So all of these protestors arrived at an AIG guy’s house. Surprise, it’s nice. Really. Nicer than the average house. There is income inequality in America, it seems:
She marveled at AIG executive James Haas’ colonial house, which has stunning views of a golf course and the Long Island Sound. The Fairfield house is “another part of the world” from her life in nearby Bridgeport, which flirted with bankruptcy in the 1990s and still struggles with foreclosures and unemployment.
How dare we subsidize the AIG jerks with their fancy houses. What should we do instead? Subsidize other people’s more tasteful houses:
Another protester, Claire Jeffery, of Bloomfield, said she’s on the verge of foreclosure. She works as a housekeeper; her husband, a truck driver, can’t find work.
“I love my home,” she said. “I really want people to help us.”
Thank you, Claire, for making clear what this is all about: you want money from the government, and James has it. I bet he loves his house too, but apparently that doesn’t make it worth subsidizing.
Anything else we should know about James Haas?
Besides Haas’ home, protesters on Saturday also visited the Fairfield home of AIG executive Douglas Poling. They were met both times by security guards. They left letters that acknowledged some executives, including Haas and Poling, are giving up the money but that asked them to support higher taxes on families earning more than $500,000 a year.
He gave back the money! And the protestors knew it and showed up anyway, presumably because it’s impractical to go to London and hang out with epicenter of AIGFP, and absolutely no one goes to Lower Manhattan on a weekend, even to hassle the folks at 85 Broad.
