Finally, somebody (Matt Taibbi for Rolling Stone) explains A.I.G. and the financial crisis in plain English. It’s long and depressing, but worth the trip:
So it’s time to admit it: We’re fools, protagonists in a kind of gruesome comedy about the marriage of greed and stupidity. And the worst part about it is that we’re still in denial — we still think this is some kind of unfortunate accident, not something that was created by the group of psychopaths on Wall Street whom we allowed to gang-rape the American Dream.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I guess I was even more reckless. Last fall, when they first floated the theory that A.I.G. was too big to fail, I was stunned. An INSURANCE company? How did that happen? If the entire system became that fragile and corrupt, then we should have let it implode so we can start over with fresh players and fresh rules.
RD
My thinking lately has gone like this: Let us stipulate that we can’t afford to let the financial giants fall because any one would take the whole economy with it (lots of imagery there).
Instead of pumping all that money into keeping them alive, would it be better or worse (or no different) to pump that money into the feared effects of the falling giants, either in anticipation, or after the fact?
I honestly don’t know the answer. But are these giants worth saving? Did they get too big for society’s good?