"How Could You Not Know..."

[Owlet]

Michael Lewis on the whole financial mess.

http://www.slatev.com/video/fixing-wall-street/

[1monster]

1. It's really simple, isn't it?

[Warpy]

2. He is absolutely right.

The AIG bailout was 100% to keep the CDS game going, the big casino where the biggest cash payouts are on the riskiest bets that have nothing at all behind them.

At some point the whole derivatives market is going to collapse: nothing is holding it up except bets and counter bets by a bunch of men whose wealth is expressed by the number of bets they have on the table, which is basically what a hedge fund is these days. When the derivatives market collapses, it's going to take nearly everything with it including pensions, banks, and governments along with the hedge fund masters of the universe.

It will likely be triggered by something really minor. And how could we not know?

[Demeter]

3. With the ISDA as Backstop, Default will NEVER Occur

It will take a bloody revolution to unwind this ponzi scheme. And a return of Madame La Guillotine.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. I am reading right now "Too Big To Fail" about the "inside story" of the bailouts

and still trying to decide if the author, Aaron Ross Sorkin, is an apologist for the banksters.
Haven't got far enough to decide yet.
But...the book covers the Lehman bankruptcy and AIG and BOA buying Merrill Lynch, from the viewpoint of the men ( all men, of course, now women banksters) involved.

Indeed, the issue with AIG was that it HAD provided insurance on the banks, and when it looked as if ALL the banks might go down,
AIG would have gone down too, since it of course had insufficient reserves to pay claims.

On a personal note, my retirement annuity was with AIG for years, that was the way the job had it set up.
I was SO fortunate that I could pull it out in April of 2008, when I found out AIG and banks were having trouble.
and damned if the bank had not set up my CDs with Lehman!!!!
Got them back, too, in the nick of time.

[AnneD]

5. I can't do anything about my state pension.....

but I have gotten my things out in the nick of time on more than one occasion.

[Fuddnik]

6. Sorkin is an apologist.

Try "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis or "Griftopia" by Taibbi for starters.

Actually, AIG had no intention of paying. They didn't care less about reserves.

[dixiegrrrrl]

7. ahhh...I was suspecting as much.

Thanks for the info.
Lewis and Taibbi are always good writers, I have most of their books.
Actually, I have so many darn books that I spend more time keeping track of them than reading them!