AIG nationalized
 

AIG has been nationalized just like when third world countries come in and take ownership of oil producing interests and oil interests. The process by which this happened varies from place to place. Sometimes governmets, as in the AIG situation, pay consideration (sometimes via a forced sale, not for FMV). But the result is the same. The largest insurance company in the world has now been nationalized by the United States government. Does anyone see a problem with this?

When do government run corporations ever run efficiently?

Does the US do a great job with the US Postal Service?

The bank I invested in is not yet nationalized.

EWBC is the ticker. Please invest it. Recent conference call is upbeat. Stock is up and higher. Invest now to make money lots.

Not that I disagree with you. But do you have any sense of irony? You've addressed this issue a couple of times now with the same comment, and I preceive no irony in your ridicule.

I just can't believe the Republicans are participating in this process. They are traitors to us.

You expect the Dems to participate in this nonsense but Republicans? Have we no memory of history? GD them.

Did we even consider other alternatives?

I'm just pissed that the Reps in Congress have become Dems and the bigger Dems are going to get elected on the basis of their failed Democratic policies. We're efffed. Might as well buy a bunch of vasoline and get our rabies shots.

You're overreacting. The gov't is going to make money on this -- and lots of it. Essentially, the gov't purchased 80% of a corporation for $85 billion when the corporation's FMV, after the panic is over, will be well in excess of $150 billion. Or, if you don't want to look at it like a purchase, then it loaned AIG $85 billion, and it will get paid back, with interest. And AIG's assets are extremely valuable. It may sell them in order to pay the gov't back.

And the gov't isn't going to run AIG. Ignorant. The gov't is selecting the creme of the crop to run the corporation and replacing the entire board of directors. All private-sector folks. Paulson has his top-notch colleagues at Goldman (whom he brought to Treasury) leading the search for new leadership.

An economist from Berkeley said last night AIG has been effectively nationalized.

Levin, you have no idea how this will play out. Even the experts don't really know. You're just a wind bag.

Didn't the USPS go private 10+ yrs ago?

We do have no idea what is going to happen here. It is disturbing to me that AIG is owned by the government, but a failure of AIG would also have been a disaster (as well as incredibly wasteful). The thing that concerns me is that this seems to have crossed a line that had not been crossed before and might serve as a template for future government intervention.

quasi private, and that move was in the other direction.