Our tax dollars 'hard at work'!
The government has agreed to bail out the 'world's largest insurer' - AIG - for $85 billion.
I don't get it!
AIG paid almost a billion dollars to have their name on the jersey of English soccer giants Manchester United a few years ago.
Then the company goes on to make more shitty business decisions AND then they get 85 BILLION as a hand out from Uncle Sam?
Will the U.S. tax payers get the profits of AIG since we're bailing them out?
Life is so unfair for the regular guy! This was probably for the best, though. Right?????
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
18 comments:
You can thank the Republicans for nearly 30 years of laizzes-faire, de-regulation of every industry imaginable. These jokers believe in a free-market until they're the ones left holding the bag.
Go ahead, vote for Palin/McCain in '08 and see how just much worse things can get.
explain to me where in capitalism is this written. i bet we still have seen anything yet. can you all here the drums beating in the background???
Anon 12:59
The bank de-regulation was blessed & signed by Mr Democrat himself Clinton in 1999. However, I believe that PURE GREED is what got us in this mess, not regulations or lack off.
I worked for AIG for a short time in the early 80s. It was one sleazy company. State and federal regulations prohibit risky investments of premiums collected (after all, responsible policyholders do deserve a solvent insurance company to when they make a claim). To get around this inconvenient consumer protection, AIG would sell their risks to re-insurers, essentially becoming a broker whose fees are subjected to less regulation. This arrangement worked so well that AIG ventured into more exotic (and risky)financial coverages culminating in insuring the mortgage portfolios of the major banks and investment houses such as the recently defunct Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Indy Mac, Countrywide, etc. We are now paying for this obscene greed.
So they pretty much nationalised AIG? I guess now it will function so much better as an effecient government bureaucracy. Way to go!
honestaby
12:59 - I've often said that Clinton is the best Republican president this country's ever had.
I meant to say 1:21.
anon 1:35 - 1:36
If you think Clinton was a republican I shudder to think what constitue a Democrat in your book?
Thank John (I never met a regulation I liked) McCain. Or maybe the Grandfather of all deregulators ROnal Wilson Reagan. When will you cowboy Republicans learn, it's all fun and games (and greed) till someone get's their eye poked out. Suckers.
12:59 p.m.- No, you go ahead and vote for Obama/Obiden and just see how much worse things can get.
This notion is no worse than the fact that we're spending billions of American dollars in Iraq, while they sit on all the money and all the oil. How dumb ARE we?
I love it that the left continues to try and blame this on Republicans. For one thing most of them only care about re-election, no matter what their party.
For another thing, did you see who the second-largest receiver of Fannie-Mae/Freddy-mac contributions was? None other than the Messiah himself. He's just under Democrat Chris Dodd.
Wonder why these guys just keep givin' big to the Democrats when it's allegedly the Republicans that let them get away with all their crimes?
the dow is free-falling.
Welcome to Statism, where the gubment gets their grubby hands on everything in our lives.
If these companies are "too big to fail," what do you think the chances of the Bank of America/Merrill Lynch merger being approved are? Let's take two powerhouses in banking in finance, that are probably "too big to fail," and let them get together!
Instead of 3-4 big companies in each market, we need to see some fragmentation. The economies of scale from a few big competitors rarely benefit the end consumer - just the CxO and board members. We need competition and diversification in our markets to keep businesses honest.
yall can argue politics all night long but to me personally it "does" make a difference that they were bailed out b/c my ol man's life insurance is with AIG and I was worried about that. Now I feel ok bout that but what diff is that life insurance gonna make when we are homeless, jobless, and livin on the streets!???
IMO, yall would *itch no matter who helped who financially unless it truly directly affected you personally. why not stop the whinning and complaining about it and be glad its at least one small stitch in the huge gaping hole in our present economy.
It's not JUST about greed, it's also about working together, helping one another to re-build. It sickens me that we as a people categorized politics with the labels of Democrates vs Republicans. To me our president should represent both parties better and be judged as a president and unite our forces to have to work together. Through the yrs we have had bad presidents from both parties...ITS A JOB. But, its the biggest job in the country so why not have him/her representent EVERYONE in an honest and true form.
Its time for change. History only repeats itself in full circle eventully if we as a people continue to allow our govt to function, or should I say with our horrible defecite NON- functioning govt, as we have over and over in our past then nothing will ever improve. How antiquaited is our govt??????
I say we get (2) young WELL educated people (1 man 1 woman) to run this country. Let them interview and pick all new senators, ect. TOTALLY RESTRUCTURE the government, get our *ss's outta debt and start helping AMERICAN UNITED STATES CITIZENS regain control of this country.
But firstly I want GOD back in our govt and our schools and our country. Maybe then we would all stop the finger pointing and name calling fighting over who **cked up this country more, the democrates or republicans f*s. !!!
note. I personally do not want ((either)) senator as our president!!!!!
If you think McCain will stop the greed and corruption on Wall Street, look to hos own current campaign. Of the 177 lobbyists working on his campaign,"at least 83 have in recent years lobbied for the financial industry McCain now attacks. These are high-paid influence-peddlers who have been working the corridors of the nation's capital to win favors and special treatment for investment banks, securities firms, hedge funds, accounting outfits, and insurance companies. Their clients have included AIG, the newest symbol of corporate excess; Lehman Brothers, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday sending the stock market into a tailspin; Merrill Lynch, which was bought out by Bank of America this week; and Washington Mutual, the banking giant that could be the next to fall. Among these 83 lobbyists are McCain's chief political adviser, Charlie Black (JP Morgan, Washington Mutual Bank,, Freddie Mac, Mortgage Bankers Association of America); McCain's national finance co-chairman, Wayne Berman (AIG, Blackstone, Credit Suisse, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac); the campaign's congressional liaison, John Green (Carlyle Group, Citigroup, Icahn Associates, Fannie Mae); McCain's veep vetter, Arthur Culvahouse (Fannie Mae); and McCain's transition planning chief, William Timmons Sr. (Citigroup, Freddie Mac, Vanguard Group)." McCain=McSame
When do we start receiving our checks from AIG! lol
“Give Us AIG and Keep Shopping”—keep your eyes on the Mall
Melt Up, Melt Down it’s the same Story of Stuff, Robert Singer
Kevin G. Hall in the McClatchy Newspapers writes:
Why would the government bail out a company like AIG but let Lehman Brothers file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection?
Kevin answer: Speaking frankly, the world can do without another investment firm. If an investment bank fails, any remaining investment bank can hire more people and take their jobs. AIG is not an investment bank. As a principal insurer, it insures consumers, it insures businesses and it insures business ventures, so it's not just that your corner store needs insurance.
The best analogy I've been able to come up with is to use an automaker. When you think about putting an automaker out of business, you put tire makers out of business, you put seat makers out of business, you put all sorts of things out of business. It's the same thing with AIG. There are tentacles. They're just so connected to so many other parts of the economy that the government deemed it more dangerous and potentially more expensive to the economy to have it fail than to give them this loan.
Story of Stuff answer: Lehman will not affect shopping, AIG will!
Number of employees AIG = 116,00, Number of employees Lehman = 25,000
The Bank for International Settlements recently reported that total derivatives trades exceeded one quadrillion dollars – that’s 1,000 trillion dollars, cost of bailout 85 billion.
Do the Math and Read my September 14, 2008 OpEdNews article
"Give Us the ANWAR and Keep Shopping"-They Found They Can't Have Both
http://www.opednews.com/articles/-Give-Us-the-ANWAR-and-Kee-by-Robert-Singer-080914-244.html
And watch a 20-minute documentary www.storyofstuff.com that lays this all out in a manner that even a child could understand and shows the path to saving the planet is no more complicated than controlling our addiction to all that "stuff."
Post a Comment