“Mistakes Were Made” 1
AIG’s Edward Liddy mealy-mouths at the Guardian.
Doesn’t any suit have the guts to say, “We (or ‘I’) screwed up,” instead of the holy-moly-we-were-somehow-innocent-victims-of-some-faceless-entity formulation, “Mistakes were made”?
Try saying “mistakes were made” to the traffic cop the next time one pulls you over and asks, “Do you know why I pulled you over?”
Rarely do we seem to see someone in public life who takes responsibility.
Not just idiots. Irresponsible self-excusing idiots powerless to stop the sweeping forces of incompetence and destruction which they unleash.
Barney Frank calls out the crapola (via TPM):
Furrfu.
March 19, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Irresponsible self-excusing idiots
I assume you mean the irresponsible self-excusing idiots in congress?
A republican congress changed the law and allowing AIG to exploit a loophole and conduct their (more or less) fraudulent business. They were basically an unregulated insurance hedge fund which I’m not sure anyone actually understands.
The democrats took control of congress following the 2006 elections and did nothing to close the loophole.
AIG nearly collapsed bringing down the financial world as we know it but was propped up by the federal government (actually they were propped up by the taxpayers).
Congress then passed the stimulus bill. Thanks to Chris Dodd, who says he was acting at the behest of the Obama administration, the stimulus bill contained language that basically grandfathered in the same bonuses that everyone now finds so outrageous (including the members of congress who allowed the bonuses to be paid by voting for the stimulus bill which most of them probably never bothered to read – let’s talk pay for performance).
Now Charlie Rangel (who doesn’t bother to report rental income, fails to pay taxes on that income, receives what amounts to an interest-free mortgage, receives a rent-subsidized apartment and uses it for his campaign headquarters, but has done nothing wrong and chairs the house ways and means committee) pushes through a bill in the house to tax the bonuses at 90%. I have read a number of articles quoting legal experts who state the law would never stand a court challenge. I have yet to read or find one article quoting an expert who says the law would stand judicial muster. So let’s pass this bill which amounts to little more than political posturing so we look good with the home folks. Politics as usual.
Yes, mistakes were made…and congress continues to make them.