They could have and should have walked away rather sign contracts knowing their bonuses were being paid for by taxpayers.

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Is this another example of Obama-Gibbs talking points? The reason I ask this is that the person who wrote this comment does not seem to have the full picture about the history behind when these contracts were signed.

The contracts were signed early 2008, not after TARP.

There are obviously a number of factors involved, but what seems clear is that the bursting of the bubble only became clear when there was a rise in the foreclosures.

This is not a mess created by George Bush (yet another hard left Socialist talking point). The mess was created when CRA was first signed. It was made worse when Obama went to Washington and lobbied to have changes in the Act that allowed the packaging of the sub-prime mortgages. This means that Obama is responsible in part for the mess.

However, it is more complicated because of a variety of acts of fraud perpetrated by a few in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. There are accounting irregularities and what is worse, there is more to be exposed in the very near future, which will be brought on by the “rescue” packages and doing the bidding of the Obummer administration.

Yes AIG is in the middle of the mess, but AIG execs did not cause the mess. Even the unit concerned did not cause the mess. The mess was caused by US govt interference with an act that demands that mortgages be given to people who cannot afford them.

There is also another reason for the mess: Most Americans, Australians, British and Europeans have been taking on too much debt. When you take on debt you have to pay it back. If your income is uncertain (I fell into the trap) then you should not take on excessive debt because the repayments will only barely touch the interest being charged.

People in the low income categories had no business asking for these loans in the first place. Surely there was some other way of working on the housing situation so that these people were not in this position. For example, here in Australia we have a state Housing Commission. Low income families are given the opportunity to go into these houses, and in the past had the option to buy the house they were renting. It was how my parents were able to afford their own home.

It seems that there are a lot of other reasons such as valuers being told to value property within a certain range etc. etc. Whatever, there are just so many factors involved. I would be pointing the finger at certain banks such as Countrywide if you want to find corruption.

More departures at AIG after bonus outrage

No problem.

Go on take the money and run!

The new AIG theme song.

I personally consider the entire ‘bailout’ fiasco as fundamentally illegal vis-a-vis unconstitutionality.

Everyone that voted for these illegal bailouts should be impeached.

LimeyGeek on March 26, 2009 at 11:19 AM

s
What is thie “constitution” thing of which you speak? I’ve not heard Barry, nor any of our elected officials mention such a thing. Are you suggesting there is some document that specifically defines what the Fed govt is empowered to do? That would seem strange. From listening to Barry, I thought the President and our elected officials could do pretty much whatever they wanted…unchecked. I’m pretty certian that’s what Barry meant when he said “I won”

Who is John Galt?

hadsil on March 26, 2009 at 8:56 PM

John Galt is a fictional character in Ayn Rand’s novel ‘Atlas Shrugged’.

Giving o benefit of the doubt, after the outrage he most certainly could have publicly called out the targeting and harassment of the execs. But he did not do that which only leads one to believe this is playing out exactly as planned.

I’ve never seen so many self-serving idiots in all my life.
PrincipledPilgrim on March 26, 2009 at 2:29 PM

President TelePrompter has been screaming for months about ‘greed on Wall Street’ all while he was eating $100 wagu steak, jetting around on AF1, Lounging at Camp David, and taking a $500,00 book signing bonus….

If the public threatens the safety of their families, the Attorney General threatens to prosecute them, and Congress threatens to take the money away they got paid for not seeking employment elsewhere, why should they stay? And here’s an even better question: why should anyone take their place

?

The Democrats can’t even get President TelePrompter to properly staff Treasury; think they are gonna properly staff AIG?

Democrats: The Party of NO STAFF

I fixed it myself. Of course this is what Uhhhhbama wants – one more manufactured “crisis”. This one will not only give them the authority to move in and take over completely, but will also help them get the authority to come in and take over any company they want.

They’ve probably kneecapped any possibility of getting our money back out of AIG. I hope people enjoyed their outrage parties, because we just paid $150 billion for them.

To quote that great thinker, Agent K…”People are stupid”.

pain train on March 19, 2009 at 4:31 PM

While the hacks in Washington were worried about bread and circuses, this is what I was worried about.

I’ve never seen so many self-serving idiots in all my life.