Intel Corp (INTC)

[spokeshave]

Does that mean the public, e.g. shareholders, "should have no say whatsoever in contracts between employee and employer"?

Well, the public should only be shareholders in a company willingly. I don't recall ever being asked if I wanted to invest my tax dollars in AIG...but that is a different discussion.

In this case, the public had a say. Their duly elected representatives bought AIG on their behalf, and also promulgated public policy that explicitly permitted the bonuses.

For the life of me, I can't understand what everyone keeps whining about. If you feel the need to whine about how government spends your money and who they permit to receive bonuses with your money, then write your congressman. Stop blaming the people who legally got the bonuses.