El Justo Reclamo

AIG Blows Through Taxpayers' Money at the Ritz

Posted by Lisa Derrick, Firedoglake , AlterNet

Your tax dollars at work ... er ... play.

Less than a week after being castigated by the White House, Congress and Barack Obama for profligate spending at taxpayer expense, the financially disastrous insurance firm AIG is at it again, sending two hundred employees and independent sales agents on a retreat to another ritzy resort, the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay on the Northern California coast.
The $400-per-night luxury hotel boasts rooms with either ocean views or balconies; feather beds with duvets, 300-thread count Egyptian cotton sheets and a choice of 100% goose down or non-allergenic foam pillows; marble bathrooms with separate shower and bathtub; and plush terry cloth robes.
AIG, which received an $85 billion loan from the U.S. government last month and in exchange ceded a 79.9 percent ownership interest, borrowed another $37.8 billion from the Federal Reserve on Tuesday to "replenish liquidity."
Speaking of liquidity, the Ritz Carlton spa offers a:

NAVAN Body Cocktail massage..Indulge in your favorite cocktail while your body is buffed and rubbed to perfection. This happy hour starts with a vanilla sugar exfoliation for the entire body designed to remove dead skin and stimulate circulation. Next, a refreshing Vichy shower rinse is followed by a thirty-minute massage of hydrating shea butter. After your treatment, choose from one of three new cocktails using NAVAN Vanilla liqueur - the latest contribution to the spirit world from the House of Grand Marnier.

If that $180 massage is too intoxicating, AIG's the taxpayer's guests can have the $125 "Make Today a Sundae" Pedicure which:

starts with a choice scoop of "Me! Bath Ice Cream" dissolved in the footbath to soften and nourish feet...either a rich chocolate or roasted marshmallow foot mask is applied for ultra hydration and toning...a whipped cream peppermint lotion is massaged into the feet and legs. As an extra indulgence, an ice cream sundae or sorbet medley is served during this luxurious treatment.

Last month's $440,000 hotel tab included $23,000 for spa services, according to Rep. Henry Waxman. During Tuesday night's presidential debate Barack Obama said, "The Treasury should demand that money back and those executives should be fired."
In a letter written Tuesday to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson AIG's Chief Executive Officer Edward Liddy said:

This sort of event has been standard practice in our industry for many years. Let me assure you that we are reevaluating the costs of all aspects of our operations in light of the new circumstances in which we are all operating.

AIG's spokesperson Nicholas Ashooh said he didn't know the cost of October's Ritz Carlton retreat or how long it would last, but it had "more of an educational component" than September's $440,000 orgy of gluttony.
Because really a $97 per person tasting menu is so educational when paired with optional $70 wine flights.