Alan Grayson, AIG, and Insurance Experts: When do you say enough is enough?

[norwayreport]

This video utilizes some of the key concepts at the heart of the debate in an efficient way. Thanks, Representative, for posting this, which I am using in an insurance business English class in Norway to explore current insurance news and legal issues - active issues for present resolution.

[nela04]

hi fucking owned that room

[angryseraph]

I love that both Republicans and Democrats say (publically) that the Wall Street crisis is wrong, and we should do something to prevent it in the future... but nobody has. No new rules, no new oversight. I feel like we're staring at the equivalent of the hole at Ground Zero.

[fatrick234]

GRAYSON 4 PRES.!

[MengersDisciple]

I guess the respondents are unanimously saying that the market can determine when enough is enough.

Let people who make mistakes fail. Stop bailing out the cronies and creating the too-big-to-fails in the first place!

[myhipsi]

That's exactly what they are implying. Not only that, but if the market determined the interest rate (which it should), then companies like AIG would have never leveraged like they did.

[stophypocrisy]

Abolish the FED!

[rigoletto68]

sickening......taxpayer dollars at work...LOL!

[RandyNein]

Alan Rocks!!!! :)

[libertyeconomics]

How does this work? Is the government not TOO BIG and CARRYING TOO MUCH RISK? Think about this folks. If entities shouldn't become "too big" and "carry too much risk," then shouldn't the same apply to the government itself?

[Weeth]

good point. the answer is obvious: govt must cut big companies down to size because these companies threaten its monopoly on power. if your company is too successful, the government must either own you or destroy you. this is why the government hates walmart.. it would not surprise me if the govt made a move somewhere down the line on a company like walmart, rationalizing it as being systemic to consumer purchasing power.. or something

[libertyeconomics]

Wow. I never even though about this argument being used against Wal-Mart. But, yeah, I would imagine that would be entire spirit behind the scheme, since you don't need the government to "destroy" inefficient and losing companies. Thus it could ONLY be used to target SUCCESSFUL, non-unionized, competition. I could see them bringing down Wal-Mart.

[scanlonized]

enough will be enough when the gubmint stops giving away money to the failed companies. they will continue to take as long as the beltway is giving it away.

[dlucas90]

Monday everyday

Opportunity limited

No competition

Oligarchy owned and operated

People are commodities

Only 5% of employees worth a decent paycheck.

Lied to constantly

Your mom raised a slave.

[trime1851]

The obvious answer is that all the bailouts starting last fall were the biggest criminal fraud in the history of the world!

This should bve stopped and investigated!

Top people governmentasl and financial are criminals and should be in prison!

[Tuza]

I watched this video a few times. The question was really simple, "When is enough, enough?". The answer was given in the question. Enough is enough, the when is now.

[plusaf]

i think the last guy nailed it and got no credit for the wisdom......

if the leverage "levels" of all companies were transparently visible to all consumers, both individual and corporate, it's stupid to use market share as a limit. that would prevent the most efficient company from growing, even if they were "doing EVERYTHING right"!

looks to me like "truth in investing" and insurance might do us all a LOT of good!

Alan.. pay attention to that!

[rblwoaclu]

just stop stealing our wages you freakin thieves return all monies to the people and prosecute the profiteers OBEY THE LAWS your not above the law!!!!!

[Tusktanium]

I think that is what Grayson is saying; There is no law on Derivative contracts. The derivatives market was behind the scenes and largely unknown to the public. The banks and insurance companies that played in this over the counter market took massive risks on the assumption housing prices would never depreciate. So for me, these companies should be liquidated and the people testifying in front of this commission should lose their jobs. Theses "experts" sound like total idiots.

[rblwoaclu]

credit goes to quintin tarantino in( kill bill) loved the saying had to apply it here.

its like the fry guy is running the franchise/

[rungy07]

These guys are "INSURANCE EXPERTS" not one has ANY backbone OR solid senior knowledge of what a regulation should be...no wonder they are screwing us up so bad....for the love of God is there ANY insurance expert with real leadership skills? Not ONE of these jerks could ever possibly be the regulator.

[BlueSkies360]

We need to get back to the free market principles. How can the government possibly know the solution? Financial industry is the most regulated and see what happened. Planned economies never work.

[ItalicBold]

What we need is clear level headed thinking. Something Alan is a great example of. We as a society tend to deviate to extremes, be that govt intervention or free markets. It is at the extremes that the damage is always done. Regulation works, as long as it is light, practical and equally enforced. There is no easy solution, prosperity takes constant work. We have been lazy and let the govt do whatever it wants, we will be no better off being lazy and letting the free market do whatever it wants.

[BlueSkies360]

Oh please, give me one example where government has been more efficient than free market?

[ItalicBold]

I didn't say it was, nor did I imply it was. I stated that neither on its own has ever made a good solution. Perhaps you would like to point out the period in history where we had these magical free markets of which you speak and explain to me why we no longer have them?

[BlueSkies360]

You have never seen free market in action? You don't live in Cuba, no:)? Just look at pizza shops and dry cleaners on your street--they operate on free market principles. Prices down, quality up. You have a problem with that? Then look at our bloated educational system. Why are prices not falling, like on LCDs, with the introduction of the Internet. It is about government loans and subsidies that keep the college tuitions up.

[ItalicBold]

Your are naive if you think free markets are about efficiency, they are not, they are about profit. PROFIT TRUMPS ALL. Companies pollute, because it is more PROFITABLE to do so. They build their products to break, because it is more PROFITABLE to do so. They form cartels because it is more PROFITABLE to do so. Why do we even have a Fed? Perhaps because it was a profitable endeavor? Whatever we have now was born out of a 'free market', therefor I can tell you that they do not work on their OWN.

[BlueSkies360]

ItalicBold: about efficiency: nobody can me more efficient than free markets. Government couldn't even distribute water during Katrina. And if you think products and services provided based on profit motive are bad, you have to check out products&services that have been produced with no profit motive in mind. Look at Cuba, USSR. BTW.. companies that produce products that break down go out of business, but if gov is involved, they keep producing them forever. Russia produced junk autos for 70 y.

[ItalicBold]

Oh this is a pointless argument. All that you have now is the product of a free market, including your govt, its regulations and your money cartel the Fed. At the end of the day all of these things where bought and paid for by the consumer or industry itself. Markets cycle, and we will therefor forever cycle between less and more govt control regardless of what either of us think, this is how it has been for a very, very, long time.

[tesla921]

So, you would rather have government flaks telling you what to do?

You don't understand profit. Profit is a two way street. When you buy a car, at the time of the agreement, the dealer profits and so does the buyer. The dealer would rather have $X than the car and the buyer would rather have the car than $X. Both parties profit. Think about it.

[bluedobie4]

Obviously, these "experts" have no clue what to do. If we would allow the businesses who have failed to actually FAIL, then we would not need to worry about it. Pass a law that requires companies who bankrupt themselves to go bankrupt rather than being bailed out. Then they will take less risk.

[JoeyPencils]

AG asks real simple questions and they are stumped...