Dear AIG:

Nearly a year ago I wrote an open letter to you.  I can see how–with all the negative economy hoopla and millions of dollars being lobbed about at that time–it would be easy to overlook my note.  So, I thought I would take a moment to write again.  You may imagine the dismay I felt while reading of the $100,000,000 recently dispensed by you in the form of “retention payments” or “bonuses” to various AIG employees.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the arts were so highly prized by society that they, too, needed to be retained?  Since we continue to face challenging financial times and since, as a corporate entity, AIG seems to be financially solvent, I write to ask for your monetary support in preserving the arts.  As before, it really won’t cost that much at all and, in fact, this request is for even less than my previous entreaty, primarily due to the fact that … Read more »

Dear AIG:

Seeing as you seem to have plenty of wealth to distribute and seeing as some Americans (including performing artists) may be facing challenging financial times, I thought I would take this moment to ask you for money.  Not much in the scheme of things, really.  Simply put: as an artist I could function well for quite some time with $60,000 post-tax dollars, no strings attached.  Just think of this as an artist grant that will greatly enrich the cultural quotient of these United States.  Based on what you’ve been able to apportion in recent days, this amount is only 0.0036% of the $165,000,000 you shared as bonuses.  See?  A mere fraction of the many funds afforded you by hardworking American taxpayers.

This entire bonus amount, $165,000,000, when divided into equal $60,000 grants could actually be used to promote the creative lives of 2,750 American artists, thereby keeping funds in America, fostering American cultivation and motivating our sluggish national … Read more »