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Taxpayers Fund AIG Lawsuit Against US
AIG, now infamous for their executive bonuses, has decided that the $200 billion they received from the government is not nearly enough and is suing the government for the return of $306 million in tax payments. "AIG is effectively suing its majority owner, the government, which has an 80 percent stake and has poured nearly $200 billion into the insurer in a bid to avert its collapse and avoid troubling the global financial markets. The company is in effect asking for even more money, in the form of tax refunds. The suit also suggests that AIG. is spending taxpayer money to pursue its case, something it is legally entitled to do. Its initial claim was denied by the Internal Revenue Service last year."
Obama says "blame me", which is political-speak for "screw you, it's done, get over it". He won't be saying "blame me" when the honeymoon is over and this escalates to a full scale popular revolt.
We KNEW AIG were crooks long before we gave them this money. Why did they do it? Where the fuck was the outrage when these bailouts were first suggested? I've been outraged since the beginning, because the whole game plan has been obvious to me since they robbed us of that first $700B. And yet polls suggest that Americans STILL think this is going to work somehow.
These people: the Congress, the President, AIG, are all just a bunch of god damned frat boys, scratching each other's backs and doling out our tax money to each other in such staggering volumes that it WILL be the end of this country if we don't stop right now.
Did you all catch Chris Dodd saying he had nothing to do with the change in the bailout legislation to allow these bonuses, then the next day saying oops, that was me. "Somebody should have caught it sooner" - yeah, right, if the bill had any chance of being reviewed by the legislators themselves, let alone the public, before if slipped past Obama's desk quicker than a greased turd. What happened to those 5 days, huh?
Seriously people, at what point do we get off the couch and take back this country? Obama can stimulate my ass.
Today's XKCD seems particularly relevant. There's bigger things to worry about right now. This is a silly distraction -- like the whole "earmarks" thing.
Are these guys intentionally trying to force Congress to shut them down? Too much more of this, and economy or no economy, lawmakers are just going to say "Fuck you, die die die" and let the international banking system take a nosedive.
I have been (somewhat) onside for giving Wall Street a helping hand, but between the sheer incompetence of the Democrats and the sense of entitlement of these guys, I think it's time to say "Screw it", let them all sink, and then rebuild it properly, with laws requiring all bonuses be voted on by shareholders, all executives and managers be forced to convert their stock to non-voting, requiring complete replacement of any company's board and senior executives the second they take a single penny of taxpayer money, and putting their legal departments under direct Treasury control.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Tru-Value states there has been a run on pitchforks.
There was a great article in Rolling Stone today that lays out exactly what has happened at AIG in terms most people can understand. It makes my blood boil!
-- Give me ambiguity or give me something else!
Sounds like a classic case of the Aesop: The Farmer and the Snake.
During the fridge winter months, a farmer happened upon a snake frozen upon his grounds. Taking pity on the creature, he took it into his home to warm it by the fireside. Perhaps he realized they eat the rodents who would dig up his crops, and thus provided a dire function. Perhaps it was just the plain goodness in his heart. As the snake warmed itself and became animate, it leapt to forth and bit the farmer. As the farmer lay in pain (perhaps poisoned) he cried out, "Why have you bitten me, snake?!" I do believe the obvious answer was "Duh, I'm a snake."
Demented But Determined.
If they're too big to fail, they're too big. Period.
It's just like the story of the grasshopper and the octopus.
All year long, the grasshopper kept burying acorns for winter, while the octopus mooched off his girlfriend and watched TV.
But then the winter came, and the grasshopper died, and the octopus ate all his acorns. Also, he got a race car.
Is any of this getting through to you?