Tuesday, March 03, 2009

Shaking Us Down

So, there is a new plan to give AIG $30 billion more from TARP funds. This is the fourth deal for them! They reported a 60 billion dollar quarterly loss yesterday. They got $40 billion in November. Even Citigroup only got $50 billion, and Bank of America only got $45 billion! C'mon federal government, loosen up; you can shake us down for more than that!

AIG has 74 million policyholders. But, they have been allowed to dabble in much more than insurance, obviously. Hedge funds and an aircraft-leasing business are two that I have read about.

My dad must be turning over in his grave right now. He lived through the Great Depression working three jobs at once: coach, teacher, and principal. He saw hundreds of banks go under, but noticed that insurance companies remained stable. After being debilitated by a bout with rheumatic fever, he became an insurance agent, working predominantly with farmers in Iowa.

1 comment:

Terri Wagner said...

This may sound weird but when I was young in the 1970s all I heard was how bad things were and how it was the end especially with global freezing. I feel like I'm in a time warp. Or is just a business cycle and this time the insurance companies bought the farm?