True, but I would like to add – take a look back at when the market lost at least 25% of its value over a 12 month period in history and combine that with ridiculous “platforms” that lead to greed and wealth destruction: Government is always involved by either allowing new vehicles through laws OR overriding existing regulations and protections initially put in place for a reason.

Glass Steigal Act being overturned.
Sarbanes-Oxley
Variable Annuities
S&L
IPO’s

I beleive in limited gov regulation – like the SEC and NASD actually doing their job – but complicated vehicles are created to confuse the average guy and are always OK’ED BY THE GOV, sort of like the current default swap reverse ponzi scheme – which was allowed thorugh the gov, S&L loans of the 80’s, IPO run ups and underwriting laws being loosened. These guys (the FS sector and Gov) know exactly what they are doing and the risks. Risk aversion is part of their formula and in the default swap case, the main problem – so for them to claim “we didnt see it coming” is complete bull shit, whether the gov or the FS – since they are so intertwined.

It is the fact the bet didn’t pan out, was overleveraged and in the end – anything asset related can literally go to 0.

Its like gambling in Vegas. The lust to win overrides everything. People know the house is favored 95% or more of the time and understand they can lose everything in 1 hand. So what do people do when the see they are losing? Take out markers (which are readily available to anyone) which increases their total “investment” , with the hope it will finally pay off.

They know the odds. Know the risk. Know they have to pay it back. At least gamblers are honest and dont cry “good lord I didnt know that could happen”, they worry about the next marker, bet and game…

What is even scarier now is congress discussing taxing 100% of the bonuses. I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch for the government to then turn this into regulating out of the norm taxes on anyone and everyone who receives a bonus in the future.

It’s not that FS personnel weren’t greedy….OF COURSE they are greedy. Always have been. All capitalists are greedy. That’s why we have medicines that allow us to live 20 years longer than our grand-parents.

But FS also operated from the mid-30’s until a year ago without destoying the wealth of the world. Since there are hundreds of them, no wild hare could undermine the entire planet.

But when Drooling Barney and the boys began dictating who should get loans and under what terms, and how those crap loans should be hidden in derivatives and credit swaps, the shit hit the fan, BIG TIME.

Now AIG is the designated fall guy for the The Moron, the Drooler and their knee-breakers. As far as I can tell AIG was doing the criminal bidding of the U.S government. And I haven’t heard a word from any source that indicates otherwise.

It’s like Tony Soprano telling his henchman to commit murder and then leading the prosecution to save his own ass. There should be a double death penalty for this kind of monstrous crime.

The pompous popumoralists, including everybody in Congress, and windbags like Bill O’Reilly should keep their traps shut before they get the population so riled up that they get themselves deposed.

While I agree we dont need or want gov in the daily contract/commissions business – the key question is were these agreements made, including artificial run ups, legally.

Take a look at the S&L/IPO scandals of the past 25 years – where brokers made billions – and either ended up in jail after the fact or lost their licenses to practice in the regulated finance world. They “earned” the money , legally under contract, though under false pretenses. As a former Wall Street retail broker in the 90’s – I can promise you – the movie Boiler Room is light compared to what really goes on behind the scenes. The day I saw warrants trading higher than a stock price, intra day – with brokers huddled around a Level 3 screen (illegal)… all in the name of “commissions” or “bonuses”

Greenberg, who was pushed out as CEO three years ago, remains a significant shareholder in the company and has also fiercely criticized its practices. However, Greenberg himself continues to be under fire. Three weeks ago, the SEC gave him a Wells notice—essentially a warning of a pending indictment—for possible accounting impropriety in dealings between AIG and General Re, a reinsurer owned by Warren Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway. The transaction in question resulted in an extra $500 million appearing on AIG’s balance sheets.

I worked for an Asset Management company bought by these clowns 10 years ago. I believe 75% of people left once they came slithering in. Notice a familiar name “General Re” in the indictment… the same foreign company who just received a few hundred million…

Qucik story of true greed: Our asset division grew from $1.5B to $3B in 18 months, eclipsing the 5 years it took to go from $500M – to $1.5B. It was a windfall year (and key component of AIG’s purchasing of said company) – now guess how much the wholesalers (the actual revenue generators within asset management companies) received as a year-end bonus… a $12 bottle of wine!!!

2 months later, within a corporate communication newsletter – they annunced our Chairman and company just bought $50M in art work to house as an “investment” in the corporate headquarters… because we all know art is much more important to a company than its people!

“The money went to banks to cover their losses on complex mortgage investments,”

Those same “complex mortgage investments” the nitwits in DC saw no problem with while they (of course) were getting rich from (on top of AND under the table)?!?!

Canniving and dishonest crooks! But they’re expert at pushing the blame and responsibility away from themselves.

“Congress Will Examine Legal Options to Recover Taxpayer Funds”

Yeah .. righhhhht! S’pose the “problem” could’ve been avoided???

Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting!

More likely that his ever present teleprompter had a minor glitch and he actually was ‘lost for words’.

“This is a corporation that finds itself in financial distress due to recklessness and greed,” Obama declared.

He said he had directed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to “pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayer whole.”

Later, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration would modify the terms of a pending $30 billion bailout installment for AIG to at least recoup the $165 million the bonuses represent. That wouldn’t rescind the bonuses, just require AIG to account for them differently.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...../obama_aig

and we know Geithner sure knows how to make the American taxpayer whole.
say what, Obangria ? recklessness? anger? greed? Is that West Wing show still on. ohhh West, Left. I get it.

While yes, there are those at AIG who made bad decisions, the bottom line is if their employment contracts called for bonuses to be paid for meeting certain thresholds, those bonuses need to be paid.

If the Government can arbitrarily void employment contracts, what other contracts can they decide to void?

Why is any of this Pelosi or anyone else’s business given there were no restrictions on how TARP money was to be used?

Many people warned of what a boondoggle TARP was from the get-go, but no, it “had to be done now.”

Now Congress is trying to add conditions after the fact.

The only leverage they have is the fact that AIG is still losing enough money that they need more and more handouts.

Remember, it was Franklin Raines, supported by Drooling Barney and MaximumStupid Waters who declared that real estate has no risk.

So, naturally, given the green light by esteemed luminaries of that degree, AIG found some bright kids who did as directed.

The result is that the world financial system became leveraged multiple times what it should have been, which then allowed George Soros to prick the gasbag just-in-time to elect The Moron and now we are all covered with debt our great-grandkids will be paying back by turning windmills by foot.

Looks to me like AIG employees did EXACTLY as directed by our beloved government and therefore they deserve the full bonuses they contracted for.

But somehow, Drooling Barney, MaximumStupid Maxime and the other armpit sniffers on our Banking Committees are having a hissy about AIG following orders. Such is life under the new commissars.

Go figger.