The news regarding $165 million in bonuses paid to AIG executives has been making the rounds. A lot of people are trying to come up with solutions on how to get back some or all of that money. There's a lot of legal back and forth about whether it's even possible or that doing so would hurt AIG by having "good" executives leave (are there not a lot of "good" executives currently out of work that couldn't fill their spots?). Since I'm a solutions oriented guy, I have a suggestion that might solve everyone's issues. Just reduce the next bailout payment by $165 million. Believe me, $165 million may sound like a lot but compare that to the billions we've given AIG so far, it's really not that big of a deal. More than anything, it's a public relations issue and not an operations issue. So to soothe the public's concern, just deduct the bonus amount from the next payment and call it a wash. It'll be a lot easier than lawsuits and grand standing but maybe to all the politicians the publicity was all they cared about.
UPDATE: More craziness has insued. From a special surtax to executives allegedly being asked to commit ritual suicide. Again, in my opinion, it's an opportunity for certain politicians to cash in publicity-wise on the outrage by the taxpayers. However, towards the end of the article, there is mention that the Treasury would try to restructure the next bailout payment to recoup the bonus amount. That's probably the most frictionless way to do it.