Prev Next
Featured Quizzes
Politix Daily Headlines
Featured Debates
Issues

See all 19 issues

CHUTZPAH

Bailed-out Company May Now Sue The Government

Outrage all around

Next>

by David Mark

Editor-in-Chief t +

Image: AP.

American International Group, the insurer rescued by the US government in 2008, may now join a lawsuit against the government alleging the terms of the deal were unfair, The New York Times reports.

The AIG board is weighing whether to join a $25 billion lawsuit against the US government for forcing unacceptably high losses on shareholders in its bailout. The argument is that this violated the Fifth Amendment's prohibition on the government seizing private property without just compensation.

AIG's move comes at an awkward moment because there is nationwide TV ad campaign from the company, thanking Uncle Sam for its help during the bailout.

The news drew immediate outrage, including from Sen. Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley). The OR Democrat tweeted, "Pull out the violin. AIG, recipient of a $182 billion bailout, now wants to sue gov't due to bailout's 'onerous nature.' Are they kidding?"

"AIG, bailed out by U.S., may now sue U.S., claiming bailout terms were too harsh. We should counter-sue for stupidity," tweeted UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich (@RBReich), a former labor secretary.

And New York Times Washington correspondent Binyamin Appelbaum (@BCAppelbaum) put it this way: "It's a free country AIG. Next time find your own lifeboat. Or drown."

Via The New York Times and Politix reporting.

Like this article? B Vote Up
?

A lawsuit by bailed-out AIG against the federal government would be:

View results

123 Comments (view in Forum)

  • frigginhell
    !
    @RobertJHarsh You should be teaching economics, my friend. You have an uncanny grasp of how to help the struggling economy the United States faces. Get rid of the high paying blue collar jobs and let the mexicans and koreans have them instead. Maybe you'll like that made in China Trans Am a bit more than the ones we build here in the states. It should probably cost the same but at least the guys on top will make more with the reduced labor costs.
  • JustTheFacts
    !
    @frigginhell $5,000 of the price of every new car is to pay for the UAW workers healthcare cost! When you put it that way, yeah I'd just soon rather buy a non-union vehicle ... save myself $5,000 off the price to pay for my own healthcare that fools like this are helping to run the cost of up!

  • Load more replies >

  • talkenhed
    !
    Wiki "The AIG bonus payments controversy began in March 2009, when it was publicly disclosed that the American International Group (AIG) was to pay approximately $218 million in bonus payments to employees of its financial services division.
    AIG is notable for having received $170 billion in taxpayer bailouts and in the fourth quarter of 2008 posted a loss of $61.7 billion, the greatest ever for any corporation. Beyond the $165 million in bonus payments that were recently announced, total bonuses for the financial unit could reach $450 million and bonuses for the entire company could reach $1.2 billion.
  • kirbstomp1
    !
    @jessejaymes - they might take back suing after being waterboarded. Then we should just send them to North Korea. Lol in our psychology class we could volunteer to be waterboarded, I did it and will say even when your prepared it still is frightening, and I could have pulled the rag off my mouth at any moment....it would suck if your arms were tied down. Im sure they would concede.
  • jessejaymes
    !
    @kirbstomp1 I think everyone who has voted yes on a Pork Barrel Spending in D.C. for the past 12 years should be waterboarded and then again next time they do it and every time. We might actually see some common sense behind it.

  • Load more replies >

  • mimi57
    !
    You're right...It's a new day and a new time. No one is responsible for anything!
    We ain't takin' any steenkin responsibility!( sarcasm )
  • DogLady_1
    !
    well said. If you're too big to fail, then you're too big to succeed as well. Since when are businesspeople guaranteed profits or success? Since when was that the job of government to ensure the success of every American business??? Our right to PERSUE happiness is protected, not our actual happiness! AIG and all the bailed out companies must really enjoy sucking off the federal teet... and now they want is to change their diapers too! unbelievable...
  • AceLuby
    !
    My god... these companies should have been forced to break up so they would no longer be 'too big to fail'. Instead we just gave them money and now 4 years later they are complaining that giving them money was too far? Give me a break.
  • thejimbo
    !
    The government forced unacceptably high losses on shareholders who otherwise would have lost pretty much everything. Also, on what planet does bailing someone out for their wildly irresponsible behavior count as "seizure without just compensation?"

    Sorry AIG, but you signed off on the bailout, and now you've got commercials thanking us for it. You can't thank us and sue us at the same time. Well, legally I suppose you can, but what a stupid move. Way to bite the hand that fed you... smh
  • Republican5001
    !
    @jamesmitchell "You can't thank us and sue us at the same time."

    Sure they can. You have people in todays world and soceity, who feel it is alright to question authority or flip off cops, and there be no recourse or it is some constitutional right. Hypocritical, but the democrats know no bounds.

    So yeah, AIG can sue. And I hope they do and win big.
  • AceLuby
    !
    @Republican5001 Yeah, because there aren't republicans who think it's ok to question authority. Give me a break. This isn't right, left, republican or democrat.

  • Load more replies >

  • mimi57
    !
    Yes, I agree with you. I don't think any of companies should have gotten a bail-out.
    I just wonder with the economy the way it is, how long it will take before G.M. will
    be asking for another bail-out...
  • DogLady_1
    !
    Gee, I don't recall AIG fighting for its autonomy when the federal checks were being written out to them! I also don't recall those CEO's returning their $165 million bonuses paid by the taxpayers... bonuses paid to CEO's who caused a $62 BILLION loss in their company's profits! You bunch of jackasses... Give the money back that we gave you, and then you can file your lawsuit... and then all your cheated investors can file lawsuits against you! jackasses...
  • Republican5001
    !
    They should sue. Obama violated Laissez-faire ideas with the bailouts. Should of let them collapse along with Detroit. Now they can go back and get back the money they had to payback and there is nothing anyone can do about it.

    Good going democrats. This is what you voted for.
  • Mogal
    !
    "Laissez-faire government is based on the idea that government stays out of economy. During the English industrial revolution, all sorts of factories were beginning to spring up, with absolutely no regulation by the government. These factories led to a new bourgeoisie class, which was not noble by birth, but rich nonetheless by owning factories. The government's unwillingness to interfere with business led to low pay, long hours, and unsafe working conditions for factory workers. It also allowed for child labor and other now outdated practices. The boom-bust cycle is also a major problem that occurs when business is not regulated by government. "
    One can only assume you are referring to this^^^.

  • Load more replies >

  • Bobolinsky
    !
    Just think about how much money the taxpayers would have saved if we had never bailed them out to begin with. Now a lot of government attorneys will have their plates full for awhile.

    I'd also like to add that it's bailouts like this that pushed a lot of republicans over the edge. We watched for eight years as Bush used his political capital to engage in nation-building abroad, faith-based initiatives, NCLB, stem-cell research ban and DOMA... all while caving on economic issues like fixing the housing bubble before it blew, kicking entitlement reform down the road, and abandoning any attempts to balance the budget... Even without figuring in the cost of two wars...

    All we needed was something to rally around... A spark... or in this case...

    A Rant
    http://www.youtube.com/watch...
  • Bobolinsky
    !
    Now I'm well aware that "Chutzpah" is one of the nicer ways of saying "balls" or "cajones" and it has the added benefit of not stoking the ire of the Feminazis but if someone was looking for something to be offended with they could cite the use of a Yiddish word to describe the implied greed of bankers as "reinforcing negative stereotypes."
  • Bobolinsky
    !
    It's a good thing that I'm not someone looking for something to be offended with. I might jump to a wrong conclusion like the people who took offense at this story...

    http://politix.topix.com/homepage/4051-school...

    or this story...
    http://politix.topix.com/race/1058-pa-county-...

    or this story...
    http://deadspin.com/5886504/fired-espn-editor...

    or this story...
    http://today.duke.edu/showcase/lacrosseincide...

    or this story...
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemp...
  • Packersfan1018
    !
    Do you actually believe the taxpayers would've saved any money? I don't believe that bailing out any of those corporations was a good idea. But I do believe Obama would have found a different way to spend the money anyways.
  • AtheistStand
    !
    Sleazy little lawyers sittin in a room thinking up reasons to sue so they dont have to get REAL jobs.

    They survive on handouts, the lazy bums. Always after a govt check.
  • jessejaymes
    !
    If AIG sues then the government should countersue for expense defending the suit. You see AIG was not forced to take those loans from the Government anymore than a college student is forced to take a student loan from the Govt. AIG had the same right a college student does. They could have borrowed the money from anyone they liked with better interest. Did they even look? Did they ask China? Did they in fact even try to get better interest rates? If not, who's to blame? If they did and the USA was the best rate they could get, then there is case. This is what we used to call a bad call by the refs during a football game. Pure Bullshirt.
  • Knightkore
    !
    Um...unfair? You still exist...the government...you know the ones that basically put the American people into debt to bail you out...could have let you go bankrupt...probably not because you've paid off most of them anyway...now you're suing? Hellified heck...President Hussein Obama's America...gotta love it don't you...
  • justapirate
    !
    In other forums I've gotten abused fairly well because I'm of the opinion that big business is CONSTANTLY putting it to John Q. Public. Hot diggity now they wanna mess with the government, too. I wonder, I just wonder, anyone gonna wake up now?
  • jessejaymes
    !
    @justapirate My bad. I really should be ashamed. To expect a multi trillion dollar company to know what they're signing is beyond reasonable. I knew that. What was I thinking?
  • CommonSense
    !
    The entire insurance industry is a parasite. Insurance should be illegal. The government should provide a safety net in case something happens and you can't afford it in cases like health care, housing damage from fires, floods and other disasters even robbery(but if the robbery is caught make the robber pay all of it), and serious car accidents (if the one responsible can't afford it, but put the guy on a with-interest loan program to pay the taxpayers back and then some), but other than that people should pay for their own.
    People shouldn't get paid to take bets from people wagering that something bad will happen to them.
    Even for fun, we wouldn't allow a casino on every street corner. Legalized insurance is just like this only the motive it appeals to is fear and they get you to bet against yourself. Insurance causes inflation of the services that it insures by making it more affordable for people to pay more money for the good or service once they have to pay for it. So the product gets more expensive and the insurance companies get to charge higher and higher premiums, then allowing producers to charge higher and higher prices. It's a vicious cycle and we can end it by abolishing insurance.
    Even the government guaranteeing people at the bottom will increase the price a little bit but not as much as having a private insurance industry. This is why instead of the government paying for all healthcare the government should guarantee payment only to those who really can't afford it.
  • PayThatCEO
    !
    News story last night - in some states health insurance is going up double digit percent. While healthcare costs are only expected to rise 7% this year, many big fat insurance companies are socking it to their customers upwards of 25%.

    Even state tax commissioners are calling this outrageous and price gouging.
  • R Load more comments...