The Government just agreed to bail out AIG , a lending insurance company, for 85 billion. In return the Govt. gets a 79.9% interest in the corp. (Socialism!??)
Very much so (socialism). it reminds me of a professor I had in college who used to tout the need for universal health care...I asked her to describe how the government and the business sector differed in this. She couldn't answer that and only managed to say that the lines have been "blurred" over the past several years. I'm thinking to myself, "of course they are....government wants in on big business". How else are they going to spend more money....there's only so much taxation can earn....I hope.
Jillian
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"Disappointments are inevitable. Discouragement is a choice."
You talk about Socialism and Universal Heath care well Canada is a somewhat Social Democracy (not fully, like Scandinavia) and we have Universal Health Care. Granted our Health Care system isn't perfect and could be made a lot better but at least if I get sick or have to be hospitalized I do not get a bill for a "Zillion Bucks" handed to me when I leave and declare personal bankruptcy because I can't pay it.
Right! AIG unfortunately has an effect on global economies too. That seems to be the trigger for govt. bail out! Also, I neglected to mention that the govt. is charging AIG in excess of 11% interest!!!
One would think that AIG would have been smart enough to have insurance for this. Oh right they do. They have us! You watch…soon they’ll welsh on everything. JC PS: I hated those stinking commercials anyway!
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We’re all poets, only some of us write it down. JC 9/27/08
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Well, all you folks who resist big government oversight have got it now . . . nobody else has the cash to cover when the private capitalist interests run the pony into the ground without telling a soul until it hits the dirt and starts to decompose.
Well, all you folks who resist big government oversight have got it now . . . nobody else has the cash to cover when the private capitalist interests run the pony into the ground without telling a soul until it hits the dirt and starts to decompose.
Unfortunately even the Govt. does not have that kind of funds. The interest rate on Treasury certificates was 0.02% as of Tuesday. The new agency that Congress is considering will add another 800 plus Billion dollars to the total. Do we REALLY want an agency dedicated to bailing out failed private enterprise?
I think if AIG failed it would have caused a domino effect that could of lead to the collapse of the financial system itself. AIG employs 120,000 people and is so inter-connected with our economy including investors from other companies - it was just too big to fail. Think of 120,000 people suddenly without a pay check. What sort of an effect would that have on the economy.
Everyone is saying "Why is the Gov't bailing out these big corporations?" It is true that the cost of the tax payer may not be anything or the U.S. Gov't could even make money off these deals. However, if this 1.1 Trillion dollar bailout does not work, then I fear we are headed into something more dangereous than the Great Depression.
Part of the problem is that money is electronic now. How many billions pass through computer systems and instantly vanish on wall street. Its not like our grandparents or great grandparents days when you could take that money and put it in the mattress.
The root cause of all of this mess is GREED! Everyone wanted to get rich quick, make a fast buck, a quick sale, a risk that could be sold to another company without fear of ownership.
Why is it that we have to maximized profits? Make the most amount of money in all we do. Can't we make just enough money to be happy and at the same time sell a great product. Can't the corporations give back to the communities more than they do now. Why is it that 95% of the workers make 5% of the profit and 5% of the CEOs make 95% of the profits.
It use to be a generation ago that CEO's and presidents of companies did not make all that much more than the worker bees. The great disparity in incomes is not something to be proud of - it just breeds indifference.
The reason the Government is acting in such a historically significant move is because the consqeuences are great. If this plan fails then the consequence will be the collapse of the United States Economy and for that matter half the World's.
You explained it well with only one exception. The dollars bailing out these institutions are "printed paper." In doing this, our Govt is insuring that we will experience a massive dose of inflation. That will further add to the economic woes.
The Fed Reserve Chairman stated about a month ago that it seemed that no matter what action they took, it adversely affected another portion of the economy and that maybe it would be best if they left things alone for a while. (Interest was left unchanged at their meeting a couple of days ago.)
The fact that the market recovered immediately upon the announcement that the Govt MIGHT create an agency to bail out the financial sector does not indicate much confidence.
Someone may have mentioned this before, but can you imagine if that jerk got his way and privatized social security when he wanted to. Could it be that we actually have to thank congress for stopping him. JC
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