White House calls AIG spa trip 'despicable'

Absolutely not! How do they get away with this? The executives of this company should go to jail after paying back what it cost them to go to their Spa retreat out of their own pocket not Taxpayers pockets

Even if they are arrested. The judge will just sentence them to what ever resort prison they want to go to. Just ask Martha. Golf, SPA catered meals. I wish I could get nailed for "White Collar Crime". I'd be living better then now. 

What a bunch of crooks - they should go to jail.  This is despicable, but the US had to bail AIG out because it meant jobs, and international repercussions.

What Aig CEO's did was criminal and they belong in jail.. They should be forced to give back all the money with interest. The problem goes deeper then this. CEO'S routinely run company's into the ground because there is no accountability on there part. The CEO'S contract includes bonuses, stock options, or other form of huge payout whether the company makes money or not. Example in the 80's or 90's General Motors layoff thousands of workers, but their CEO received a 40 million dollar bonus. There should be a law that if a company has to layoff workers, close shops, etc. THE RECIEVE NO BONUS OR PAYOUT OF ANY FORM!!!! Don't get me wrong there are a few CEO's, very few mind you that really work to keep there company financially healthy. Congress should but won't pass a no bonus or huge payout to CEO's or managers if the company loses money. Make the CEO'S accountable for the company's welfare.

I think that a lot of this stems from folks misunderstanding where the government gets their money - it's from us!  Everyone that pays taxes!  I wonder if these AIG execs would have used this money for this fiasco if they would have been directed to collect it from all their tax-paying neighbors?  "Hey Bob, my company is about to go under and even though you had no choice in the matter, the Federal Government decided to bail us out with billions of dollars.  Some of your tax money is going for this and we will spend it on whatever we want.  How does that sound... give me your money!"  Yea, if people realized where this was coming from people would stop asking for government handouts.

Whatever happened to democracy and the will of the majority? We condemn most other nations for their greed and corruption and rightly so but here we are doing the same thing. We talk about justice! Not in America! Not anywaere for that matter! Remove "In God we trust" from our money and let us put the truth "In money we steal". How can we teach our children financial accountability and honesty and integrity while the very top of our society are THIEVES? It is time for our Justice Department to jail those thieves and begin to help the poor and oppressed. May God bring about repentance in this nation before our total collapse.

I just want to correct my previous statement. I said that Congress should but won't pass a no bonus or huge payout to CEO'S or managers if the company loses money. I should have said that Congress should but won't pass a no bonus or huge payouts to CEO's or managers of companies who lay-off workes, close shops period or the company loses money. Make the CEO'S accountable for the company's welfare.

GOD! I love America.

What AIG CEO's did was crimminal and they belong in jail. They should give back all the money with interest. The problem is that CEO'S don't have any accountability, in there contracts they are loaded with bonuses, stock options, and huge payouts. They don't care if the company goes under because they get paid whether the company is profitable or not. Ex: in the 80's or 90's GM layed-off thousands of workers and the CEO received a 40 million dollar bonus. Don't get me wrong there are a few CEO'S very few I might add who care about there comany and workers and work hard to make there company profitable. Congress should pass a low but won't that holds CEO's accountable for there company, If they have to lay-off workers, close plants, etc they get NO BONUSES OR HUGE PAYOUT PERIOD!!!!.

What AIG CEO's did was crimminal and they belong in jail. They should give back all the money with interest. The problem is that CEO'S don't have any accountability, in there contracts they are loaded with bonuses, stock options, and huge payouts. They don't care if the company goes under because they get paid whether the company is profitable or not. Ex: in the 80's or 90's GM layed-off thousands of workers and the CEO received a 40 million dollar bonus. Don't get me wrong there are a few CEO'S very few I might add who care about there comany and workers and work hard to make there company profitable. Congress should pass a low but won't that holds CEO's accountable for there company, If they have to lay-off workers, close plants, etc they get NO BONUSES OR HUGE PAYOUT PERIOD!!!!.

Bush, every member of the House and Senate and each member of the AIG board and executive staff should be taken out on Pennsylvania Avenue, tried for treason, and burned at the stake.

If this is in anyway racketeering, seize everything!  Including any government official's assets that were part of it.  Even if not racketeering....there are laws that were broken and no money without collateral.......after all they would ask the same from us...and collateral should include all the top managements assets and bonuses that were contrived by cooking the books.

Never in my life have I seen such greed as there is now from the top people. Why did they not give all the middle and low income people thousands to bail them selves out of debt. The money would have been generated out into the economy, pay off debt, pay off home loans and could keep medical insurance. I guess no one cares about the low and middle income people. People have to beg to see a Dr. if they have no insurance and owe a bill. Then if you don't pay off your bill they send it to collections. How sad. Take back money from the CEO'S and give a good tax break and not to the rich. Its the middle income people who get taxed to death to help the rich. What a sad world. I guess these people have no morals.

The majority of American citizens didn't feel that these big companies should receive money to be bailed out and then to receive the monies and betray the citizens is an outrage. Every single person who went should be made to pay the money back then be fired. AIG should then lose all tax dollars they were to receive or have received and let them go bust.

Should we have bailed them out? F*** no!! And they WE are STILL paying that Sullivan guy $1 million a month, who got $5 mil in bonus, a $15 million parachute?

This is amazing. Not unexpected, but how stupid does the govt look now?

No, No, No, each recipient should be made to reimburse the amount of money spent and the ceo's should be made to give back their huge bonuses.  However, nothing will be done to them and they know it.  The most the white house will do is call the action "despicable" and that's it. 

No! No! and a BIG FAT NO!!! and I said this countless times.. NO BAILOUT!!!

It's Welfare for the Rich.. who caused this mess to begin with.. BAILOUT.. HOW ABOUT JAIL!!!

Ah.. and what are all the Financial analysts now who said the bailout would help Wallstreet and the equities markets? Congress should have told us about this problem 4 years ago..

I say it's time to clean house on WallSTREET and Washington alike.. they are both part of the problem..  And What was the additional 150 billion in earmarks and pork barrell added to this bailout bill??? weren't we getting ripped off enough???

Your vote counts more than ever this year.. let's send a message to Washington...

and Let's demand from our politicians to be honest about who is funding their campaigns.. because that's who's running this country.. It's Government for Big Business by Big Business..  what happened to the people?  Where is their voice...

another comment was right on the money.. This is taxation without representation.. the whole reason why we left England !!!  Now it's more of the same..

Let's make this the United States again.. when our laws were right and just, there was some moral fiber left in our nation.. So we think it's ok to have legalized abortions.. But we hate mad rules who engage in Ethnic cleansing..... what's the difference????? Can someone tell me?  Is it just because we have a peice of paper that make it all legal???

that's absurd.. even more than this Bailout bill... Which is just a fat loan to a bunch or rich CEOs and World leaders and Banks so they can keep taking more of our money..

and No one wants to look 20 years down the road when there are no more young people working in our country to support programs like social security or Medicare...

Maybe they will be just a distant memory by then..

I for one.. think our focus should be on "LIFE" and less on Money.. are we really going to put our future and rely totally on the financial markets?? and Not in our Children or Families?

Look at the mockery that marriage has become???

If we wish to lead the World in power/Wars and money/ greed.. we are doing a great job..

If we have nucluear weapons.. why is it that we should expect others not to have them also?  Aren't we setting the example?

We need to have more town meetings with ALL our elected officials and call them out on things when they vote opposite of what the people want..

Great.. there is a war going on.. and our politicians go their frequently to give us updates on the progress.. when all the american people want is an end to both wars and to begin repairing the damage.. both physically and politically with the other nations..

Look.. it's a Global economy.. so we all need the other countries as they need us..

But we are giving the wrong models to follow if we want to show the rest of the world that democracy works in our own country... perhaps the government should start listening more to the PEOPLE and LESS to the GENERALS/BIG BUSINESS/WALL STREET FAT CATS/WORLD BANKS..etc.. Lets not sell our country to the HIGHEST BIDDER..

Please!  I think we have all heard enough about Politicians playing the blame game when they are ALL to blame.. so If I hear the work Partisan or BiPartisan one more time.. I think I'm going leave the US.. for lack of a GOOD CHOICE and GOOD GOVERNMENT..

Thank you..

These are economic terrorist and should be treated as such. 

I am beyond disgusted, I am living pay check to pay check supporting a ten year old, I have 21 cents in my pocket and they are getting spa treatments? Why can't we organize a march on Washington? Why isn't ANYTHING being done about this? You know they are just going to playing lip service and not one of them will ever be held accountable. I am so sick of all this crap..........

What we should do is Set a cap of 16 times the lowest persons salary as the base for CEO.  If the company chooses to pay more they have to get a bond for 5 years against that salary if turns out the CEO screwed up or ran the company into the ground he has to repay or we can watch "Dog the Bounty Hunter" round him/her up.

Regardless of AIG's "explanation" to Paulson, they submitted the bills to the government. Meaning we are paying for over 20k's work of spa treatments and meals when the money was to be used to secure the financial woes of the nation. 

I think we should take the money we are about to give them back, and let them go down in flames then.

According to the declaration of independance we as a nation should be forcibly removing those currently in power out of the capital right now.

This is an abomination...

This $440,000 retreat is disgusting, but I have to say I'm not all that surprised it happened.  Disgusted, offended, ready to beat some heads in, sure, but surprised?  Not really.  This sort of thing is what these people DO.  They can't help it; they're addicted to the posh lifestyle.  If you give them money, it'll go to supporting their posh lifestyle, not to bailing out the company they're running into the ground.  Should the government have bailed AIG out?  I'll say yes, but with conditions, such as assigning people to make sure every penny of the money is spent the way it's supposed to be spent, and obligating AIG to pay it back, with interest.  This money was supposed to help your company, AIG execs, not pay for your next facial!  These half-brained amoebas should be in prison for this, plain and simple, and I don't care WHAT their excuse is.

  I think most of us who read this newsline KNEW this was going to happen, this 700 billion bailout was to save the VERY RICH, not the average American. NOW is the time VOTE every politician that is in office OUT OF OFFICE. This is our only recorse(outside of all out rebelloin, and that would be for me a very, very last resort,but who knows it may come to that???).  IT IS THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY AND OURSELVES.

You know... Congress needs to punish these men for their lying and cheating before Joe Public takes care of it for them!!  They are criminals!!  I'm really sorry that we bailed them out!  They should have gone down!!!  I'm sick of this as most Americans are!!