Geithner and Feinberg's Hands Were Tied on Those 'Outrageous' AIG Bonuses

Despite a massive failure, subsequent government bailout, and simmering populist rage, there's apparently just no way for pay czar Ken Feinberg or Treasury Secretary Tim Geither to cut down the new $100 million round of bonuses at AIG any further. They were already reduced 20%, kids! It's these pesky bonus contracts, you see: they were made prior to the government bailout, and so current employees were "grandfathered" in. Can't do nothing about that but complain and call them "outrageous," as both Geithner and Feinberg did earlier today. Does anyone even remember that Grandfather Clauses were originally manufactured by racists to tie then-"legal" voters to their "illegal" non-white grandfathers? Elsewhere, Goldman spokesman Lucas van Praag told those speculating as to the how astronomic CEO Lloyd Blankfield's bonus would be that "performance speaks for itself," adding another pithy asshole-ism to his long list of withering rebuttals. [WSJ]