A good cliche never grows old
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009A cliché used by my team 35 years ago came to mind this week when considering the relevance of the current AIG controversy. It seems that everyone, Republicans and Democrats alike are trying to stop $165 million in bonuses for AIG executives. While the merit of any monies owed to these executives does seem bizarre, the idiocy of the intense scrutiny ties back to the 1970’s cliché.
“The amount of senior management attention to a cost estimate is most often inversely proportional to the dollar amount of the estimate.”
The amount of attention and review of elements of the $787 billion bailout estimate was minuscule compared to the current attention paid to the bonuses. If Washington is ever going to get the respect of the rest of nation, it’s time that someone pays attention to the intricate details of all of the bailouts approved to date, not just what surfaces in the news each week.