It wouldn't surprise me if Sirius/XM ends up in trouble, they have alot of debt coming due 2009. Thanks Mel for destroying XM and it's stock price! They were doing just fine without you and your washed up shockjock.

I've read and studied the great depression, I never heard of the S&L collapse. All I know about AIG is that they're an insurance company.

Are you talking about when Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Chris Farley and Dana Carvey all left SNL? :lol:

They do a little more than just insurance.

They do a lot more than just insurance. They aren't State Farm. :lol: They are the 18th biggest company in the world.

What we are seeing right now isn't all that different than the dot com boom of the 90's. Those who knew, got in early. Everyone else followed suit. When those who knew started getting out, everyone else saw it too late and panicked. Those who knew, got into commodities (oil, gold, etc.) and real estate. Everyone else followed suit. Those who knew pulled out. Now, everone else is following suit. The government and the banks made it easy for everyone to get in by making it easy to get money. Everyone just assumed it would last forever. They thought the same thing about the dot com boom. Heck - Clinton built an entire surplus around it.

History is simply repeating itself over and over again. Those who know, will go into something else, and everyone will follow suit eventually. After they are finished whining about how they lost everything, of course. Just like the dot com bust.

There was no single "cause" of the Great Depression; however, there were a number of reasons thought to be the combined cause, one being bank failures. Other reasons were...stock market crash, reduction in spending (people were not buying "luxury" items or requesting credit lines to purchase these items), the imposition of high import taxes in order to protect American companies (which lead to less foreign trade/economic retaliation)and other non-econimic issues such as drought conditions in the Mississippi Valley (thus indirect consequences which lead to extreme losses such as people giving up land at no profit to themselves and many people not even being able to afford to pay debts or taxes period...).

There are a lot of eerily similar circumstances right now. These conditions and fears are what give rise to extremism (such as that which occurred in Germany and lead up to World War II). Hopefully, we will not fall victim to another depression.

There is not a lack of supply of the things we need to survive...the opposite is true...there are huge inventories of all kinds of commodities. The problem is that nobody can afford these things and that is when all hell breaks loose. And, apparently, that can happen fast.

As a country, we do need a "government" influence. It has proven to work well for us (much better than other governments in other countries). I feel a certain level of confidence when the government backs something. We do have some laws that do get enforced. But the failure of the backbone of this country is not a good thing...it may "serve them right" but we cannot cut off our nose to spite our face...it WILL reach out and touch us.

Then you need to read more (or just watch 'It's a Wonderful Life' :wink: ). People panicked and started taking all of their money out of S&L's and Banks causing many of them to fail. Many now believe that IF the Government had stepped in then, the Great Depression could have been avoided.


AIG is a lot more than just an Insurance Company. If it fails it will take a lot of the economy with it.


Next year, in College, take an Economics class. :wink:

I hate government intervention, but sometimes, for the greater good of the economy, it is necessary.

I can accept the AIG intervention, solely based upon the stipulation that the government has control of upper management, and can fire at will.

X2

So far it appears a "good deal" the gov't. made. Expensive money for AIG @ around 11. something percent. And the gov't can fire top management. I doubt there will be a wholesale house cleaning though, and it will be interesting to see if the top management keeps their "golden parachutes." The disturbing part is that they tried to raise "private" money and had no takers. Thus the gov't necessity to step in. Like the Rev. said, those that know got out, and it seems they werent willing to risk "their" money to jump back in no matter how attractive the deal "appears."
The problem arose from Wall Street and coprorate greed. Government agencies with oversight responsibilities totally "asleep at the switch." And a failure of Congress to act against those that stuff thier pockets full of money. It was a failure just waiting to happen.
Next up Washington Mutual.