The words “Nuke” and “Orbit” come to mind.
Any chance we can get those bombs in owl form?
They’re scheduling another retreat.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aVXfypExIZ9M
Up against the wall, I say.
I just read in today’s paper that the execs had a plan to take out full page ads in major papers to explain why they did the $400,000 retreat. A P.R. person had to explain to them (using small words, I expect) that it would be a Really Bad Idea to spend taxpayers money on expensive advertisements that defend them spending taxpayers money on spa treatments. I think these guys are just clueless. Think Dilbert-pointy-haired-boss clueless.
One interesting thought I had… we just cannot grasp the amount of money involved. When numbers get up into the billions, our brains just tend to go “bwah?”
So here’s an analogy - note that I’m not defending the buffoons at AIG.
*Your brother in laws business is floundering. He comes to you begging for a loan. His line of credit is toast, and he needs cash now to avoid going under. Some of your friends work for him, and they’ll be out of work if he goes out of business.
You discuss this with your wife. “Bob needs $87,000 - we could get a loan and give him the money in exchange for a share of his business”
“Okay” says your wife, “but I need new appliances, so lets get a bit bigger loan”.
“new X-Box!” says your son
“Clothes!” says the daughter
“Hmmm… New golf clubs for me…” you think. So you go ahead and get a $95,000 loan, and give $87,000 to your BIL
The next day - you see your BIL in the store. He’s buying groceries, and in his order is… Some jelly beans! YES! **40 cents worth of bulk jelly beans! ** The bastard! He’s taking your borrowed money and blowing it on jelly beans! To make it worse, they are the gourmet kind, that cost 2.3 cents MORE per pound!
You confront him. “You prick! - why are you buying jelly beans with MY MONEY!”
“Err… I promised a treat for my employees?” he ventures…
“NO EXCUSES!” you shout.*
So… That’s what $87 BILLION dollars is like.
Have these fuckers never heard of teleconferencing?
No shit, Sherlock.
I get what you’re trying to say, and also that you’re not defending them, but…
They borrowed this money from the taxpayers, the vast majority of whom make less money in a year than they spent on any given day of that week. And this wasn’t a morale booster for the rank and file employees, this was a party for the very people who made the decisions that got them into this mess.
Fuck them to death.
Euphonious Polemic, I’m sorry your analogy doesn’t hold. $85 billion is indeed a lot of money, but I do know what $440,000 is and I know it was my money insensitively spent, especially since they’ve asked for 31.5 billion more.
If a poor Angola farmer loaned me $5.00 (a months worth of his savings) for a bus ticket, but I instead spend it on a McDonald’s happy meal I doubt it will console him to explain that $5.00 isn’t a lot of money to me.
Not quite - if you took the $5.00, and spent .0025 cents (1 400th of a penny) on something stupid, then…
But yes, I know the analogy may not really hold. It does give a feel for just how much 87 BILLION dollars is though.
Even at AIG, from some perspectives, $400,000 counts as real money. That would pay salary and benefits for more than one of the low-level AIG employees facing the ax.
40 cents is such a small sum that it’s hard to argue why you shouldn’t spend it on a frivolous treat, since you couldn’t really spend it on anything significantly more important. When it comes to $400,000, though, that’s not true.
It’s very gratifying to this anarcho-syndicalist, watching true capitalism in action. Brings a tear to my eye, it does…
…where did I put that Billy Bragg CD?
The point is not that the spa trip represents a big part of the money. It is that they do not get it. They are stupid enough to do that ,what else would they do. They show disrespect for where the money comes from. They squander it on themselves and show no remorse. I would suggest ,that they will blow a hell of a lot more. They will waste it if they feel like it.
Your analogy would have worked IF the ones at the spa had been the guys at the bottom, who had gotten laid off, perhaps.
You’re talking about the ratio of money given to the company and the amount they spent frivolously. I am looking at the ratio they spent on privilege compared to what I can afford. I cannot afford to go to that spa; I don’t want my money given away so they can go.
Walking with an old friend, another veteran of the Acid Wars. Spots a totally gross Cadillac HumVee (one of the new hybrids, runs on ethanol mixed 50/50 with the blood of the proletariat…)
He says “I wish I could buy a car like that.”
Naturally, I’m shocked! WTF? (or words to that effect).
“Oh, I wouldn’t actually buy one, I would just like to be able to.”
I hereby denounce, disavow, disclaim and disown my analogy. (plus some other “d” words I have not thought of yet.)
Kimstu and Sitnam and others hit it right: $400,000 is still $400,000. It is still a lot of money. Ratios just don’t cut it in this instance.
I think that part of the reason for the disrespect from AIG executives is that they are so used to dealing with big numbers, that they forget that $400,000 is actually quite a large sum to be spending on stupid stuff, and they really have no clue that a large number of people would want to put their heads on sticks for spending this on a “retreat”.
I agree people don’t understand the enormity of $85 billion dollars. To take your example even further, imagine if you were bankrupt and your father gave you $85,000 to help you out. Then a week later you went to the store and spent 44 cents on a pack of gum and this causes your Dad to chew your ass out about how ungrateful and spoiled you are.
How abouts you go bankrupt because of participation in chain letters. Dad gives you $85000 so you can keep your house, and he sees you in the Post Office purchasing a stamp to use on a reply to another chain letter.
Damn right he would be pissed at you. That’s the better analogy here. These firms were in the trouble they were in because of inept management organized around get rich quick schemes, and shameless extravagance at the top. What is raising many people’s ire here is that this is the sort of behavior that got them in trouble! Total ignorance of reality, head buried in the sand, fiddling while Rome burns stuff.
Pssst… See post #163. I suggest you repudiate, refuse and regurgitate this analogy.
ETA: Good point villa!
Still not a great analogy. He doesn’t see you in the post office because you’re not even around. Instead of making your house payment, you go off on vavcation.
You want an analogy?
You are bankrupt and $50,000 in debt because you are compulsive gambler and high roller, with expenses far outstripping your gambling debts. You beg and pleade for an $85,000 loan from your parents, and they catch you plugging a quarter into a slot machine.
That’s why I’m pissed. Spending half a million bucks on a resort vacation is merely a demonstration that these leeches haven’t learned a damn thing about how to manage money.
Perfect.
Vote for Fish.