Bailout of AIG

[Robja]

I for one as a taxpayer am dissappointed that our Government has chosen to once again bail out another business. Why not look at what the executives make and use part of that money? I have been in the insurance and financial services industry for over 20 years and I don't see this as fair competition to the companies who strive to make a profit at a fair price. Why should we as taxpayers continue to bail out companies that have recklessly invested money in very risky real estate or mortgage ventures?

[F16TJ]

Against it.

[flatbottom]

I agree. no bailout

I want to buy a new truck, but now I have to pay my money to bail out AIG



Why didn't the FED bail out companies that actually mattered like Bethlehem steel, or the rail roads, or the textile Co's, and thousands of other rust belt corps that employed millions of middle class workers. Look how many farmer lost their land. Look how many Fishermen lost their business. You know companies that actually make things and built the middle class of America. They were all allowed to go under without a peep for the FEDs and those loses really undermined the prosperity of the US.

Hang the bankers from the 128th floor. Decorate the city of new york with them. They build nothing and take the millions in cash...then run.

Funny how BOA can find 50 million but the other crooks (globility) can not find a dime to bail them out

[Sturgeon General]

your comments and statements seem unbelievably simplistic and blanketing...

how can you compare a global company like AIG to Bethlehem steel?

do you really want to hang the bankers from the 128th floor? i have friends and family that work there that are about to lose their jobs, i guess you want to be merciful and hang them before they do it themselves after all this stress? when all they are doing is trying to earn an honest living, and hell, let me assure you, they are not running home with millions of dollars.

do you think it was aig's choice to recklessly invest in subprime mortgages or do you think lenders such as these were really pressured by politicians who wanted to put more americans in homes and give loans to families even though they did not have the credit rating?

be careful what you wish for for i really think you have no idea what you're talking about! obviously aig going down would have consequences far more reaching than you think and i would bet it even touches your lives in one way or another.

geezus you guys are ignorant.

and your list above... no, it's no where near complete, there's 100's of subsidiaries within aig.

[Sturgeon General]

I for one as a taxpayer am dissappointed that our Government has chosen to once again bail out another business. Why not look at what the executives make and use part of that money? I have been in the insurance and financial services industry for over 20 years and I don't see this as fair competition to the companies who strive to make a profit at a fair price. Why should we as taxpayers continue to bail out companies that have recklessly invested money in very risky real estate or mortgage ventures?

ya, you're really good with #'s.

they need to generate at least $85 billion in capital. you think that their executives are making that much?

aig is composed of 100's of companies. they are going to start selling some of those companies to generate the capital to repay the loan. of course there's going to be restructuring of the administration, but you think firing the head honcho is gonna generate $85 billion dollars?

[joeksr]

[QUOTE=Sturgeon General
do you think it was aig's choice to recklessly invest in subprime mortgages or do you think lenders such as these were really pressured by politicians who wanted to put more americans in homes and give loans to families even though they did not have the credit rating?

NO uh uh. It was the govments fault, they forced them to make bad business decisions.

Oh, I get it. If you get big enough you can lose all the money you want and It's the govments responsibility to pay you for bad decisions ? Course, that means we pay.

NO bail outs.

Guess I am one ignorant sombitch.

[Sturgeon General]

around the late 90's the clinton administration started to pressure banks and push for more home ownership in lower income families. this continued into the bush administration. oversimplification, yes. perpetuated by people borrowing beyond their means.

the government is not paying aig anything. the company already has one foot in the grave. it is giving them a loan to stay afloat and liquidate slowly, instead of collapse and sink all at once. aig has its hands in everything.

if you have a credit card, any credit debit, if you have a mortgage, any mutual funds or portfolios; if you have life insurance, property insurance, casualty insurance, YOU have an investment in aig.

this is an unprecedented event in the financial world and the collapse of aig could lead to something as bad as the great depression.

don't think it's not in your best interest to keep aig alive for as long as possible.

but i do agree with you, you are one ignoooorant sumbeetch.

[JD5652]

I'm a small business owner and I've had to live with my investment/business decisions for over 20 years....IF I make a mistake...and I've make a couple bad ones...there was NO ONE there to take up my slack.... WHY should AIG execs walk away with MILLIION$ when I'm the first to hurt based upon my business decisions if they go bad....... I'm a card carrying gun toting republican, NRA and the whole ball of wax...... let the management and executives live with their investment decisions.... last time I looked at AIG...they were primarily an INSURANCE company....WTF are they doing in the sub-prime mortgage biz???

Ignorant??!!!..... I don't think so.... I just don't like a double standard in the business world.....


....$80 Billion!!???? bail out?!!!! are you kidding me!!! I say hang them from the 150th floor.....

I have investments that will hurt due to AIG's total mismanagement.... but let them reap what they've sown..... I'll take the hit on my portfilio to get management that understands sound investment principles and can resist the temptation to "run with the herd".........

[captcl]

We are all going to be affected by the present courese of events in the business/banking world. Some directly, some indirectly.To my way of thinking all these billions of $ spent,loaned or somehow procured to help these businesses and investment banks could have "paid-off" the mortage crisis,kept everyone in their home and business/banking would have been "business as usual" after the screw up. Of course this did'nt happen and it really is'nt that simple but a couple of billion couild have brought a lot of mortages current!
Yeah there has been legilation passed and signed to help SOME of this but has it started or helped? Helped some I hope! The thing that really gets to me is here are investment?banks and the largest Insurance Co. in the world BILLIONS IN AREARS! If you or me are one minute, hour or day late getting a hard earned payment out all we hear is, foreclosure, repo late payment penalty etc! This is from the guys (not really the guys at the top but those people joksr spoke of who are now lossing their job who, IMO didn't care till it it the fan) getting the BILLIONS to protect their asses.... I me assets! This SUCKS! Here most of us are working, worrying and planning just to break even and hang on to what little we may have and the future? That would be the next day of "breaking even"!
I have been fortuate in my 57 yrs. but have been from 4hrs. till foreclosure and losing everything to working back to today at "breaking even" or maybe "breaking even plus"! I beleive the AIG bailout was made so as not to have a severe impact on "The World" economy.Bashing/blaming might make you feel better but as taxpayers we are still going to pay for it!
Reality can oftentimes suck but we all need to truly and honestly take at long look not just at what is good for me(we are all special interest groups) but what is truly good for the country with the rest of the world not withstanding on some aspects!Don't forget, we have a Gulf Coast to clean up/help out that has not recovered from past disasters! Actions speak louder than words so I better end this rant, get of my ass and get to work bringing back the USA to the country I remember!
YOU with me?

[fishskipper]

Now , here's my take. I'm no economist... Hell I'm not even a college graduate... Prime Loans or sub prime loans, if people can't afford to make their payments they are going to loose their homes. I borrowed five years ago for a home and was able to make my payments just fine. Now, I'm struggling because the dollar is not as strong, food cost more, gas cost more and people can't afford to do what they use to do. So what I'm saying is fix the economy with the 85 billion dollars and you've fixed two problems. Seems simple to me!!!!