This statement could be the most ridiculous yet:
The Treasury Department will order embattled insurance giant American International Group Inc. to repay U.S. taxpayers up to $165 million that the company is giving employees as bonuses, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said late Tuesday.
Acknowledging “considerable outrage” about the bonus payments, Geithner said AIG will pay the Treasury an amount equal to the payments, and the Treasury will deduct that amount from the $30 billion in government assistance that will soon go to the company.
“We will impose on AIG a contractual commitment to pay the Treasury from the operations of the company the amount of the retention awards just paid,” Geithner said in a letter to congressional leaders.
Great. Now how are we going to get the other $29,835,000,000 back, plus the $140 billion or so that’s already been given to the firm? In the whole scheme of things, $165 million is a rounding error.