TPMtv: Sunday Show Roundup: Whatcha Gonna Do?

[cyanzone]

Declare force majeure as we are in an financial tsunami of bad debt. AIG is a candidate for FICO.

[whoo689]

Detractors fail to see that this financial crisis was caused by a mix of deregulation in one place and asinine government regulation elsewhere. They just wanna blame Wall Street, either because they're subconsciously jealous of them and their profits and economic power, or they're egotistical Congressmen who just love to point fingers and feel important.

[whoo689]

The people whose heads should be off are the crooks in Washington who gave our money to these banks and passed the idiotic $700 Billion bailout and that tax cheat Tim Geithner who wants to give (or has given) the banks ANOTHER 1.3 trillion. Or 2 trillion, whatever the fuck the number is now. All I know is it's more than I'll ever make.

You can bellyache about AIG giving taxpayer money for bonuses, but when it comes down to it, Congress is the body that gave them the money in the first place

[whoo689]

Once again, economic idiots are running the debate. The inmates running the asylum. Look, regardless of how you feel about the bonuses, $165 Million of $170 Billion is less than 1%! So they spent 1% of their bailout money on bonuses. Big fuckin deal. And who's to say they actually used bailout funds for the bonuses? How do we know the AIG people didn't have an extra $165 million stashed away somewhere in their own accounts?

Has a gov't agent ACTUALLY confirmed this? Or is it hot air?

[whoo689]

To be honest, I really could care less about this crap. This is silly. We got more important things to worry about than AIG giving less than 1% of bailout funds in bonuses. Yes, it sucks, but in the grand scheme of things, it's like number 80 on the list.

This is just a way for angry welfare liberals and "progressives" to foam at the mouth and bitch and whine at big business, you know, the "evil" businessmen who are "driving the middle class into the ground" and all that unfactual bs.

[whoo689]

I also find it funny and yet sad that, while everyone is blaming Wall Street, no one sees the elephant in the room: the hidden hand of government that caused much of this crisis. I mean, what about all that gov't encouragement of subprime lending and idiotic institutions like Fannie and Freddie? What about giving banks EXTRA money, which led them to lower standards? What about Fed actions that shielded individuals and companies from bad decisions in the past? Or the 1999 Clinton bill.

[Chick6517]

LOL subscribed! A much eaiser way to beat it is to get into the closet on next to the first aid kits. It has 1 point of entry and with four people

[djgaryman]

I love the false outrage of this administration.

Bullshit.

[manbearpig084]

ughhhh lets just not forget their names for when the revolution comes...

[iLuvSPH]

At 2:47, he asks the woman, "What power does Obama have to stop AIG?"

Listen to her answer. It's a hilarious NON ANSWER. NO information is provided whatsoever. hysterical.

[bookert001]

Ok... Freeze AIG assets. Fire the managers the same way you just fired U.S. Navy personnel. No one, absolutely no one should profit from failure -- including the President!

[MooseOfReason]

This is a distraction.

We're quibbling over hundreds of millions of dollars, when the real problem is the trillions of dollars we've spent to bail out these companies.

You know how we could have stopped taxpayer-funded bonuses?

Let the companies fail. Wasn't our country built on free enterprise?

[stealth63]

Yes, but with anti trust laws and strict regulation and oversight. This company is too big, too interconnected, and completely unregulated. What we ought to do is make our regulatory system work. If AIG fails, it will collapse the house of cards that is the international financial system. Check out how many foreign banks etc are involved. I'm afraid the best be can do is triage and make sure it doesn't happen again. But screw giving bonuses- let 'em sue.

[MooseOfReason]

Could I have a source for that "completely unregulated" statement?

You want to have your cake and eat it too. The bonuses are part of the contract, and one of the governments *actual* responsibilities, other than protecting civil liberties, is to enforce contracts. It's not the government's job to prop up failed companies. This problem was created by the Federal Reserve slashing interest rates and pumping cheap credit into the marketplace.

[KatzFreeman]

Arrest TG for treason, along w Barney Frank, and the rest of them that loot us.

Trillions stolen, and they have the chutzpah to say the word "contracts" to justify their buddy's bonanza?

We just got robbed. The Feds got Bonnie and Clyde, and they didn't steal a pittance like these men did. Names/Addresses can be ARRESTED, given a fair trial, and given the maximum penalty and forfeture of all their wealth to the taxpayer.

[KatzFreeman]

AIG may have privity of contract w it's CEO and Board, but it does not have privity of contract with the American taxpayers.

We don't have to pay those inflated contracts, we didn't sign them!

How dare they get our money to pay themselves? T.G can kiss my arshe, he is one of them. They all are covering up their complicity w this talk of "contracts". What moron is going to swallow this?

They should have given the money direct to the mortgaged Americans to open up cash flow again.

[atm94404]

If the government can't get the bonuses rescinded, they should have the IRS look at them. Have the IRS look at every single tax return those individuals filed for the last decade. Any sleazeball that works at AIG and expects a bonus probably played fast and loose with his deductions and stock sales. I bet with enough digging, they could find enough mistakes that with fines and late fees could add up to their "merit bonuses".

[MooseOfReason]

atm94404, I don't know. Do you think the government can get answers from the Federal Reserve? They're more secretive than the CIA.

The government would have to... audit the Fed, or something.

[marniespeaks]

the Bush Admin and FEDS made this mess -

no contracts honored under a dictatorship

[CliveSinclairZX]

fuck off aig

[VoteRonPaul08]

Why do we have to regulate the right thing? This is the culture of corporations in America, you cannot "regulate" right and wrong. If we stoped boyvcott them, then they will learn. If you reward them with your money, then you are agreeing with the way they run the companies!

[OlivierdeAthos]

AIG insures giant companies, like airlines and manufacturing plants. It's impossible for individuals to boycott a mega-corporation that has a balance sheet bigger than the GDP of many countries. There are some things that individuals can't do, or even groups of individuals. That's what government is FOR! Gov't is involved in many things it shouldn't be, but protecting the citizens from mega corporations is one thing it SHOULD be involved in.

[reg373]

**Any company that is "too big to fail" must be broken up. **

I also feel this will be one of the eventual regulatory reforms, of many we didn't have in place that set this crisis in motion --- found a cool site; Balkingpoints ; awesome satellite camera view of earth

[OlivierdeAthos]

**Any company that is too big to fail must be broken up.**

That would be great IF Congress had the spine to enforce the anti-monopoly policy. Remember the last time they tried it? They tried to force Microsoft to split into two companies, Gates (the patriot) threatened to move from Seattle to Vancouver (Canada) and Congress backed off. Business tells government what to do, not the other way around.

[johnher1982]

like Microsoft?  lol.

[sethcat99]

do they realize they are the federal government and that they can change the rules at any time, at the drop of a hat once the red flag is raised? Its like an ant flipping off a bulldozer, and the bulldozer cries.

[PersonalJesus348]

off with their fucking heads!

[Richardgwm]

Any company that is "too big to fail" must be broken up.

[3star2nr]

fuck the share holders payback the money

[bossudude420]

haha, "hey uh federal reserve?" "yeah>" "can i have 80 billion?" "uhm sure why not" "you mean I dont have to sign any strict contracts or keep track of the money, or even make sure to spend it in a certain particular manner?" "nope" "sweeeet"

[toosinbeymen]

Enough talk. Take some action, please.

[boots920]

We THE SHEOPLE won't be fooled again (end of endless war 1975 Vietnam)

We THE SHEOPLE GOT FOOLED AGAIN ENDLESS WAR STILL GOING ON 2009.

[iwillspyonyou]

More stupid politicians getting involved in private business.

[voyeurdug]

How 'bout Congress passing a special ("one-time"... unless it happens again), confiscatory tax on bailout-related bonuses?

[OlivierdeAthos]

It wouldn't have to be one-time only. I don't see anything counterproductive about leaving a clause in the tax code that says executives who run their companies into the ground, get taxpayer bailouts, and then get bonus' under false pretenses shouldn't have the tax dollars clawed back in taxes.

[alwan11]

Instead of the govt throwing money at aig with no string attach, they need to start puttin some tight restriction on the company start regulating the shit again.  It seems to me that aig is getting the last laugh.

[AstoundedAtheist]

Fucking CROOKS!!!

[MooseOfReason]

AstoundedAtheist, "Crooks" steal money or property, not receive it willingly. Congress did not have a gun to its head when it voluntarily handed over hundreds of billions of dollars to a private company.