Who ISN'T ticked off at A.I.G.

Lou Dobbs' coversation on Tuesday, March 17

Watching Lou Dobbs on CNN last night, guest talkshow host Mark Simone brought up an interesting point, which is completely valid.

The subject was the bonuses being paid to A.I.G. executives, despite the fact that A.I.G. has taken billions from us, taxpayers of the U.S. Mark noted that the $165-million is "like 37 cents" in the overall scheme of things. And he was absolutely correct. It's like making a big thing out of an extra bucket of water going over Niagara Falls.

That $165-million has been made very visible, as it should have been. The problem I have with it is that politicians have found a neat way to get face time on TV and newspapers; they stand up and whine how they are going to demand the money BACK, even to the point of what Senator Charles Grassley, Republican from Iowa, has suggested. He suggested that executives should follow the Japanese example and either resign or commit suicide, an extreme which Lou Dobbs came to refer to as the "Grassley Penalty." It all boils down to members of congress from both sides of the aisle trying to out-outrage each other.

The fact is that the "37 cents example" is valid, but it must be regarded as how that 37 cents affects the American taxpayer who has done his or her job well for many years, then finds the pink slip because, either the company can't keep as many employees or the company has gone bust. The outrage comes when those people see a group of elitists grabbing a bonus which they clearly have not earned, meanwhile the little guy gets nothing more than, "Sorry."

That $165-million may not be all that important when comparing it to the TRILLION-DOLLAR bailout, but to someone who was bringing home a few hundred dollars a week after taxes, those bonuses are the ultimate insult.