NRC Handelsblad’s Freek Staps joined a tour of angry Americans on a name-and-shame tour of the affluent houses of AIG executives. Like a majority of Americans they are outraged about the bonuses paid out to AIG executives despite a government bailout of the firm.

They have the blessing of president Barack Obama, who recently said: “I don’t want to quell anger – I think people are right to be angry. I am angry.”

In the Netherlands, Obama’s words are echoed by finance minister Wouter Bos who said last week:”I am just as irritated, frustrated and angry as every other person in the Netherlands who just doesn’t understand this.”

Bos has called ING’s initiative to make a ‘moral appeal’ to 1,200 top executives to return their 2008 bonuses “a good beginning but not enough”. He is working on extra measures to curtail the bonus system.

How do you feel about the bonuses being paid to executives in the financial sector?

Jelle Hans Reitsma, a Dutch farmer who emigrated to California, took his own life last December rather than have to slaughter his cows to pay his debts. He had borrowed 40 million dollars (31 million euros) from the banks at a time when demand for dairy products was high and real estate prices were going through the roof.

Freek Staps, one of NRC Handelsblad’s US correspondents, spoke to Reitsma’s widow Roxanne and wrote about Reitsma’s life and death. Before he called Roxanne he asked his editors at NRC if it would be a good idea to write about this. They said yes. Of course, it is painful to ask a woman who has just lost her husband to tell her story. But it would have been just as painful if NRC had decided for her that she couldn’t.

Roxanne, it turned out, was eager to tell her story and she was happy with the way Freek wrote it up. But then she got second thoughts. Wouldn’t the bank seek revenge for the bad publicity? For this reason the name of the bank was left out of the article.

Jelle Hans Reitsma’s story is an extreme one. We would like to know what you think about it. Was Reitsma a victim of a banking system that was all too eager to lend him money – until the financial crisis broke out? Is it a case of banks giving someone an umbrella when the sun shines only to take it away as soon as it starts raining? Or should Reitsma himself have been more cautious?

We would also like to hear your own stories from the new recession. Do you know people who have become afraid? Lost their job? Is the recession keeping you awake at night. Or do you feel the crisis is passing you by? Let us know.