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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  News & Politics

[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]

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

[Gioxtream]

GARY ACKERMAN president mother fuckers !!!!!

A man with balls.

[blattmacher]

similar products are still sold without being regulated by the government.

The exposure of derivatives worth hundreds of trillions of dollars.

If we can't stop the banks to stop this hoax, I'm afraid this will blow up soon.

[padseeeiwwie]

เมืองไทยมีใครเรียกทรู เรียกธนาคารไปคุยอย่างนี้บ้าง

[Ian Jablonski]

hahaha wow

[Gene Bryant]

Vote......hahahahahahahah

[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!