Let me see if I understand the order of events: 1. AIG takes risky bets and the generate big compensation packages for executives 2. This big bets fail in a big way and taxes from hardworking U.S. Citizens are used to bail AIG out (government send cash to AIG in exchange for pieces of paper representing an equity interest) 3. The executives continue to receive big compensation packages during the bailout while lower level workers at AIG are laid off. 4. A conditions stabilized the government sold their pieces of paper to investors in exchange for cash. Wait a second! Does that set of investors, who transferred cash to the government, include the company AIG or their executives? I suspect not. I suspect it was your mutual funds and pension funds buying those pieces of paper from the government. So AIG receives our taxpayer dollars, pays executives bonuses, lays off workers, and then more money from working class America is used to buy pieces of paper with the AIG name on it from the government. Tangible advice: eliminate as much of your investment and interaction with AIG as possible. http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-73653959/