AIG Takes the Cake for Gall

Buttwipes. Image from ThinkProgress

Have you seen those heartwarming AIG ads (oddly enough, as I type this, one is airing during an episode of The New Normal), talking about how they're so grateful that we--the American public--bailed them out, and how they paid us back with interest? "Thank you, America!" they say. Don't get teary eyed, they're just buttering you up. For what, I have no idea. But they intend to take some of that interest they paid us back. It's pretty galling. They were only saved because of the damage their stupidity would have wrought on the economy if we hadn't bailed them out. Now they complain about the terms?

[Excerpt]

Oddly enough, as I type this, one is airing during an episode of The New Normal.  

American International Group, the mega-insurer that nearly collapsed in 2008 before being bailed out, is now considering joining a lawsuit filed by its former chairman against the federal government. The lawsuit, filed in 2011 by former AIG chairman Maurice Greenberg, contends that the federal government violated the Fifth Amendment by taking too large a share in the company and charging it excessive interest rates on the $182 billion in loans it gave the company. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

In Case You Missed It: Rolling Stone Exposes Mitt Romney's Bailout

Yeah, buddy, I'm not sure you should be smiling.
Image from source, Rolling Stone.

This article should probably be getting a little more attention. . .

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The Federal Bailout That Saved Mitt Romney

. . .According to the candidate's mythology, Romney took leave of his duties at the private equity firm Bain Capital in 1990 and rode in on a white horse to lead a swift restructuring of Bain & Company, preventing the collapse of the consulting firm where his career began. When The Boston Globe reported on the rescue at the time of his Senate run against Ted Kennedy, campaign aides spun Romney as the wizard behind a "long-shot miracle," bragging that he had "saved bank depositors all over the country $30 million when he saved Bain & Company."
In fact, government documents on the bailout obtained by Rolling Stone show that the legend crafted by Romney is basically a lie. . .

Read more: Rolling Stone

Matt Taibbi's Scary Piece on the Financial Meltdown

Photo from Media Bistro

If you've been mostly "going with the flow" during this financial crisis, just hoping it will all work out, you probably don't want to read this piece. Matt Taibbi, one of my favorite journalists, has a handle on the whole thing, but it isn't a pretty read. Hold on to your hat (and your wallet).

[Excerpt]

The Big Takeover

It's over — we're officially, royally f**ked. No empire can survive being rendered a permanent laughingstock, which is what happened as of a few weeks ago, when the buffoons who have been running things in this country finally went one step too far. It happened when Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was forced to admit that he was once again going to have to stuff billions of taxpayer dollars into a dying insurance giant called AIG, itself a profound symbol of our national decline — a corporation that got rich insuring the concrete and steel of American industry in the country's heyday, only to destroy itself chasing phantom fortunes at the Wall Street card tables, like a dissolute nobleman gambling away the family estate in the waning days of the British Empire. . .

Read more at: Rolling Stone

Keith Olbermann's Special Comment on Bankers

It's been a while since there has been a "Special Comment" on Countdown with Keith Olbermann. I say it's long overdue. There's always something to be outraged about, right? , Olbermann's commentaries are always entertaining, usually with a bunch of "hell, yeah!" moments. Let's see what he's on about, now. . .

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Big Three Automakers in Trouble No Matter What?

It's always interesting to read about US stories from publications outside this country. The article excerpted below is from a British paper, about the fate of the US auto industry. The general vibe seems to be that no matter how much money we throw at them, they're in trouble anyway.

Maybe. I mean, the US automakers (or their CEOs and executives) seem to be completely unable to change course when things start going bad. Not one seemed to have a Plan B for if the price of petroleum were to skyrocket. They all seemed to believe that we'd want huge trucks and SUVs forever. They've kept the little, economic cars they make in Europe and Australia, thinking we wouldn't buy them. And they seem to be completely unable to change course for years when it comes to making and selling different cars.

On the other hand, we've been surprised before. Chrysler, when it was faltering in the 70s after years of making crappy cars like the Omni/Horizon, was reborn after government help. American Motors went out of business, but the Jeep lived on (and got better). Nobody could've saved the Gremlin or the Pacer.

So, maybe if the Big Three can survive. Maybe they can start having contingency plans for changing tastes or economies. Maybe they can cancel or sell off slower selling divisions. They don't need to kill Pontiac, they just need to scale it down, and make it something different than a Chevy with a pointy nose. Kill Hummer though.

[Excerpt]

Bleak prospect for Detroit Three despite bail-out

America's Big Three car makers will struggle to stay afloat until 2015 - even if they win a $34bn (around £23bn) government bail-out, a leading auto-industry think-tank said.

David Cole, the head of the Center for Automotive Research, believes that a combination of recession and manufacturing problems will make a rapid turnaround impossible. . .

Read more at: GuardianUK