AIG Congressional Hearing:
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The question though is should President Obama by any means necessary ensure that this money do not go into pockets of AIG? Would that mean an intrusion of government in how a business is being run? If this is tolerated today, would this set a precedent for future interventions by the government should they not be happy in the way the company is being run?

This is not a fear that should be taken lightly. Private companies being private is a very important thing in capitalistic economies all around the world. No company in the world likes to be told what to do. They would like to make as much money in their own way as possible.

The biggest fear for such companies is that government in the future step in and change certain aspects of the business, particularly employee wages. This has happened in far left countries where companies are forced to pay their workers more because the election is coming near and they want the support of the workers.

That is the reason why there are many people in shows from business channels such as CNBC are not happy over this issue. They would often have guests that would say that it is not fair that people who do not know how to run a businesses or have not run one at any point in their lives are dictating businesspeople and their staff what to do.

That being said however, should a company that gets money from the government be dictated the terms and conditions set by the government? Isn’t the government accountable to her people for every dollar of their money being spent?

President Obama’s move is especially popular because of this. People are angry that AIG got billions of dollars as part of their bailout, but many people did not get the bailout when they lost their homes. President Obama’s desire to go after AIG can be as much political as it is moral.

Yes, on moral grounds, I really do not think that AIG has a defense at all. It really is not fair that people who screw up get honest taxpayers’ money. They would really have no chance should this be a mandate set by the government for people to decide.

However, there is a legal perspective to this. There was a contract signed in early 2008 between AIG and her staff that she would payoff this $160 million worth of bonuses. This was not negotiated by the Bush administration and the Congress when the First TARP laws were being written. To me this is the really sad part.

I mean seriously, enough already. There should be a law in Congress that states that Senators and Representatives need to have at least 48 hours to read the laws before they are to be signed or voted on. Is it really too much to ask for that?

That is also the reason why President Bush and the executive branch of government should be held more accountable for this very expensive gaffe. It is really sad that such an important part of the agreement as this is being left out.

Should there be a contract, I really think it would be wrong for President Obama to intervene. This would not make him any better than anyone in the Bush administration condoning torture. This could also open the Pandora’s box for legal issues in the future.

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