Official Washington is aghast that insurance giant AIG spent $165 million of its $170 billion in bailout money on executive bonuses. Is this justified outrage at wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars or much ado about very little since the bonuses make up less than one tenth of one percent of the bailout money? Is spending money on retaining key executives a worthwhile investment? What should lawmakers have done differently in setting up the Wall Street bailout? Will AIG be prevented from failing? How will it recover in the long term? We ask Neil Weinberg, executive editor at Forbes magazine.
