Something published a few days ago in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette seemed worth sharing. Here's a few points from Jack Kelly's March 22 article, "O-bailout and AIG":
- The Obama administration knew about the controversial $165 million in bonuses paid out by AIG several months before the public outrage regarding the bonuses occurred
- Some commentators suspect the administration feigned surprise and a sudden burst of outrage regarding the bonuses to seem "onside" with the public. The administration also chose to focus public attention on the $165 million in bonuses in order to divert attention away from how the $180 billion they gave AIG was spent.
- How was the $180 million spent? Well, AIG had to make payments to creditors such as Goldman Sachs, CitiGroup, and JP Morgan Chase. Each of these companies contributed significantly to the Obama campaign: Goldman Sachs, $955, 473; CitiGroup, $653,468; JP Morgan Chase (whose founder, J.P. Morgan, made his first profits selling defective rifles to the U.S. Army during the Civil War) contributed $485,823.
- The conclusion you might draw from all this? The patronage system of North American politics continues, and the bailout is another manoeuver to take care of the elite monied caste of our society.
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