Patterico's Pontifications

3/1/2009

What’s Another $30 Billion Among Friends?

Filed under: Current Events,Economics,General — Patterico @ 10:50 pm



New York Times: U.S. Is Said to Offer $30 Billion More to Help A.I.G..

Remember when that seemed like a lot of money?

Meanwhile we have threatened bank collapses in Venezuela and steep losses in stocks overseas Monday.

Good times.

UPDATE 3-2-09 at 6:48 a.m.: The Dow just dropped below 7000. So we got that going for us.

You know what might solve things? Fearmongering!

21 Responses to “What’s Another $30 Billion Among Friends?”

  1. There really needs to be a reckoning here. The politicians won’t do it because both parties are deeply involved, so the demad has to come from the people. And we have to insist that no one is protected.

    Bush, Dodd, etc, the hedge funds, the mortgage companies, Fannie and Freddie, the bankers, the insurers, reinsurers and derivative writers. All of them.

    This can never happen again.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  2. Back in the day, when currencies were collapsing in South America, they threw coins at politicians. Just a thought.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  3. Good money after bad. And it just keeps pumping.

    Amphipolis (fdbc48)

  4. they threw coins at politicians.

    Given the new budget, I think it’s going to be the other way around this time. Hey, a shiny penny!

    Dmac (49b16c)

  5. That AIG earnings release this morning is one ugly MOFO!!!

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  6. And we’re still not halfway through the bailouts.

    Brother Bradley J. Fikes, C.O.R. (0ea407)

  7. Hey you rich people, you need to start sacrificing!

    Alta Bob (066da7)

  8. Sorry, you are not Outlaw enough Pat. Get with the program.

    Joe (17aeff)

  9. Whether intentional or not, your use of ‘friends’ in the title is quite appropriate. While supposedly AIG is the one being bailed out, in reality it is Paulson and Geithner’s buddies on Wall Street who are getting bailed out. AIG is in trouble because it doesn’t have the billions of dollars it needs to meet collateral demands from those (Wall Street) who bought CDSs from AIG, and without that collateral, those firms would have to report huge losses of their own (on top of the losses they’ve already reported)… so, let’s give AIG some billions and let AIG pay out those billions and it looks better than if Treasury and Fed officials were bailing out the Wall Street firms directly… and even better, let’s scare the public into supporting this by telling them they’re really rescuing US from disaster.

    steve sturm (369bc6)

  10. It’s not fearmongering. Please see this article in the London Telegraph by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard for a glimpse of what may be coming.

    Official Internet Data Office (a977bd)

  11. More “lib” and “con” agreement! This one is about bank lending regulations and lobbyists = the big guys are all making sure they are taken care of.
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jane-hamsher/mortgage-write-downs-why_b_170773.html

    Kevin Murphy #1 Amen. To the best of our ability.

    EdWood (c2268a)

  12. Back in the day, when currencies were collapsing in South America, they threw coins at politicians. Just a thought.

    Comment by Kevin Murphy — 3/2/2009 @ 12:02 am

    There is a strip club in Edmunton where they throw loonies (dollar coins) at the girls. It is … awkward, but unlike our politicians, the girls at least earned their dough.

    carlitos (f13ec4)

  13. Just what I was looking for this morning, a little good news. sarc

    PatAZ (9d1bb3)

  14. HawHawEd – Do you have a point to make? Are you in favor of the government forcing the abrogation of private contracts?

    daleyrocks (5d22c0)

  15. Moderate Republicans the problem not the solution?

    I do not disagree that the GOP needs to be the party of fiscal restraint, but Paul, who pushed for medicare expansion, more government spending, and more pork for GOP contitutents? Was that the libertarian wing of the GOP or was that Christian Conservatives who have a hankering for pork not just at Christmas and Easter?

    Joe (dcebbd)

  16. Daleyrocks,
    Actually I was paying more attention to the banks lobbying to water down or end around the coming lending regulations aspect of my link than the banks fighting forced renegotiation of mortgages aspect. As to the second point it seems like a bad idea. Didn’t someone from the mortgage industry comment on that topic back in the fall during the first round of “bail out the banks”?

    EdWood (c2268a)

  17. This president thing really doesn’t seem to be what Barack Obama’s good at. He’s more the kind what does well in jobs where you carry around a clipboard everywhere and wear Dockers and keep Subway coupons in your wallet.

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  18. feets!

    Karl (39bad8)

  19. Hey you… what’s up with the Barack releasing secret memos thing? He never misses an opportunity to be tacky, does he?

    happyfeet (71f55e)

  20. ANY WONDER WHY THE BAILOUT? AIG INSURES THE PENSION TRUST FUND FOR MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS!

    Tony M (571da9)

  21. And now AIG is suing the IRS!

    Pure gall.

    I agree with Ace, we are experiencing a time of MADNESS.

    http://minx.cc/?post=283648

    Patricia (419c68)


Powered by WordPress.

Page loaded in: 0.0937 secs.