From Inspired Startup
I’ll probably get flamed for this post, but enough already about the investigation into the bonuses at AIG! Let them keep it and move on, stop this crazy idea of taxing those bonuses after the fact. It’s infuriating to see how the politicians are jumping on the bandwagon to get their soundbites in – and blaming AIG execs, the feds, etc for this bonus mess. It’s even more crazy to me that we’re spending time creating legislation to handle the bonuses which total $165MM compared to the more than $182B pumped into the company. Are we now going to tackle stupid decisions at Merrill, GM, Ford, and the hundreds of other banks that have taken taxpayer money? Did we expect the government to be an expert at nationalizing private companies or providing good oversight? C’mon folks, get real, the government will not solve our problems! It’s pretty darn stupid to spend $165M in bonuses, but then again, it’s pretty dumb to have the government invest in assets that no sane investor or person would touch. Can someone tell me why we are spending our collective energies on trying to collect $165M when we should be focused on the bigger issues? We are wasting our time and resources going after these incompetent managers because it’s easy to, it makes the politicians feel good and look like they are on our side. It’s totally ludicrous. If these companies can’t make good decisions, then why is the government investing in these companies and chasing good money after bad? Think about it – we are deleveraging the world over with prices coming down, banks divesting their bad assets, and loans hard to come by. Guess who is leveraging upward big time? The government, and if we’re not careful, we’re recreating the problem, only this time we’ve created the biggest AIG of them all, the government.
Again, it will be the small businesses and entrepreneurs that turn this ship around, we need to stimulate small businesses and entrepreneurs not failed industries and companies. Imagine if we had put $162B into small businesses in 2008… Enough ranting, time for some solutions:
1) Stimulate small businesses. How about tax credits for hiring? Reward companies that can actually hire in this environment. Don’t go too far, the goal is not to hire for the sake of hiring, but make it attractive so businesses can invest for the future.
2) Stimulate investment. Give companies faster depreciation schedules for spending money in 2009 for equipment, software, technology. Incentivize them to invest. Again, not so they spend haphazardly, but to increase investment for those who are holding back.
3) Stimulate new entrepreneurs. Teach people to start companies and not rely on big business for employment. Deploy volunteers, entrepreneurs, lawyers to give back through free seminars with no strings attached. Provide more online resources on how to bootstrap and get a business off the ground.
There are certainly lots of other ideas, I’d love to see the government invest in more education, re-training for those in the automobile industry, promoting long-term growth for the country through technology development and mass transit solutions (much like the highway system under Eisenhower). We should be investing for the future and taking the time to rethink long-term stimulus, this is not a short-term fix. More dollars into failed industries is not going to be a long-term solution. We’ve got a long ways to go. If we recover too fast, I fear we’ll end up back where we are. Much like the recent run-up in stocks, we’re due for a huge bounce lower. We , as individuals, cannot rely on government, we need to take responsibility for ourselves and for our neighbors. Save and invest more. Stop blaming AIG, the government, the banks. Let them do what they need to do. Get started on your business, invest in people. Not only will you succeed, but the world will as well.
About nathan kaiser
