I pretty much cycle between “laugh”,”cry” and “cringe” on a regular basis anymore. You get used to it. : (

Twist, I thought my only reasonable option for facing this fiasco was laugh or cry and prepare for the worst. Now I need to add ‘cringe in fear’.

Thanks for dropping by

If politicians want to become the focus for this rage they’d better have patience. This looks like one of those “… for better service please take a number …” situations.

“Goldman CFO feels no guilt over AIG payments”, by Joseph A. Giannone, Reuters, March 20, 2009.

Goldman answered reporters’ questions on a conference call seeking to clear up what it called “misperceptions” about its trading relationship with AIG. The insurer since mid-September received as much as $180 billion in government support to avoid collapse stemming from its exposure to crumbling debt markets.

The bank has come under fire amid revelations that $90 billion of those funds were funneled quickly to AIG’s trading counterparties, which were bought out at nearly face value.
…

Goldman was the largest single beneficiary, receiving $12.9 billion between mid-September and the end of December.

A few years ago my Mrs M offered to not play football for half of what Joe Montana was charging the 49ers(?).

… meanwhile, a Doom friend just checked in with his take on the present rage:

“The Bitter End!”, MikeFolkerth.com, March 19, 2009.

OK, I’ve put my pitchfork away and am now contemplating THE POWER OF NONSENSE™ …

“Dollar Gains on Bets Record Decline on Fed Too Big to Sustain”, by Ye Xie, Bloomberg, March 20, 2009.

“We’ve seen a sharp sell-off in the dollar, and it’s overdue for a correction,” said Michael Woolfolk, senior currency strategist in New York at Bank of New York Mellon, the world’s largest custodial bank, with more than $23 trillion in assets under administration. “I don’t expect the most recent sell-off is the beginning of a sustained dollar decline.”

… where do they get those amazing names?

and on another note….as a nation we’re at a point where we have an opportunity to help out each other…..or “take to the streets.” i, for one, hope the entire country doesn’t end up lookin like detroit after winning the NBA or U of A after winning the NCAA title.

Pearlstein’s article concerned me. I think it’s about time that people around the globe educate themselves on financial issues. Then they need to write letters, take to the streets and get online to make their voices heard. As so many of the governments efforts to “contain the financial crisis” are counterproductive, concerned citizens need to get out there and undermine them.

I’ll agree that it’s best to leave the pitchforks at home though- let’s take to the streets waving ballots instead.

I don’t like the idea of a 90% tax on ANYTHING. The next over-taxed victim could be me.

AIG is obligated to pay their employees, but we are not obligated to pay them. The bailout money could have been issued like a government grant with stipulations on how it is spent.

We shouldn’t be surprised when money is given to institutions and they have carte blanche to spend it as they wish, that we might not approve of how the money is spent. That’s why it’s important to take the time in the first place to say what we are willing to pay for, and what we are not.

I don’t think the bailout money should have been passed out the way it was, but this should be a “my bad” moment for our government officials. Any action to take back the bonuses now just adds more uncertainty to the market. Changing the rules daily is bad for business.

That leaves taxpayers with the bill- a fact we should remember the next time we go to the polls.

So let’s take it down a more reasonable level. Johnny Q was hired by AIG 2 years ago, with a sign-on bonus of $20k to be fully realized at the end of two year with a final payment of $10k. Now the government steps in to bail out AIG. AIG (and the gov’t by proxy) are still obligated to pay this contractual bonus. The executive bonuses are different only in scale.

You want to talk about moral hazard? Let’s give the gov’t the right to nullify contracts. And this new 90% bonus tax they’re trying to push through now just does the same thing.

Horrors, indeed, Igor.

If history is a teacher, we can look to the attitude of the people during the Great Depression. John Dillinger was seen as a national hero and the banks were very much considered the villains.

And yes Igor, I’m riled up.

“Let’s Put Down the Pitchforks”, Steven Pearlstein, Washington Post, March 20, 2009.

But there’s a danger in letting this outrage get to the point that it undermines the effort to contain the financial crisis. And with Congress now rushing to pass legislation taxing away the bonuses of every banker at every bank or financial institution that takes government money, that point seems to have been reached.