AIG proves why they crashed - No common sense or judgement

There is a saying that was popular a few years ago: "Common sense isn't common." And you can certainly see it at AIG, where even now, millions of dollars are being paid to executives of the division which caused AIG's collapse despite unrelenting public outcry.

The bonuses will be paid to executives at A.I.G.’s financial products division, the unit that wrote trillions of dollars’ worth of credit-default swaps that protected investors from defaults on bonds backed in many cases by subprime mortgages.

The bonus plan covers 400 employees, and the bonuses range from as little as $1,000 to as much as $6.5 million. Seven executives at the financial products unit were entitled to receive more than $3 million in bonuses.

Clearly, it is time for the Federal government to stop simply playing the "carrot" of bailout money. It is time to also bring out the "stick" and begin prosecuting executives who caused these monumental collapses. If they want million dollar bonuses and AIG can't stop them, fine. But they had better be ready to pay out the bonuses as fines and in civil lawsuits.

Release the hounds, Mr. President.