Easy Money

It seem AIG thinks taxpayers' money is free and easy to spend, and with the approval and help of the former President Bush administration cabinet secretaries, especially Secretary of the Treasury Paulsen, political appointees, and staffers. They used $75 Billion of the total $170 Billion to pay off debts and failed investments, incluiding to their own subsidary company which created the financial mess.

On top of that they paid $165 Million in bonuses to employees made the bad investments, because, "It's in their contract." To what reward losing money? Like that's, "Hey, don't worry about your really bad decisions which bring the company to the point of bankruptcy, you'll still get your bonus." Who wouldn't want that deal, be so stupid, don't worry, you'll still get paid.

Somehow through all the polticial rhetoric all I see of the economic stimulus is the bunches of billions we're giving corporations under the guise of stimulating their business back into the economy and finding the money is going elsewhere, and we're getting a handful of billions to make us feel better, except they want us to spend the money too to help the economy, meaning those same corporations.

Is this what we wanted? Obviously not, but our elected representatives in Congress thought we wanted, or they wanted after all the campaign money and lobbying they got from the financial services and banking industry. We're on the hook, Representatives and Senators look good, and the financial folks get richer, at our expense. We were duped and still being duped, but we don't have any recourse now.

Let's not forget all the Bush appointees and the Secretary of the Treasury came from the financial service industry. They stacked the deck with their own people who conned with our investment money then and out tax money now. The money is gone, unaccounted, and lost in the profits of companies and bonuses of the corporate thieves.

On top of that some of the companies used the money to buy other companies. Yup. Bank of America bought CitiGroup and then used some for advertising, including sport contracts for endorsements. And many other banks and financial companies used their money to expand by buying banks and services companies on the brink of collapse. That's because the government doesn't want banks to fail, so they allowed the failing ones to be bought with the money.

And what's worse, like it can get worse, is that it's only the beginning. If things don't change, we'll be asked to pump more money into the economy, excuse me, companies, to shore them up from failure. And around we go with the money which gets lost in the accounting of those very companies who sell their need and then take it and run.

Maybe Woody Allen could do a movie on this?