AIG execs spend $440K on post-bailout shindig

[nygrl232]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 7:05am

I'm so glad that we taxpayers could help them through this difficult time.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081008/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_aig

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 7:17am

Updated On: 1/12/09 at 07:17 AM

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 9:30am

I so called this. As soon as I heard about the bailout I said the money would just disappear into already deep pockets, and lo and behold, that's exactly what happened. It's disgusting.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 9:44am

Last night in the debate, Obama said they should be held accountable for this, and many of them should be fired.

I agree.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 3:22pm

I agree B12B.

I get very nervous when I hear that Congress plans to solve a problem by throwing hugh sums of money at it.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, they sent $10. billion to Russia to aid their economic recovery. The money then travelled in suitcases from Moscow to Swiss bank accounts and disappeared from the accounts. It could not be traced. All that did was ensure longevity for the Russian mafia.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 3:25pm

They shouldn't just pay it back. They should pay it back with interest.

And then be fired.

This is disgusting.

[Li'l_Devil]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 3:26pm

This is why earlier this month I pulled out the money I had in my AIG/Valic account and rolled 1/2 of it over into my Lincoln Financial Investment account. The other 1/2 is under my mattress in case of financial hardship.

[Q]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 3:27pm

I would give anything to feel even a twinge of surprise at this revelation.

[WOSQ]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 4:00pm

You know, there's dumb. Poor Dan Quayle was dumb.

And then there's Big Dumb...like this.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 4:06pm

This is all so Marie Antoinette, don't you think? We need guillotines.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 4:09pm

Maybe if McCain wins the election...

[nygrl232]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 5:26pm

I'm telling ya, Mister Matt...the second French Revolution is a-coming.

[jasonf]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 5:30pm

Seriously, does anyone else just picture these guys in a spa, laughing their asses off, thinking they're untouchable?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 5:50pm

Sounds like there was no thinking going on whatsoever.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 6:14pm

I don't understand. The money was given to them with no stipulations attached? Doubtful.

Regardless, I think congress needs to pass a law now that makes it illegal for anyone to use these newly appropriated funds for anything other than their intended purpose.

That way these jackasses won't just have to pay it back, but they could see some actual jail time. That should wake them up really fast.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 6:19pm

It gets even better. This just in, after the market closed today:

"After the close of trade, the Fed said it will give AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) a loan of up to $37.8 billion on top of the $85 billion it gave it last month to help the insurance giant avoid bankruptcy."


CNN link

[javero]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 6:39pm

"After the close of trade, the Fed said it will give AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) a loan of up to $37.8 billion on top of the $85 billion it gave it last month to help the insurance giant avoid bankruptcy."


Incredible!

[Icehouse Life]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 6:51pm

Make those boneheads from those companies pay $10 for every dollar given to them by the federal government to the public who truly needs it (as it helps in the wealth and income gap) and then fire them!

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 6:59pm

...and the market dropped considerably today, regardless of all "billion dollar Band-Aids."

It's really like trying to put a Band-Aid over a gushing artery.

The real problem is that everyone is trying to fix the CURRENT situation, as if this is "rock bottom," and we can do A, B & C and that'll fix it.

Except this is NOT "rock bottom." The housing market is still priced way too high today. It's only fallen roughly to the halfway mark, which means it will continue to decline until it gets back to where people can actually afford to buy houses with real money and real loans again. You're looking at another 18-month (I'm guessing) downward spiral before we get there.

I thought the "knowledgeable people" like, say, the U.S. Treasurer, or the bank heads, or the uber-analysts would KNOW this already and be talking about it very loudly to congress and the media.

Instead, they just allow congress (and "us") to throw billions of dollars on a trillions-of-dollars problem and just watch the money go up in flames right in front of our eyes.

Did our $700B Band-Aid help? Not anymore than a real one would on a gushing artery.

[Icehouse Life]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 7:23pm

Sounds like we're heading to a massive depression in the US, and we could take the world markets down with us.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 7:26pm

Updated On: 5/8/09 at 07:26 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 7:39pm

I don't mean to sound like the old scraggly guy whittling on a front porch and sayin', "Mark my words, there's trouble a-brewin'!"

Okay, that IS me.

But I'm seriously scared that people "in the know" aren't calling this for what it is. They KNOW that the market isn't done dropping yet, and they KNOW that people still can't afford today's housing prices, even if they've dropped significantly...

...and still they say, "Let's put a big Band-Aid on it, and it will all heal up in front of our eyes, so we can go back to living in our $650K McMansions, just as we were before!"

Not gonna happen. And I'm not a financial analyst. I'm just someone who's been trying to buy a house for a couple of years and has been HORRIFIED by what I've been seeing."

Here's what I think we should do (trying not to be Nellie Negative this time):

1) Adjust all homes back down to the affordable rate. Simple math: The average income multiplied by 2.7 = the cost of an average home in the area. Adjust accordingly now. It's coming in 18 months anyway.

2) The bad news: You're home isn't worth as much as you thought it was. The good news: Your mortgage rate is now adjusted (through an act of congress) to reflect the current value of your home. So, you don't have as much money, but you're not paying as much for your house anymore, either!

3) The government funds available now should be used for the exclusive cause of bridging the (ugly) gap between what the banks thought you'd be paying them (in some messed up universe where a $5000 per month mortgage was "realistic") and the actual mortgage you'll pay them now in the real world.

Now, I'd love for someone to tell me why this wouldn't work... or why it would work! Or how it might work, if... etc.

I'm no financial expert. I just think we shouldn't wait for the inevitable. Adjust now, fix the actual problem we have, not just the "halfway" part of it, and work on pulling out of this eye-opening nightmare again.

Any thoughts? Seriously, I'm hoping people out there who are way smarter than me on these matters are brainstorming in the real world. Because all I see right now is that everyone who knows better is in total denial. TOTAL. DENIAL.

Oh, and my rule of thumb? Anyone who says, "We might be heading for a recession, if we don't fix this problem now!" They already lose all credibility with me. They've got their head in the sand. I don't listen to anything else they have to say.

We ARE in a recession right now, and have been for the past 18 months.

We are now trying desperately to avoid a Great Depression.

And we're losing that battle more and more each day. And I won't trust any analyst who doesn't START with that idea, before they offer solutions on how to fix it.

Updated On: 10/8/08 at 07:39 PM

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 7:44pm

Updated On: 1/12/09 at 07:44 PM

[nygrl232]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 8:04pm

I agree we should adjust prices and thus mortgages now, Bestie, instead of waiting this out longer. I think all guilty parties should be rounded up and put on trial--that will take a while, especially choosing us Joe Sixpacks as the jurors and all.

While they're at it, put Bush et. al. on trial for manipulating the American public into a war that benefited the Marie Antoinette set (although I never personally bought into it for a second and neither did anyone I know), and administer a truth serum to Bush and Cheney to find out if they helped orchestrate 9/11. I'd be willing to put my tax dollars into THAT. Not even being sarcastic. If We the People could manage to penalize as many evildoers as we can, lord knows what history will call it--the Nuremberg Inqusition? Whatever.

Implementing any of the above would be the first thing to jazz up public morale in years. The 21st century's been a freaking suckfest downer so far because of these damn greedy bastards and a bunch of terrorist zealots.

[KrissySim]

Posted: 10/8/08 at 8:10pm

B12B, if Obama gets elected, apply for an EA position (Executive Aid). Then you'll be able to buy your house.