Sometimes those issuing statements on behalf of a company boldly say stupid things – cause for much mirth among marketing & PR professionals. Other times they’re simply making the best of a losing hand, and in this case, we’re seeing a bit of both.
AIG – the insurance giant currently on the receiving end of $170 Billion of the US taxpayer’s dollars – is trying to defend paying $165 million in executive bonuses after the taxpayer-financed bailout had begun:
“We cannot attract and retain the best and the brightest talent to lead and staff the A.I.G. businesses — which are now being operated principally on behalf of American taxpayers — if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury,” he wrote Mr. Geithner.
And yes, the “best and brightest” he’s referring to run the very division who got the company (and the taxpayers) into this mess, providing the ironic twist we so dearly love at Underground World Headquarters.
Speaking on behalf of freelance creatives all over the world – whose competence and incompetence alike are rarely so lavishly rewarded – the Underground would like to thank Mr. Libby for today’s knee-slapper. Really.
I’m wiping the tears from my eyes as I write this.
p.s. – The Borowitz Report takes aim too, only their paper cuts are deeper.
p.s.s. – It just gets worse for AIG, who now have a bullseye painted on their back.
