Daily Archives: March 16, 2009

Crack down on AIG but don’t overreact

March 16, 200912:08 p.m.

aigIt’s good that the Obama administration and Congress are trying to recoup some of the $165 million in bonuses paid out this weekend by American International Group. As Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., complained: “These bonuses are going to people who screwed this thing up enormously, who made terrible decisions.” But there may be little that can be done, as AIG appears to have been legally obligated to pay the bonuses. Congress also needs to be careful not to overreact to populist outrage, as it did on business jets.
No one likes bailing out companies such as AIG, which made “all kinds of unconscionable bets,” as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Sunday on “60 Minutes.” But as Bernanke also noted, “We have no choice but to stabilize, or else risk enormous impact, not just in the financial system but on the whole U.S. economy.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Congress, Economy, President Obama | Comments (45)

Is Obama setting up Democrats for defeat?

March 16, 20096:03 a.m.

obama38Democrats “better worry about whether Barack Obama is setting up their party for defeat in the 2010 midterm elections,” wrote columnist William McKenzie. He said that may be hard to imagine, given Obama’s popularity and Republicans’ aimlessness, but “presidents often make the wrong moves when they have the mojo, not when they’ve lost it.” McKenzie’s biggest concern is that Obama’s budget would rack up so much debt that it could “throttle the economy’s recovery.”

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Economy, President Obama | Comments (143)

Open thread 3/16

March 16, 20096:02 a.m.

thread365

By The Editors | Filed under Open thread | Comments (250)

GOP ’smoke screen’

March 16, 20096:01 a.m.

mckinneydennis2The claim by GOP legislative leaders last month that they couldn’t legally approve a fund transfer to help the state meet its payroll was “a smoke screen,” said State Treasurer Dennis McKinney. “The statute is pretty plain” allowing the transfer, he told The Eagle editorial board. McKinney argued that lawmakers shouldn’t have mixed a debate about the budget with the state’s cash-flow problem. Doing so caused some credit-rating agencies to question whether Kansas could be trusted to pay its bills, he said. And as for a House GOP proposal introduced last week that would force the governor to pay state employees before paying any other bills: McKinney said that didn’t make sense, because if the state didn’t have the cash to pay its bills, it likely also couldn’t make its payroll.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Kansas government | Comments (12)

Late-night laughs

March 16, 20096:00 a.m.

“There was a big rally on Wall Street after Citigroup reported a profit for the first two months of the year. That just goes to show you what determination, hard work, and $45 billion of our bailout dollars can do.” — Jay Leno

“General Motors announced they wouldn’t need an extra $2 billion from the bailout. They said they’re getting great returns from some guy named Madoff.” — Craig Ferguson

“Astronomers say they have discovered enormous black holes 5 billion light years from Earth that is sucking up everything in their path. They name the black holes ‘AIG-1′ and ‘AIG-2.’” — Leno

By Rhonda Holman | Filed under Economy | Comments (3)