REP. GARY ACKERMAN: AIG "SNAKE OIL SALESMEN" 03/18/09

Rep. Gary Ackerman at House financial Services subcommittee hearing claims AIG was selling "snake oil" with nothing in the bottle. He tells a funny joke to describe what a "credit default swap" is. 'Two men are in a life boat in the middle of a storm. One man says he is scared so the other one sells him some insurance.' His basic point here is that AIG was selling insurance with nothing to back it up. The people who created these financial instruments called them "swaps" to avoid regulation. If they were called "insurance" they would have been regulated by the government. He also compared credit default swaps to "I can't believe it isn't butter." Hearing was labeled Federal Aid to AIG Insurance. Those being questioned were Joel Ario, National Association of Insurance commissionaers. Rodney Clark from Standard and Poors rating agency. Scott Polakoff Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)

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[gevansmd]

A CDS is like those extended warranties you buy with an appliance. The company collecting the premiums (with no connection to the appliance manufacturer) is betting you'll never need to make a claim so they make money on the premiums. You, who purchase the warranty don't really hope to use it either but if something goes worng, you'll save some of what you would have paid for the repair. Just like extended warranties, CDS have a set lifespan so it's not insured, and you don't pay forever

[billschannel]

@gevansmd great way to explain CDS... in fact the best I have ever heard!

[Gioxtream]

GARY ACKERMAN president mother fuckers !!!!!

A man with balls.

[SKAMP57]

My point was I thought I was ahead of the curve. I have been following the likes of Max Keiser and Karl Denninger and Ron Paul and Peter Schiff and Jim Rogers and I missed this! Brilliant. I can't believe this hasn't gone viral.

[SamuOnAruba]

I.

[SamuOnAruba]

LIKE

[SamuOnAruba]

TO

[SamuOnAruba]

SPAM



[lfrohling]

How is the ADD looser behind him? He's driving me nuts

[bermudaguy1]

Credit default swaps...WTF?? It's always escaped me as to what they were...now I know!

[sirloin869]

then nothing's gone happen...

still waiting on the zombie apokolypse

[85LordByron8]

Hard!!!!!!!

[LawyerScumGhost]

@gevansmd That is why we need sound money, based on gold and silver. You can't create gold/silver out of thin air, so there is a natural limit to how much money is in circulation. The dollar has lost 96% of its value since the Fed was installed, because the ONLY thing they can do is print more money, causing even more inflation. They just come up with fancy names for it like "quantitative easing".

[gevansmd]

@LawyerScumGhost While I don't necessarily trust Benanke, I trust most of Congress even less. Most of their grander schemes are colossal failures. With Congress you have over 400 members with as many agendas and allegiances.

[LawyerScumGhost]

@gevansmd so we should trust never-ran-a-business Ph.d Bernanke? Tell me, how has the country fared under the expert economic tutelage of Ben Bernanke and the economic brain trust at the Federal Reserve? I have been a practicing attorney for 10 years, so you don't have to dumb it down for me.

[gevansmd]

@billschannel Thanks. I don't know why it's so difficult for this congressman to understand. His life raft example is cute but not close to reality.

[gevansmd]

How do we allow people like this to get elected over and over without even a scintilla of economic knowledge? He should be standup comic, not a lawmaker. Crack open a book and read how economies work congressman, so you don't look like an idiot exposing your idiocy!

[michaelwright999]

@Gioxtream I AGREE HE IS THE MAN TO SORT OUT THE CUNTS.

[TheArthen]

awesome man. thanks for this post.

btw the guy in the right hand background looks like Tim Robbins LOLLLLLL

[michaelwright999]

@SKAMP57 me 2 garys the man 2 run America, or whats left of it. G Ackerman for top gun. said mike in currupt Marbella.

[Gioxtream]

Simply....grab them all and place them in jail. Period. And....do not forget to take all away from them first.

[Musicofthissphere]

what makes no sense is his convoluted analogy.

[AustrianAtheist]

"They rely on the rating agencies"

1. Wtf? How can you rely on 3 dubious companies, with profit interests?

2. This shows that the rating agencies are quite "close with the" US and will always support their AAA, while bprobably eing very sceptical, when it comes to other countries...

[Consumerofknowledge]

@AlexJonesCensored And the antichrist(who ever he is) will control the IMF.

[alien3445]

the crooks handcuffing the crooks