Can we please stop talking about these damn bonuses?  No, I don't think they should have received the bonuses - considering they would've received nothing without the bailout.  And yes, I understand there's some symbolism involved - the government can't let it be perceived that taxpayer money is going to waste. On the other hand, temporary 90% taxes are a scary proposition.  But either way, can everyone please take a step back from the populist anger and get some perspective?

The AIG bonuses were $165 million. Our GDP is about $14 Trillion and the Federal government's expected outlays this year are about $3.9 Trillion.  This makes the $165M equal to about .001% of GDP and .004% of outlays.  Even with this tiny amount of money, the President, his administration, congress, and the press have spent many days now dealing with this so-called important situation.   

To put these numbers into perspective.  This is akin to a $250M company having the CEO and much of the management team working on a $3,000 - $10,000 issue for a couple weeks.  It is a complete waste of time and misallocation of resources.