Making a Mountain out of the AIG Mole Hill

Over the course of the past week, the front pages of major newspapers across the United States have been saturated with coverage of the $165 million in bonuses that AIG is paying to its executives after having received hundreds of billions of dollars in government assistance. It is certainly a rich story, and has thus far served as an ideal corporate punching bag for the economic frustrations of the American people. Politicians of both parties have attempted to capitalize upon opportunities offered by the situation, with many Republican working to seize upon first issue to negatively impact Obama’s approval ratings, and many Democrats seeking to demonstrate their willingness to beat up on Wall Street fat cats.

The AIG bonuses are certainly an outrage, and the Government should certainly pursue all available legal options to prevent the payout. But right now, AIG’s distribution of bonuses is the LEAST of the issues facing our country…

While media personalities and politicians “huffed and puffed” over $165 MILLION dollars, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a report this week projecting that the present budget proposed by President Obama would produce $9.3 TRILLION in deficits over the next decade—more than four times the deficits of George W. Bush's presidency. Should the CBO’s predictions hold true, by 2019 the national debt would $20.3 TRILLION with every American man, woman, and child owing approx. $66,529 each. Other non-news this week included an announcement that the Federal Reserve would take the highly unusual step of buying up to $300 billion worth of long-term Treasury bonds. This move sent the U.S. dollar into a freefall against other currencies this week and, combined with our country’s present 0-0.25% interest rate, will certainly hasten the inevitable onset of a long-term struggle with inflation. Another possible story for the front page—had the fabulous AIG barn burner not surfaced—would have been a follow-up on the $787 BILLION stimulus bill that passed with virtually no representative in either the U.S. House or Senate receiving the opportunity to read the bill in its entirety. How are the provisions of one of the most hastily written and expensive bills in the history of the United States being implemented? How is Vice President Biden’s “oversight” committee going to work? Why does the government have to pay union wages for stimulus-related construction labor? Alternatively, had they been really desperate, the new media might have even devoted a little bit of discussion as to why last week’s $410 BILLION omnibus spending bill was packed with $8 BILLION worth of earmarks, despite President Obama’s campaign promise to end the practice.

But who really cares about all of the above? Those AIG bastards took our money! $165 MILLION of it!

Wake up America! These are pivotal times that will ultimately determine the fate of the United States’ status as an economic superpower. Whether you love President Obama, or are petrified by his policies, the important economic issues at hand need to be reported, scrutinized, and discussed. If you only paid as much attention to our crumbling economy as you did steroids in major league baseball, the Obama family’s search for a dog, and Michael Phelps smoking marijuana, then perhaps the leaders we send to Washington would be more responsible with our money.