On AIG outrage

What is WRONG with Americans? The entire country is a gigantic angry mob against AIG (there's a note below for the confused), which is wrong on half a dozen levels.

• Bonuses for the people involved were written into their employment contracts years before anything went wrong.
• AIG was required by law to pay out those bonuses in spite of the performance of the people involved.
• Many of the people involved have reportedly already returned the bonus money.
• The current CEO of the company is a federally appointed caretaker who earns $1 per year and was not affiliated with AIG at the time that the shady dealings were going on.
  
• When Congress authorized the disbursement of bailout funds, it specifically wrote a provision into the law that allowed this type of bonus to be paid out.

In spite of all that, the general public and members of Congress are out for the company's blood. Lots of employees have gotten death threats, including the new CEO. A United States Senator has publicly suggested that top AIG executives should commit suicide. But as usual, Congress is at fault. It seems like all they ever do is subpoena people and belittle them on national TV without really giving them a chance to respond.

So. That seem fair to you?

The sheer magnitude of willful ignorance in people is really unbelievable sometimes.

Historical context for people who read this years from now: The entire world is in a recession right now. It's kind of a big deal. The US government bailed out AIG, a big-time conglomerate, with over $150 billion on the grounds that the economic damage from its failure must be prevented at all costs (or, you know, $150bn of costs). AIG has just reported that executives in the division which made unbelievably bad decisions and caused the company's downfall will receive over $160 million in bonuses this year. Aaaaaand cue the angry mob.