Came across this interesting (and funny) article on the blame game about the financial mess that we all find ourselves in. It is really interesting to note that no one is willing to accept the responsibility while we, as taxpayers, are being made to pay for it more than a couple of ways.
What I find amazing is that even Treasury has no idea as to how to go about fixing this mess. They came up with an arbitrary figure of $700B to deal with the mess by buying the distressed assets so that the financial markets may be unclogged. By the time the package was approved they had already shifted their strategy to buying stakes in the financial institutions which, as it turns out, meant preferred stock with no control. Then again it was time for buying those distressed assets and today its again a no-go. Its amazing that while the request was being made to the congress they had emphasized on the speed without having any idea about how they would be using that money. Did they expect Congress to not really pass the bill? Out of the first $350B 290 are already going to the financial institutions with nothing to write home about for the taxpayers. I am yet to hear any plans for the remaining $350B. Are they waiting for the markets to fall further so that remainder of the amount is also pumped into the same institutions?
And whats the deal with AIG? There was huge amount put into AIG initially (the one after which the management went to party at a resort), then some more and now they want the terms of their bailout to be restructured! Imagine we asking our banks to restructure our mortgages! But wait that's not the end - AIG still wants more money. You sure can't beat that. Its akin to telling your banker that you are unable to make mortgage payments so he should restructure your loan and by the way I need some more cash to tide me through the tough times. Fat chance!
And by the way, if you noticed that the writer of the article on Bloomberg (Mark Gilbert) is based out of London. Another evidence of the British sense of humor.
