The reality is, nothing can be done contractually about the AIG bonuses.
Chuck Todd said they were actually already paid out. But since there was so much outrage by we, the taxpayer, (Chuck Todd also explained that it's technically not taxpayer money since AIG bailout funding has come from the Fed), Obama has pushed back and now congress, in faux outrage, is trying to come up with creative ways to get those bonuses back.
But Wall Street is already trying to find a loophole to get around executive pay caps.
Some Wall Street firms are looking for ways to sidestep tough new federal caps on compensation.There is a culture of greed in America that needs to be overcome. AIG is one tiny sliver of a larger problem.
In response to expected bonus restrictions, officials at Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley and other financial institutions that got government aid are discussing increasing base salaries for some executives and other top-producing employees, people familiar with the situation said.
The crackdown, part of the economic-stimulus package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last month, limits bonus pay for the top five executives of any recipient of taxpayer capital through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, plus the 20 next-highest-compensated employees. Read more
