Posted on 09/17/2008 4:26:15 AM PDT by rightwingintelligentsia
(CNN) -- The Federal Reserve Board announced an $85 billion plan Tuesday to bail out troubled insurance giant American International Group Inc.
The federal government decided to intervene after determining a failure of the company, whose financial dealings stretch around the world, could hurt the already delicate markets and the economy.
Personal finance expert Suze Orman appeared on "Larry King Live" on Tuesday to discuss what the AIG bailout means to you and how safe is your money during this economic downturn. The following is an edited version of the interview:
Larry King: A few months ago, you said on this very show that you would be worried if there was another big government bailout. It's now happening. Should the government be helping AIG?
Suze Orman: Well, in this particular case, I have to tell you they should. Bear Stearns, very different. Lehman, very different. AIG is an international giant that just doesn't have ramifications here in the United States. It is worldwide. They're like in 130 countries. They have 100,000 employees. Everybody has an AIG insurance policy. So in this particular case, my opinion, thank God, they bailed out AIG.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
So ineptitude, poor decision making, and bad investments are OK....but only if you’re a HUGE company...?
I may be an idiot...I admit I know nothing about finance..but I think if these companies were giving out NINJA loans, and making other greedy decisions they should simply fall on their butts.
Why should the government bail all these fools out? So what if we have another depression or recession...might shift some cultural materialistic attitudes. Behavior should have consequences.
I wish the government would bail me out of my bad investments...like my investment in Social Security, in the welfare state, etc.
Just give my money back to me and I’ll be happy.
Why...did this big mouth carpet muncher have her money invested there?
I’m sure she did. I guess her lesbian partner(s) won’t support her if she’s suddenly destitute.
Glass-Steagall Act is what Bill Clinton signed to start this all.
Thank God there are crazy chicken littles driving people to my TV show and books!
Because the real basis of this problem is the government. During the 90's, the banks became mandated to give out LMI (low middle income) loans. The larger the bank, the more they were mandated to write bad loans. Oddly, the one group that didn't dive in were the Hispanics. They kept a wary distance from mortgages, preferring to pay cash. I would like to see some MSM anchor tell it like it is. The federal gov't made us get here. Can someone take the first black president to task as to what he was thinking when he signed that into law.
So, I’m waiting for the government to bail me out.
I’m waiting....
Still, waiting....
Hello, anyone?
Anyone?
Amen to that!
“So ineptitude, poor decision making, and bad investments are OK....but only if you’re a HUGE company...?”
Don’t assume this is AIG’s fault.
Bad decisions made by other companies had a rippling effect throughout the market - companies that already went belly up.
What do you prefer?
A bailout? Or closed banks?
“Oddly, the one group that didn’t dive in were the Hispanics. They kept a wary distance from mortgages, preferring to pay cash. I would like to see some MSM anchor tell it like it is.”
I hadn’t heard of this before. Interesting.
“So, I’m waiting for the government to bail me out.”
well...the next time you walk into your bank, and you are still able to cash your paycheck - take a moment to give thanks.
130 countries and the island of Lesbos!
supposedly she’s invested mostly in zero coupons for the last few years.
If it's global, then why is the AMERICAN TAXPAYER footing the whole bill?
Nevermind, silly me.
On November 12, 1999, President Bill Clinton signed into law the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933.
My preference would be not to have my tax money bail out the market. It sets a bad precedent. Whatever “tough times” people think we’re in now, we’ve been through much worse and came out of it. I don’t care if they were directly responsible or not. If I were married to someone who ran up the bills, destroyed my credit, and forced me to file for bankruptcy, would you be willing to pitch in and bail me out? I doubt it.
They were in the business of insuring the risk against these loans. It was their job to intelligently evaluate the risk and set premiums proportionate to the risk. The business they were really in was selling insurance for a fee so that those selling the underlying loan packages to outfits that were only allowed to buy insured AAA rated loans could buy them.
It is all one great big fraud on the public.
In a rational world this business of insuring bonds would not even exist.
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