[jyl]

Hard to say without knowing how airtight the contracts are, who they are being paid to, and how this compares to AIG's "normal" rate of bonus). But clearly an unpleasant thing to see.

Seems to me the Financial Products part of AIG is dispensable and could or should be shut down, so these bonuses really should be the minimum ones permitted by contract and should be accompanied with pink slips.

As for the rest of AIG, including the profitable insurance businesses, I don't think people should get "zero" bonuses if they've contributed a whole lot, but the overall bonus pool should be far, far smaller than they'd be in ordinary times.