mainedog doesnt get it at all..

there is no comparison of a natural disaster hitting New Orleans with a bailout of AIG..
(never mind CarolC's very good point that they actually did bugger all for New Orleans..)

AIG is in the INSURANCE industry they are in the business of RISK... they are supposed to
be careful and do their due dilligence in evaluating risk.. instead they were leveraged up to the yin yang and went ahead and insured all these risky mortgage deals -

sure I understand that it was necessary for the Govt. to step in and stave off any further collapse... (although it would have been far better not to have de-regulated ---
NOTE: Phil Graham, who wrote McCains economic poliy and was the architect of the 2000 bill that de-regulated credit default swaps. Deregulation has been the cornerstone of many conservatives since Reagan. It has failed miserably.)

basically if you believe in a FREE ENTERPRISE or Laissez Faire system they should be allowed to fail- otherwise if you expect some kind of govt. intervention then it is a form of socialism - (and I dont say that with distaste)

I run a business - and in the 25 years we have been around - we never got a cent from the govt. If I make some stupid decisions and fail I dont expect to be bailed out..

Bush and the Republicans wanted to replace social security with a PRIVATE savings accounts, - at this rate everyone would be broke.