Activists protest bonuses

Agence France-Presse

Members of the small Connecticut Working Families party embarked on a "Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous" tour in the northeastern U.S. state that is home to the company's main offices. The group hoped to bring attention to the economic anger that boiled this week over multi-million bonuses for key executives, including some in the division blamed for putting the once-mighty insurer on life support. Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal pointed out Saturday, according to the Hartford Courant newspaper, that contrary to the figure widely reported in recent days, that the total amount of AIG bonuses was $218 million - $53 million more than previously thought.

AIG has been kept alive only thanks to $170 billion in U.S. government rescue money over the last six months.

The bonus money "may not seem like an enormous amount of money for AIG or it's top executives," said activists in an open letter stressing their anger at the situation.

"But for Connecticut families struggling to make ends meet, for those of us who are losing our homes, losing our healthcare, losing our jobs, or our life savings, that much money could do tremendous good."The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted Thursday to slap a 90 percent tax on bonuses for top executives at bailed-out firms like AIG.