games the guys down the hall were playing with CDS and CDOs, would your returns even have been so high?

Perhaps your job also depends on the bubble economy. We'll know by this time next year.

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#25

Post by comatose_kid »

bcostlow wrote: post #6

Sorry Jake, but I don't feel sorry for you. Well, maybe a little, if your claims about being tarred unfairly with the CDS debacle are true. But stop whining. All over the USA, people who work hard, who get great reviews from bosses, customers and peers, who were promised bonuses and profit sharing, are seeing instead slashed pay and benefits. That is, if they are lucky, and not getting RIFed. Your company is in the c…

I strongly disagree. He didn't make those risky bets. He honored his end of his agreement, and so should be compensated accordingly.

Perhaps you'd feel differently if your boss asked you to work for the next year, promised you a big lump sum, but then at the end of the year said 'sorry, but the money we borrowed from the gov't means it's not politically expedient for us to honor our agreement'.

Emotions aside, it sounds like he's getting a raw deal (and it doesn't matter if he's already worth millions - his net worth should have no bearing on whether or not the contract should have been honored).

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#26

Post by endtime »

light3 wrote: post #16
ankhmoop wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find myself unable to identify with -- or muster any empathy whatsoever -- for an individual who received $742,006.40 (post-tax) and can readily afford to donate it to charity without concern for his family's well-being despite the current economic climate.

Did I read this article right... that he feels injustice for not receiving his bonus?

No, you read it completely wrong. He did recieve his bonus, and feels injustice at being pressured to return it when the financial crisis is nothing to do with him. So he's giving it to charity rather than return it to AIG.

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#28

Post by waldrews »

Thank you. A noble and risky thing to do, giving the money to the charity of your own choice rather than give in to the witchhunters and blackmailers. I hope you're hired into a position of real influence in your next financial institution soon.

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#29

Post by endtime »

bilbo0s wrote: post #21
bcostlow wrote: post #6

Sorry Jake, but I don't feel sorry for you. Well, maybe a little, if your claims about being tarred unfairly with the CDS debacle are true. But stop whining. All over the USA, people who work hard, who get great reviews from bosses, customers and peers, who were promised bonuses and profit sharing, are seeing instead slashed pay and benefits. That is, if they are lucky, and not getting RIFed. Your company is in the c…

EXACTLY!!! Commodities and equities were leveraged as well at AIG. Leveraging that the CDS business provided capital to finance. It's all connected. I think this guy is choosing facts to put himself and his team in the best light. There are probably a lot of people over there dressing down the CDS guys for being incredibly irresponsible, and the CDS guys were, I'm not trying to deny that. That said, the other busines…

We all contributed to this crisis.

I take issue with this. I certainly didn't contribute to the crisis - I'm a student and have been since kindergarten. The vast majority of Americans didn't contribute to the crisis. I'd say that even the majority of people on Wall St. didn't contribute to the crisis. Those who are responsible should own up, but playing the "everyone say sorry" game is pointless if not disingenuous.

Re: Dear A.I.G., I Quit

#30

Post by endtime »

moe wrote: post #19
Dilpil wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Now now, don't bring logic into this.

I can't speak for ankhmoop, but what bothers me here is the whiney letter. I already knew that ridiculously overpaid jobs exist and that you usually get them by being born into the right family - or with an unusual amount of luck. I don't like that part of reality but I can't change it. So, this guy has one of these jobs. Fine, someone has to do the dirty work after all! But is there really a need to whine in public…

What he's complaining about is that he's been made a scapegoat for something that isn't his fault, been pressured to return all his payment (but $1.00) for a year of hard work, and has state AGs threatening to announce his name publicly as one of the evil AIG execs. I think his being upset is pretty reasonable.
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