Remember the AIG bailout? The government took 79.9% of AIG and had all of their assets as collateral for a loan that had a punitive interest rate. Well, the government decided it didn’t want to get the best possible deal for the taxpayer. Instead, more taxpayer money is going into the pit that is called AIG. We aren’t just giving them more money, we’re giving them better terms on the old money. Screw you, taxpayer!
Once again, I’m going to defer to Naked Capitalism. It’s another fairly large post: AIG: The Looting Continues (Banana Republic Watch).
The total taxpayer exposure to the AIG bailout is now pretty close to 1% of GDP. I find that rather troubling. When the credit default swaps that AIG has sold start to blow up, is the taxpayer going to continue to pay? That could put us on the hook for a lot of money.
