October 9, 2008
(Update) AIG Comes to the Ritz at Half Moon Bay
As insurance companies ask taxpayers to help them out with bad mortgage bets, American International Group (AIG), who received a $85 billion loan bailout yesterday, still continue the posh life. (Jealous!) Take, for example, the trip they have planned next week, which happens to be down in Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay, "an elite golf and spa resort" south of San Francisco. According to David Lazarus at the LA Times:
[A] spokesman for American International Group said the company was going ahead with plans to host a three-day confab for about 150 insurance brokers at the Ritz-Carlton Resort in Half Moon Bay next week. About 50 AIG employees also will attend."This is an annual affair," said AIG's Joe Norton. "It's a key meeting."
Such five-star shindigs have long been a standard practice for the U.S. financial industry. They serve as incentives and rewards for top performers, and as regular get-togethers for senior execs.
The meeting, which will "introduce new insurance products to salespeople who specialize in wealthy clients," starts early next week. If any of you want to greet AIG folk, here's a map telling you how to get there.
Update: Trip canceled. Drats.
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Aha! A treasure map!
Someone should picket.
They obviously didn't get the memo from Eileen in procurement, "all out of office meetings must take place at the Red Roof Inn off I-95 and a stipend of $15 per head can picked up from petty cash but must be repaid with receipts".
You work in the public sector now bitches! Where's your fucking name tag?
BYOGolden Parachute
i'm setting up a booth to sell pitchforks and torches out front. stop by!
Been there for a wedding and an office team building thing. Not really my style but that place is swanky.
Well, on the other hand, we *want* the best insurance brokers to stay with AIG, since they're the part of the company that actually makes the money to pay back the loans. As opposed to the trading desk in London which made the investments which went bad. If they lose their talent, then we're stuck really holding the bag. Tricky. Plus, they leave their hotel and sales taxes behind for the state of California, which needs the money more than ever, considering we're paying more than our fair share on the federal side.
Trip's cancelled. Don't mess with Eileen.
Those 150 insurance brokers don't work for AIG. They sell AIG insurance products. So AIG has an incentive to keep them happy as they can just as soon sell products from other companies.
So it looks bad but really has nothing to do with the bailout.