This whole AIG thing is the tale of legislative incompetence or perhaps even corruption on the part of Chris Dodd, Barney Frank, Tim Geithner, and those close to these people. The bonus thing has come to light after these guys "forgot" to mention it in legislation, then tried to cover their butts. Now there's a hubbub, and the public is rightfully disgusted. If the public wants to be enraged as opposed to disgusted, then consider this: The largest employer in the US just may be the Federal Government. They pay out bonuses (in bureaucrat lingo, "cash awards" or "performance awards") every year. These are the people who administer our laws. As anyone who's ever worked for the Federal government knows, this whole thing abounds with insider favoritism and outright corruption. And it's all done with our tax dollars. Collectively, the amount probably overshadows anything that AIG has ever tried. It's covered up so deeply, though, that the public will never become openly aware of it.