Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Where’s the change?

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Last week both the Our View and Pat Murphy opinion pieces took the firm AIG to task for awarding $165 million in bonuses to 73 employees.

I will not defend those bonuses but would like to point out that the only reason they will be allowed to stand legally is that Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., placed an amendment in the bailout that specifically allowed those bonuses. At first Sen. Dodd said he didn't do it, then said he did and then said he did because the White House, through the Treasury secretary, asked him to (I think Sen. Kerry's staff is advising him). The biggest political donations by AIG were to this same senator and, secondly, to President Obama.

This president campaigned on "transparency, not politics as usual, no pork and no lobbyists in his administration."

In less than two months we have the president saying he knows nothing about these bonuses and a leading senator of his party saying he does, and both of these individuals are recipients of large political donations from the company under investigation; six appointees to major posts who could be charged with felony tax evasion; the first bill with massive pork signed by the president and three lobbyists given waivers and one pending.

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This president campaigned on "hope and change." What we hope for now is that he'll change.

Mike Burke

Zinc Spur