The Limits of AIG Outrage

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Mar 16 2009, 5:35 pm by Marc Ambinder

One witty reader, knowing my exasperation with phony outrage, asks: "Are you outraged by AIG?" Well, yes. But don't think for a moment that a good number of your politicians aren't thinking about how to exploit the legitimate outrage for their own benefit; fixing AIG's bonus problem won't fix the economy; it won't fix income inequality; it won't reduce systematic cost pressures in health care; it won't ameliorate the downside of globalization; it won't help students afford their loan payments.

Comments (1)

Kawika Holbrook March 17, 2009 2:45 AM

AIG's bonus problem may not fix any of the issues you list, but populist anger can serve as legislative lubricant. Given enough revelations combined with too few remedies, and outrage might speed changes in regulations that, in turn, can help ensure that no company is "too big to fail" and no small clique of quants can drain the credit pool for a few decades to come.

Of course, we might get a bunch of dumb laws that only create new loopholes. Still, I hold hope that -- regardless of whether AIG execs continue to heat their McMansions with rolls of hundred dollar bills -- something good can come out of all of this.