Wrapped in TARP

Have you heard of the story of the Camel and the Arab?

It is an interesting story. A story with a moral that we would do well to learn about. A story with an uncanny parable to the behemoth, too-big-to-fail, too-large-to-be-kicked, thumbing-its-nose-at-you AIG's relationship with the American Taxpayer.

Once upon a time, an Arab was riding his camel across the desert. It was a dark, cold winter. Night was upon him and he decided to take a break. So he set up camp in the desert sand and pegged down his tent. He laid his fine wool carpet on the sand floor of this tent. Then he went outside and lit a fire, cooked his meal over the crackling, smouldering wood, smoked his hookah, downed some wine and finally decided to turn in, into his warm tent. No sooner than he fell asleep, he heard a snort and a head poked into the flap of his tent.

It was his camel. The camel beseeched him to let him keep its head in the tent as the wind was howling loudly and it was very cold outside the tent. So the kind-hearted Arab let the camel keep his head in the tent. In a few minutes the camel edged in further into the tent - upto its shoulders. The Arab protested, but the camel gave him a woebegone look and begged to be allowed to keep his shoulders inside the tent as it was freezing outside. So the Arab took pity on the camel and allowed him to stay half way inside his tent. As the night progressed, the camel pushed in more and more into the tent. Slowly, insidiously, the Arab was shoved outside the tent, until suddenly, he found himself outside the tent, bracing the cold, winter storm, while the camel slept cosily inside the tent.

What does this story remind you of?

AIG and the American Taxpayer!

At first, it was a $5o billion bailout that the public was not even informed about until after it was paid. Before we knew it, the Government had bailed out AIG. They didnt have to come with their begging bowls to Congress like the Automakers had to. They just told Paulson to slip 'em one and they were paid. We were presented with a fait accompli.

Then it was another $80 billion. And so on until AIG now has the largest infusion of Government money in history. As more and more money gets poured down AIG's drain, the company gets more and more arrogant. No one can question them any longer. There are no rules they play by. There is no integrity, honesty or shame. They know, as did the Arab's camel, that once they have their grimy hands on so much of taxpayer money, there is no option but to continue to bail them out, regardless of how they behave. Hark the latest of AIG's ignominious behavior: paying $164 million in retention (what the??) bonuses to the very executives who have run the company aground!

Like the Arab's camel, we shouldn't have let them into our tent in the first place. Now they are wrapped in our TARP and we have been shoved out of our tent!