I don't think I've been clear about my position on the AIG bonuses.
In brief, I'm disgusted by AIG -- but I'm not surprised at all, so that's tempered my reaction. This is exactly how these corporations operate and it's a perfect illustration in support of government regulation.
Unregulated corporations would dump untold tons of toxins into the air and water. Unregulated corporations would pay its employees next to nothing while forcing them to work in sweat shop conditions (two reasons why so many corporations outsource to unregulated foreign work forces). Why? Because the stated goal of any corporation is for profit. But in order to earn a profit without killing people, stealing their money and destroying the planet, we have to regulate them.