4 ms·

I hate to say it, but the new CEO of AIG is right. It IS congresses' fault. I’m not in favor of the bailout/oversight plan that the Obama administration is pu

I hate to say it, but the new CEO of AIG is right. It IS congresses' fault. I’m not in favor of the bailout/oversight plan that the Obama administration is pursuing (and which, in all fairness, the Bush administration started). I think they should just let businesses that make stupid decisions fail and let the market take its course. But if you are going to be prepared to bail out companies like AIG when they catastrophically screw up then you have to regulate them in a way that keeps them from taking advantage of that safety net. Because otherwise you’re just giving them license to make any crazy deal that want with no fear of negative consequences. Which is what happened here. Congress created a system in which AIG would be almost irresponsible not to make crazy loans because those loans were possibly a big financial win and they (thanks to congress) had no risk of potential loss.

pingswept 17y ago
I disagree. I think it's responsible to not make crazy loans, even if you might be turning down profits.
- TomOfTTB 17y ago
  Consider this. 5 years ago the past two Presidential Administrations (Clinton and Bush) had done nothing but praise companies like AIG for increasing home ownership. The ex-CEO of AIG who everyone now hates was selected by the Secretary of the Treasury for God's Sakes. I don't agree with what AIG did and I thought it was crazy for them to be praised at the time but I'm also not sure you can blame a company for doing exactly what the Government asked of them especially when they were being praised for it by that same government at the time. Because most financial people don't have the most well developed moral compass which is exactly why they look to government to set the tone. Which is why In these circumstances I blame the government
fnid 17y ago
Don't be silly. You're asking Congress to be prophetic in their creation of laws. Omniscient perhaps. When did our society decide that if it's not illegal, it's okay. It's not okay what they did. They knew their actions would jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands and create an economic catastrophe -- that's why they did it. They had to in order to be bailed out. It was theft. What you are saying is analogous to blaming a bank for being robbed. Or a pedestrian for getting mugged. The american public was mugged by AIG and it's AIG's fault. Not the american people's fault.
- TomOfTTB 17y ago
  There's a difference between being prophetic and thinking something through. A prophet tells the future that isn't obvious. That's not what happened here. It isn't like this just happened. It had been built up for years. As for it being "right", I didn't say it was. In fact, I said the Government should have just let the company fail. But Congress institutionalized "wrong" here. They've said "It's a great thing for people to own their own home so companies like AIG should make crazy loans and not worry because we'll clean up the mess if it goes wrong" That's why fault is laid at congresses' feet here.

pingswept 17y ago

I disagree. I think it's responsible to not make crazy loans, even if you might be turning down profits.

TomOfTTB 17y ago
Consider this. 5 years ago the past two Presidential Administrations (Clinton and Bush) had done nothing but praise companies like AIG for increasing home ownership. The ex-CEO of AIG who everyone now hates was selected by the Secretary of the Treasury for God's Sakes. I don't agree with what AIG did and I thought it was crazy for them to be praised at the time but I'm also not sure you can blame a company for doing exactly what the Government asked of them especially when they were being praised for it by that same government at the time. Because most financial people don't have the most well developed moral compass which is exactly why they look to government to set the tone. Which is why In these circumstances I blame the government

fnid 17y ago

Don't be silly. You're asking Congress to be prophetic in their creation of laws. Omniscient perhaps. When did our society decide that if it's not illegal, it's okay. It's not okay what they did. They knew their actions would jeopardize the livelihoods of thousands and create an economic catastrophe -- that's why they did it. They had to in order to be bailed out. It was theft. What you are saying is analogous to blaming a bank for being robbed. Or a pedestrian for getting mugged. The american public was mugged by AIG and it's AIG's fault. Not the american people's fault.

TomOfTTB 17y ago
There's a difference between being prophetic and thinking something through. A prophet tells the future that isn't obvious. That's not what happened here. It isn't like this just happened. It had been built up for years. As for it being "right", I didn't say it was. In fact, I said the Government should have just let the company fail. But Congress institutionalized "wrong" here. They've said "It's a great thing for people to own their own home so companies like AIG should make crazy loans and not worry because we'll clean up the mess if it goes wrong" That's why fault is laid at congresses' feet here.