Shared Sacrifice

You thought AIG had balls? Check out what Chicago's Northern Trust was caught doing last weekend and how much it cost to put up their employees and buddies for the Northern Trust golf open.

I'll give you the abstracts: This Chicago-based bank, which got $1.6 billion in bailout bucks, spent $50,000 to rent The House of Blues all to themselves. The band Chicago got paid $100,000. Sheryl Crow and Earth, Wind and Fire won't confirm how much they got paid but you know they don't offer a corporate discount.

Ladies were given trinkets from Tiffany and gift bags were called "stimulus packages." Guests and executives were put up at places like the Beverly Wilshire and Ritz Carlton.

Wait, it gets better: The $1.6 billion in taxpayers dollars we forked over to them? Northern Trust didn't even ask for it. That's right. We basically forced them to take over a billion and a half in taxpayer dollars and the poor, brow-beaten bastards had to accept it.

It gets even better: These bloated pricks actually laid off 450 people last December, or 4% of its workforce.

Nor does the irony ever end: For those not into the $6.3 million golf tournament, they were shuttled in Mercedes limos and could attend a Northern Trust-sponsored seminar on... wait for it.... "The Credit Crunch."

Of course, like AIG, they're claiming no bailout bucks were spent in the course of their Aga Khan weekend but like TMZ says, what the hell's the difference? Money is money and these assholes are pretending like the sky isn't falling down, after all, and that they can continue living their lavish Gatsby lifestyle and will lay off hundreds of employees just before Christmas at the same time they gratefully accept over a billion and a half in taxpayer money for which they never even asked.

So, in conclusion, AIG is a bunch of pikers.