Zoom-boing
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The Case for Paying Out Bonuses at A.I.G.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business/17sorkin.html?_r=1&hp
As much as we might want to void those A.I.G. pay contracts, Pearl Meyer, a compensation consultant at Steven Hall & Partners, says it would put American business on a worse slippery slope than it already is. Business agreements of other companies that have taken taxpayer money might fall into question. Even companies that have not turned to Washington might seize the opportunity to break inconvenient contracts.
If government officials were to break the contracts, they would be breaking a bond, Ms. Meyer says. They are raising a whole new question about the trust and commitment organizations have to their employees.
. . . someone at A.I.G. decided this company needed to sign bonus agreements last year to keep people before the full extent of its problems became clear.
Now we can debate why A.I.G. felt it necessary to guarantee seven executives at least $3 million apiece when the economy was clearly on shaky ground. Perhaps we will find out these contracts were a bit of sleight of hand to enrich executives who knew this financial Titanic had hit the iceberg. But another possible explanation is that A.I.G. knew it needed to keep its people.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/business/17sorkin.html?_r=1&hp