The government had a choice: let AIG go under or arrange a bailout. They chose bailout. In order to make a bailout work, you need to keep the workforce. Hence the retention bonuses, which were duly approved in the original legislation, thanks to the efforts of Chwissy Dodd and Treasury officials, and enacted and signed. So, our stinkin taxpayer money is duly squandered (or not, if it was really vital to save AIG).
And the folks to get mad at are Congress and the President, not the AIG employees working to make the bailout as successful as they can. Congress and the President must not be allowed to welsh just because they now fear voter disapproval of the deal. Because, if they can screw these people, they can screw all of us.
See this is exactly the wrong thing...they do not need those who caused this. They should have been fired on the spot...I blame Paulson. As for retention bonuses-what a joke a fair number of those receiving bonuses are no longer employed at AIG so why did they receive a bonus...hush money perhaps?