SENATOR: AIG Executives Should ‘Resign Or Go Commit Suicide’
Expressions of outrage across the political spectrum reached a new crescendo Monday when Sen. Charles Grassley suggested in an Iowa City radio interview that AIG executives should take a Japanese approach toward accepting responsibility for the collapse of the insurance giant by resigning or killing themselves. “Obviously, maybe they ought to be removed,” the Iowa Republican said. “But I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they’d follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.” Grassley spokesman Casey Mills said the senator wasn’t calling for AIG executives to kill themselves, but said those who accept tax dollars and spend them on travel and bonuses do so irresponsibly. In another development, New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he has issued subpoenas for the names of American International Group employees given bonuses despite their possible roles in its near-collapse. [via YAHOO NEWS]
Somebody Paid $7.7 Million For A Philly Condo — Repeat a PHILLY Condo!
“The most expensive luxury condominium ever sold in the history of Philadelphia” has fetched nearly $7.7 million, according to the Residences at Two Liberty Place. A spokeswoman declined to say who the buyer is, but names linked to other properties there include Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels and Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora, who purchased a $3.58 million pad on the 52d floor. The four-bedroom home on the 46th floor — one of 20 floors with living quarters — has 5,850 square feet of space, including billiard room, a “custom gourmet kitchen,” hand-finished walnut floors, and more than 2,000 square feet of balcony. That’s the “highest residential outdoor space in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” according to a news release. [via the INQUIRER]
NUTTER: Property Tax Hike Or Cut Cops And Firemen — Your Choice
Mayor Nutter yesterday made his case for a substantial but temporary hike in the city’s property tax, saying the failure to do so would trigger deep service cuts and hundreds of layoffs in two critical departments: police and fire. Alternatively, increasing the tax would ensure no layoffs in the departments and not a single fire company would close, said Nutter, who was flanked at a City Hall news conference by more than two dozen uniformed officers and firefighters. “We’ve heard the public,” he said, referring to the pleas of residents at neighborhood budget forums to leave the police and firefighters relatively untouched. “I refuse to do anything that halts our march toward a safer city,” the mayor said. Linking an unpopular tax hike to the future of the city’s most popular workers reflects a well-thought-out strategy by the administration as it looks to City Council for approval in the weeks ahead. [via INQUIRER]