The amount of money the government has actually GIVEN to AIG is about $ 78 billion, not $173 billion or $ 170 billion.
The higher number is the amount that is RESERVED for AIG, but as Edward Liddy testified last week, AIG has TAKEN two tranches of $ 40 billion and $ 38.4 billion so far.
You and I have an investment of $ 78 billion in AIG. The plan was to give the money to AIG, prop it up in the middle of a market that was decimating Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, etc., until its individual units could be sold off at a profit. Otherwise, that value would evaporate AND the world’s financial markets would melt down in a panic.
The $ 165 million that Obama and Congress have gotten everyone all upset about represents less than 0.2%—on fifth of one percent - of the total stake we have in AIG.And these “horrible” execs help wind down $ 1.1 TRILLION of exposures in credit swap derivatives that would hace wasted our entire $ 78 billion stake in AIG.
Meanwhile, no one is upset that Obama and Congress are giving almost five times as much, over $ 900 million, to the Palestinian Authority, which means Hamas will get its bloody paws on it.
No one is upset that Obama and Congress just pissed away $ 1.5 trillion on stimulus, TARP 2, and the Omnibus spending bill.
No one is upset that Obama and Congress approved giving ACORN $ 5 billion in stimulus funds.
No one is upset that we gave GM another $ 5 billion last week. Isn’t that money just another retention bonus for the UAW?
No one is upset that Obama lied to us about the bonuses, Geithner lied to us about the bonuses, and Dodd lied to us about the bonuses.
No, everyone is excised about a lousy $ 165 bilion.
Congress must be laughing their asses off at us behind closed doors.
And if we allow them to get away with this, we deserve it.