>It is a budget deficit number.
Ever heard of printing dollars for nothing and export your inflation?
It is beyond me that you call a deficit of 2000B a rip off from the tax payers. That 2000B was borrowed from other countries or printed for free and returned in the US economy. It is a number indicating that the US citizen are living a standard above what they could afford.
If they had a plus of 2000B and they did not do anything with it, I would call it a ripp-off, because then they would collect taxes and keeping it for themselves.
And how exactly did it went up in smoke? Its a deficit, so that money never existed before and will be created after. This 2000B deficit is created because of "unethical greed" of banks and corporations, failed politics of the Bush administration and unneeded aggression against other nations. The taxpayers pay the bill for that right now.
For all those who think that AIG should fall. Do you really have a clue what this means to the Joe Average? Most of those who are responsible for this already have gotten their money out of it, and really don't give a sh*t about whether it is taken over or would fall over. So who are you trying to punish ??? What do you think that would change anything ??? Those hard working americans that have put their money into AIG?? That is a hard price to pay.
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>>Can you eleborate on $2000B go out in smoke?
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>>>Why not to ask you the obvious question? It is cheap, imho, to show outrage in regard to $1B expense when $2000B go out in smoke. One peculiar feature of the process is that the outrage is expressed by the same person(s) who write off/endorse these trillions. By the way, bonuses are not received by executives only; low-level employees get them too. On the other side, government payroll also consists of executives and low-level employees getting different salaries/bonuses/perks.
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>>>>You're quite the provocateur, aren't you?
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>>>>If you can name a government employee who got a bonus in the millions last year, I will be happy to discuss this further. That's not blindly defending government employees, or blindly bashing the private sector, but your "point" is a ludicrous stretch. Have a nice day.
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>>>>>Are you not concerned about bonuses/salaries paid to all government employees who rip-off "taxpayers" to the tune of $1500-2000 billon/year?
>>>>>
>>>>>>This was the lead story in yesterday's New York Times, which I got around to reading at lunch time today. I see in today's headlines online that President Obama is trying to get payment of these bonuses blocked. The article makes it sound like that may not be possible legally, but boy, is this aggravating. We are bailing these bozos out to the tune of $180 billion and they are paying themselves huge bonuses? And to the exact business unit that caused all the problems? Truly unbelievable.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/15/business/15AIG.html>>>>>>
>>>>>>Here is my favorite part ---
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>>>>>>
A.I.G., nearly 80 percent of which is now owned by the government, defended its bonuses, arguing that they were promised last year before the crisis and cannot be legally canceled. In a letter to Mr. Geithner, Edward M. Liddy, the government-appointed chairman of A.I.G., said at least some bonuses were needed to keep the most skilled executives.
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>>>>>>“We cannot attract and retain the best and the brightest talent to lead and staff the A.I.G. businesses — which are now being operated principally on behalf of American taxpayers — if employees believe their compensation is subject to continued and arbitrary adjustment by the U.S. Treasury,” he wrote Mr. Geithner on Saturday.>>>>>>
>>>>>>Thank goodness they are retaining that best and brightest talent. Just think how much of a mess they could have created if they were not in such able hands!
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>>>>>>Grrrr.....
