Seat at the Table

If nothing else, the latest AIG scandal has served as proof that a faster news cycle can actually speed up events.   In the last seven days, we’ve seen the AIG bonus scandal break, ridiculous threats made by politicians (one suggesting bonus recipients should commit suicide), congressional hearings held, punitive legislation passed and then a bit of regret over potentially rash action.   I’ll skip the analysis this week and just enjoy a cycle so fast it only took a week to go from backlash to the backlash against the backlash.   

Here’s a sampling of headlines from the Wall Street Journal

March 16
The scandal grows into a major news item
AIG Faces Growing Wrath Over Payouts

March 17
Top show major outrage and call for punishment:
President Obama joined yesterday in the clamor of outrage at AIG for paying some $165 million in contractually obligated employee bonuses. He and the rest of the political class thus neatly deflected attention from the larger outrage, which …

March 19
Outrage:
The AIG Controversy: ‘Outrage’ Overflows on Capitol Hill as Lawmakers Denounce Bonuses
WASHINGTON — Lawmakers really want the American people to know that they, too, are “outraged” about the $165 million in bonuses paid to American International Group executives.
Hearings and panic it’s getting out of control:
Obama’s AIG Panic
The AIG Beltway bonfire continued yesterday with the spectacle of Ed Liddy, AIG’s government-appointed CEO, enduring the wrath of Congress for embarrassing the Members with post-bailout bonuses. What we now have is a full-blown political …

March20
Rash action:
House Passes Bonus Tax Bill — 90% Hit Would Affect Major Banks; Senate Mulls Similar Action Amid AIG Furor

March 21
Looking for actual facts:
The AIG Controversy: Decoding Details Behind Bonus Tax
Regret:
The AIG Controversy: Obama Seeks to Soften the Punitive Legislation 
Final Stage: We just made things worse
The AIG Controversy — CAPITAL: Rescuing the Economy Just Got Harder – WSJ, March 21