The Philosophy of Gestures: Econobloggers Weigh in on AIG's PR Sleight of Hand

Hey, AIG found out a way to carry out a stunning public relations ploy by giving up their bonuses, while totally paying themselves big bucks as "retention bonuses"!   Ad-mir-able!   Deb Cupples discusses it here.

At Angry Bear, rdan quotes self-serving statements of AIG execs made to FT, in which they explain how retention bonuses are way better. 

Then rdan says:

My initial reaction was simply "My God, they just can't help themselves, can they?"

At Naked Capitalism Yves Smith says:

How can you give cash compensation to an executive, yet claim it is not a salary or bonus? You call it a "retention bonus," No, I am not making this up....
Note that AIG chose to make this disclosure the day before Thanksgiving, clearly choosing a time when it would attract the least notice...the bigger issue, as far as I am concerned, is the misrepresentation, trying to claim that AIG was forgoing significant senior level comp, only to learn that they define terms a bit differently than the rest of the world does.

It's like giving up candy for Lent, except for chocolate or going on the wagon by giving up non-alcoholic beer. 

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