Dear Jake,
I read your “tenderhearted” resignation letter to Edward M. Liddy with such a snicker and chortle, I had to walk away from the computer to stop the convulsive laughter.
Unlike many people in the American Public who may be reacting to the AIG bonuses on a gut level, I am reacting to them on grounds of moral integrity. Moral integrity can not be bought, sold or sanitized, no matter who you give the money to. You wrote the shallow resignation letter to ease your mind.
If you have the education from MIT which you claim,
” I did, however, like many others here, lose a significant portion of my life savings in the form of deferred compensation invested in the capital of A.I.G.-F.P. because of those losses. In this way I have personally suffered from this controversial activity — directly as well as indirectly with the rest of the taxpayers. ” and
“So what am I to do? There’s no easy answer. I know that because of hard work I have benefited more than most during the economic boom and have saved enough that my family is unlikely to suffer devastating losses during the current bust. ”
is the same type of lament many of us heard when Enron went kaplooey. I didn’t see it coming.
Well, interestingly, as an employee of AIG and apparently with a math/financial and insurance background, YOU and all of your associates who feel “cheated” should have checked AIG books to make sure you could do the job – bonus or not. Do not embarrass MIT by admitting you forgot how to do due diligence on your own behalf. This alone would indicate to me AIG should be glad to be rid of you.
While plumbers and electricians should be paid, they are not “tipped” and bonused unless they complete the job early and even then, this is not always the case. Waitresses are tipped on services performed, which never comes out to the real work done (please read “Nickled and Dimed”). Teachers, of which I am one, are NEVER compensated for all the extra hours we put in to do our job – and, in fact, we regularly deal with budget cuts and ugly things relating to our pay, benefits and retirement (many of us can not collect both our teachers pension and SS dollars if we have worked both in public and private sectors).
http://www.kqed.org/epArchive/R904080737 Richard Swerdlow Perspective
You and your colleagues are morally bereft. If you really want to make a difference – don’t just donate the “after tax dollars” – they were a bonus…..duh, no one expects you to live on a bonus, that is what a salary is for; donate some of your true earnings and volunteer time in your community (Americorps, Peace Corps, Second Harvest). Your intended gesture is vacuous and insulting to all of us who work equally hard for our money and spend countless hours away from family and friends and does not even deserve the space in the NY Times it was awarded.
I would be embarrassed, not humbled, to write such tripe as I resigned. YOU and your colleagues are owed nothing, any more than teachers or plumbers/electricians for doing your job. May I suggest getting your resume redone and try Linked In.
Most, if not all Americans find it difficult to feel empathy to anyone crying all the way to the bank.
P.S. By 4:33 PM PST, the NY Times was no longer taking comments, hence, I was not able to add mine. Here is a “snapshot” of the comments as put forth by NYTimes Editorial Staff. http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2009/03/25/opinion/25desantis.html?s=4&pg=1 It seems my opinion is shared by 85%…..
Thought Full - It's "IN" the intention! 